Dear "everyone", I have some concerns and suggestions about the "presidential evaluation process" that I would like to share with others in the community. I am writing as someone who was a member of the board of the trustees at the time at which President Mossberg was hired, and as someone who served for one year (from June 1997 to June 1998) on what was then called the "presidential evaluation design committee," although the committee met only once during that time despite my efforts to have it meet more frequently. While I feel that the process as presently designed does not fulfil the original charge to the committee to develop a process through which the president and the board could receive honest feedback from the full 360 degree range of people in the community who are impacted by her work, I would like to encourage everyone to participate in the process as fully as possible and to adapt it in ways that will allow you to say what you need to say about the effect of the president's performance on your ability to help the college to fulfill its mission. I have heard that many people have reacted to the assessment materials by throwing them aside and saying such things as "this is bullshit" or "it won't do any good" or "they obviously don't want to hear what I really have to say." If that is how you feel, rather than just throwing the material away, I would suggest that you explain, however briefly, why you are not completing the form and send that in. That in itself will constitute important feedback. I have also heard that many people feel that if they were to answer all the questions honestly, that their identity would be revealed, and that they were therefore afraid to fully fill the form out for fear of retribution. This reaction also says a lot in itself about the atmosphere in the community. If that is how you feel I would encourage you to refrain from answering questions that might identify you, explain why you chose to respond in that way, and go on to answer other questions and to add other information that you might like to share. If you feel that the questions as stated do not provide an adequate framework in which you can give appropriate feedback, I would like to suggest a few additional questions that I believe are in keeping with the interdependent spirit of the process as designed, and which may make the process more useful.
I would also like to suggest that as people reflect on the president's performance that you keep in mind the following language that was included in the advertisement used in the presidential search process (a process authorized and approved by the full board) and which therefore constitute de facto some of the criteria that could be used in this assessment process.
Respectfully submitted,
Steven Schapiro
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