Professor of economics and part-time muckraker Bill Harbaugh was elected the University Senate vice president and president-elect on June 3, running unopposed. The secret-ballot vote was 20-7.
The Senate VP automatically becomes the Senate president after one year of service, meaning the election for VP is essentially a proxy election for Senate president.
Harbaugh has been a perennial critic of the university administration, mainly through his blog, UO Matters. Earlier this year, he was the recipient of 22,000 pages of unlawfully released documents containing confidential information from the Knight Library, which resulted in the director of special collections’ termination. His blog has been critical of the university’s transparency, its handling of sexual assault and administrative pay.
One of the most involved members of the faculty, Harbaugh has served on the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, Faculty Advisory Committee and as a board member of the faculty union. He also played a primary role in establishing the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and the Senate Transparency Committee. The result of that work is a new academic freedom policy and the development of the “Financial Transparency Tool,” available on DuckWeb, which provides information on university spending.
Despite his work for the university, concern has been expressed about Harbaugh’s efficacy as a leader. In one instance, IAC Chair Rob Illig described how Harbaugh’s prodding nature began “eroding trust and making it impossible for the IAC to secure good information.” To alleviate the “hostile work environment,” Illig recommended that the university president create a new athletics committee. The President’s Advisory Group on Intercollegiate Athletics, which does not have public meetings, was created shortly thereafter by then-president Michael Gottfredson.
“I would say that (Harbaugh’s election) does raise concerns about the ability of the Senate to have a constructive relationship with the administration because of the history,” said Classified Staff Senator Jimmy Murray.
Andrew Lubash, the 2014-2015 University Student Senator, expressed a different sentiment.
“I think his blog has done a lot of good for the UO community and his election proves that the faculty also believes that. Whether or not the administration will have a productive relationship with him, I’m not sure since he hasn’t started his tenure as VP yet.”
Outgoing Senate President Robert Kyr assuaged the UO board of trustees’ fear of Harbaugh, saying that the new VP would redouble his blog’s focus on university issues and avoid commentary, as reported by the Oregonian.
It remains to be seen how Harbaugh and incoming President Michael Schill will get along. As for whether Harbaugh’s election is good for the university, Lubash is hopeful.
“I think so,” he said. “I would have voted for him.”
The university administration was unable to be reached for comment in this story.
Dahlia Bazzaz contributed to this report.