Michigan Tech fires deans of two largest colleges, offers no explanation
(Left) Janet Callahan, Michigan Tech professor and former Dean of the College of Engineering and (right) Professor David Hemmer, former Dean of the College of Sciences and Arts.
Editor’s Note: A correction has been made to this article. We implied that David Hemmer said both interim deans learned of their new positions through public announcements, but he was only sure of one. We apologize for any confusion this has caused.
Editor’s Note (2): Another correction has been made to this article. We inadvertently suggested Janet Callahan told us she was given no explanation for her dismissal, but in fact another source, David Hemmer, was speaking in plural, and to our knowledge does not have authority to speak on Callahan’s behalf. We sincerely apologize.
The deans of both the College of Engineering, and the College of Sciences and Arts at Michigan Technological University were fired June 26. According to written statements made by one of the two fired deans, they were informed of their pending termination by Michigan Tech provost Andrew Storer on June 20, and offered a chance to renounce their tenure and resign from the University entirely for three months salary. Both declined the offer. The next day, the Office of the Provost announced that both faculty members would “transition from their leadership roles in the College of Engineering and the College of Sciences and Arts” and that interim deans would be stepping in to fill their vacancies.
One of the two fired deans, David Hemmer of the College of Sciences and Arts, said the two were offered no explanation for their abrupt dismissal and that it was conducted in a manner to “increase our humiliation”. At time of reporting, both former deans are still employed at the University as tenured professors.
Hemmer authored a letter to the Board of Trustees expressing his “shock and disgust at the events that [had] transpired”. Transcripts of the letter soon made their way to social media, where they were shared by students and faculty of the University. Copper Beacon has verified the authenticity of this letter, the full text of which can be read in the card below.
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Members of the Board of Trustees,
I am writing to express my shock and disgust at the events that have transpired this week. Late in the day on Tuesday June 20, College of Engineering Dean Janet Callahan and I were separately informed that we were fired, effective Monday June 26, that interim deans had already been selected, and that the announcement would be in Tech Today a short 12 hours later. No reason or explanation was given. We were individually summoned to Provost Andrew Storer’s office, asked to leave an ongoing retreat with other campus leaders, in a way very likely intended to increase our humiliation.
We were encouraged to submit letters of resignation. We both refused. Despite both being tenured full professors, we were encouraged to renounce our tenure and resign entirely from the university in exchange for only three months’ salary.
Provost Storer immediately called my direct reports (Department Chairs and college staff) and told at least two of them that I had “resigned.” He told several others that I had “stepped down”. Both are, of course, false.
The Provost’s office submitted an article in Tech Today for Wednesday morning that was designed to further humiliate us. Indeed, our entire set of accomplishments as deans was summed up in one line: “Janet and David played important roles over these past five years, especially during the pandemic, and we thank them for their service.” This cursory summary is an insult to all that we both accomplished over five incredible years of leadership. It feels like an intentional slap in the face to both of us.
It is particularly puzzling given that we were both renewed one a year ago with strong support from faculty, staff, department chairs and students. Indeed, I was recommended for renewal “unanimously and unequivocally” by an evaluation committee of more than a dozen colleagues. In a meeting on May 24, 2022, President Koubek told me he thought I was a “strong leader” and would “make a great Provost or President someday.”
Earlier that same Tuesday, Dr. Storer called Physics Chair Dr. Ravi Pandey and said there “might” be some leadership changes in CSA and asked if he was willing to serve if necessary. Ravi agreed. When we met on Thursday, Dr. Pandey told me that my firing came as a complete shock to him, as did the announcement in Tech Today that he would be the interim dean, his having not even agreed on terms yet. He was not entirely sure he would take the position, but he has already been publicly announced. What a hasty and bungled transition!
I fully understand that deans serve at the pleasure of the Provost and President, and that Dr. Storer has every right to select his own leadership team. The usual and customary way across academia to remove a dean or provost is to quietly let them know they have one year left. This allows them to announce their resignation early, have a proper national search, look for an administrative position at another institution if they desire, and preserve some measure of dignity with little or no suggestion that they were fired. The way Dr. Callahan and I were terminated would typically be reserved for some emergency, or in cases of serious misconduct. Frankly, Dr. Callahan and I were both relieved the other was fired, which makes it clear to everyone that this is the result of a misguided Provost (or President) cleaning house, and not misconduct on our part.
Despite many faculty being away for the summer, and perhaps not paying attention, the outpouring of support and anger I have received has been enormous. More than 100 faculty and staff from across the university have contacted me, and their response was uniformly one of disgust with Provost Storer, bafflement with how and why this decision was made, and fear for the future. This includes a substantial portion of the academic leadership on campus. Comments include “shocked and saddened”, “This isn’t how we operate at Michigan Tech”, “stunned and disappointed”, “the provost is a dictator”, “insane”, “baffled” and on and on. What could possibly be the reason to fire experienced deans of the two largest colleges? Colleagues have called for a vote in the University Senate to censure the Provost, or a faculty vote of no-confidence in his leadership. I am admittedly angry and of course biased, but I do not see any way his provostship survives this decision. Dr. Storer has completely lost the trust and confidence of the large majority of faculty. I encourage the Board of Trustees not to take my word for this, but to poll the faculty yourselves. Talk to department chairs. Seek feedback from the administrative staff as well as to the functioning of the Provost’s office over the past year.
This decision has created fear and uncertainty on campus. Firing the deans of the two largest colleges sends a clear message that the academic side of the house is in crisis. What is the crisis? Did it not exist a year ago? How will having interim deans eventually replaced by inexperienced deans solve it? The campus rumor mill is bubbling over and people are truly afraid of what is coming.
The way this was handled will make it impossible to recruit strong external candidates to fill what will now be three vacant dean positions this coming year. MTU already has difficulty recruiting external administrators. In the past few years we have had failed chair searches in MEEM (even with hiring a search firm), Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, and Chemistry. Our recent national CFO search dragged on for almost a year and ended with the hiring of an original member of the search committee. We will have open chair positions for next year at least in Biological Sciences, Chemical Engineering, and Computer Science. We will be running national searches for at least three deans (CFRES, CSA, COE). Any qualified and savvy external candidate for these chair and dean positions will investigate what happened to Dr. Callahan and me, and the answer will not be encouraging. We risk losing star faculty members as well. MTU has already lost an unusual number of our leading faculty in recent years, and more than one of our current superstars has told me this decision will send them to the job market.
The timing of this decision is horrible as well, with a capital campaign underway and next year being the critical ABET accreditation year in COE. Both Dr. Callahan and I are in the midst of working with donors and foundations on large gifts. Dr. Callahan was in California meeting important donors last week, as well as meeting with her external advisory board. Neither Bill Roberts nor anyone in the advancement office was told of this decision. No plan for contacting alumni and donors was implemented. Perhaps it is expected that Dr. Callahan and I should let our donors know what happened?
Finally, I was a semifinalist for the Provost position and interviewed with the search committee. At least five members of the committee have personally told me how strong my interview was, and that multiple members wanted to advance me to a campus interview (yes, search committees leak like sieves). Having the new Provost fire one of his competitors for the position only a couple months after earning it himself sends a horrible message, independent of the actual motivation for the decision.
The last five years have been great ones for MTU. We survived the pandemic in a strong financial position with growing enrollment. New academic buildings and dormitories are being planned and constructed for the first time in more than a decade, a capital campaign is underway, marketing and recruiting efforts are modernized and working. Dr. Koubek often celebrates this momentum in his public remarks. This capricious decision has completely negated that narrative. The perception now is that MTU is a university in crisis, at least within Academic Affairs, and that senior leadership is not up to the task. The repercussions of this decision will hurt our recruiting for many years.
I am proud of what my team and I accomplished over the past five years. By every metric (enrollment, research funding, fundraising, student retention, etc.) my deanship has been an unequivocal success. I take great pride in my work. I will return to the faculty in Mathematical Sciences and continue to work hard for the success of our students and our university. I carefully negotiated my contract in ways that protected me from just this scenario. I will be ok. I fear MTU will not.
David Hemmer
In his letter, Hemmer asserts that the provost behaved in a manner designed to humiliate and insult both faculty members.
“It feels like an intentional slap in the face to both of us,” Hemmer wrote.
Michigan Tech Provost Andrew Storer.
Hemmer also accused provost Storer of conducting a “hasty and bungled transition” that led to at least one of the interim deans learning of their new jobs through a public announcement on the University’s daily newsletter.
Hemmer continued by noting an “outpouring of support and anger [from] more than 100 faculty and staff from across the university” and offered many quote snippets to highlight faculty bafflement, fear, and disgust with the provost’s decision. Hemmer added that “Colleagues have called for a vote in the University Senate to censure the Provost”.
As the University Senate seldom meets during the summer, it is unclear when this measure might be considered or how likely it would be to pass.
Hemmer concluded his letter with a series of concerns about how this decision would impact the University’s ABET accreditation, the current capital campaign, or the ability for the school to recruit and retain faculty in the future.
“I carefully negotiated my contract in ways that protected me from just this scenario. I will be ok. I fear MTU will not,” Hemmer wrote.
The University in response to an inquiry about the former deans being fired without explanation offered the following comment.
“Thank you for reaching out. Regarding your questions, the University does not comment on personnel matters beyond the announcements made elsewhere.”
The second faculty member, Janet Callahan did not respond to a request for comment at time of publication.
The College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) is the second-largest college under MTU’s umbrella, home to approximately 1/6th of their students. The college also supports several notable departments including the Biological Sciences, Humanities, Mathematical Sciences, Physics, and ROTC.
David Hemmer, the former CSA dean, holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Chicago and worked for the University of Buffalo as chair of mathematics prior to coming to Michigan Tech. Hemmer replaced retiring CSA dean Bruce Seely in 2018 with much praise from the former provost Jacqueline Huntoon.
Hemmer is being replaced by interim dean Ravindra Pandey who holds a PhD in Theoretical Solid State Physics from the University of Manitoba. Pandey also serves as Chair of the Physics Department.
The College of Engineering (COE) is the largest college by far. More than half of Michigan Tech’s total student population study under one of its programs including the Biomedical, Chemical, Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, and Geological Engineering departments in addition to other programs such as Material Science and Manufacturing.
Janet Callahan, the former COE dean, holds a PhD in Material Sciences University of Connecticut at Storrs and worked for Boise State University as chair of the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering before coming to Michigan Tech. Callahan replaced retiring dean Wayne Pennington in 2018 with praise from the former provost Jacqueline Huntoon as well.
Callahan is being replaced by interim dean Audra Morse who holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University. Morse also serves as Chair of the Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Departments.
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