At the Faculty Senate assembly on Wednesday, UH President Renu Khator met an onslaught of questions from concerned faculty regarding her decision to reopen the University for classes last week.
Khator said she assumes full responsibility for her decision to open the University three days after Hurricane Ike’s Houston landfall, and that it was a decision she has come to regret.
"With the information available today or even on Wednesday (after the hurricane), I would have made a different decision," said Khator, who offered an explanation behind her decision to an audience of more than 200 faculty, staff and students in attendance.
Psychology professor Joe Liberman said what concerned him the most about the decision was its disconnect with the Houston community.
"There was a lack of sensitivity here to the Houston area. Many Houstonians were without electricity, gas and open schools for their kids during this time," Liberman said.
Khator said part of her decision to reopen facilities and reinstate classes was based off of a proxy given by Houston Mayor Bill White, who called for city employees to return to work on Monday after the Hurricane.
College of Liberal Arts and Social Science Sen. Garth Jowett said Khator’s reopening of the school was not in tune with Mayor Bill White’s message.
"There were many messages put out by city government and county government and state government including the mayor begging people to stay home until at least Wednesday or Thursday," Jowett said.
He said some students were driving more than 30 miles into the city facing scarce gas and dangerous roads. Khator referred the question to UH Director of Communications Eric Gerber, who said he communicated with the mayor’s office to confirm the proxy to call city employees given that they could safely make their way into work.
Jowett said the role of students and the jobs of city workers must not be conflated.
"The city workers were called in to do a job of cleaning up," Jowett said. "The mayor specifically told the citizens of the city to stay home. Our students are citizens. They’re not workers on campus."
Law professor Peter Linzer questioned Khator’s explanation of opening University facilities and restarting classes simultaneously. Khator said she could not, by law, open the University without resuming classes.
"I do not understand why the University could not open without classes since it’s open on Sundays without classes," Linzer said. "It seems that any guidelines in emergency situations have to be secondary to common sense."
Khator said she hoped that when evaluating these past two weeks and re-structuring guidelines and policies that this would be a viable choice.
German professor Anne Reitz questioned Khator’s decision to resume classes while Khator emphasized to faculty to not conduct tests, assign projects or take attendance.
"I was told don’t do anything in class that will be graded," Reitz said. "For me, I was unable to fulfill my academic mission."
Khator responded that there was individual responsibility to students for this kind of academic enterprise they garner at the University.
Faculty Senate President Wynne Chin added that he too received complaints about missed time and lost work in class. He said he’s remaining flexible to accommodate students and encourages other faculty to do the same and remain creative.
Psychology professor Richard Kasschau questioned the time lost in class lecture and the implementation of make-up days. Khator was hesitant in giving any specifics until a well-thought out decision is made.
As for future steps to avoid the breakdown in communication among UH administration and its students and faculty, Khator was not ready to detail a new specific policy for improving the emergency management plan. Instead, a task force will be created including faculty, staff, students and Emergency Management Team members to create better guidelines for emergency protocol.
"I know very well that you’re angry," Khator said. "You’re upset. You’re frustrated. You’re disappointed. I know this and respect your opinion. The last call to open or close the campus was mine. I take full responsibility for it."
