MUNCIE, Indiana — Ball State University’s board of trustees accepted the mysterious, sudden and unexpected resignation of President Paul Ferguson during a special meeting on Monday at the university’s Indianapolis Center.
The board last week sent The Star Press a written notice of the special meeting that contained no agenda, as well as a written notice of an executive session immediately before the special meeting whose agenda included personnel matters. The special meeting was open, but no one from the press or the public attended. However, no explanation for the resignation was given during the open meeting, The Star Press has learned, nor was one given after the meeting.
“There is something going on for his resignation to be so sudden, and the trustees ought to tell us what it is,” said Ball State professor Eric Kelly, a former chair of University Senate. “This is weird. I’m stunned that it’s happening mid-semester. I would not have been surprised if they had announced he would be leaving effective July 1. Coming in after a strong president like Jo Ann Gora … is very tough. I kind of expected he would wind up with a two-year job for a whole bunch of reasons. But the fact he’s leaving so suddenly is stunning.”
Formerly president of the University of Maine, Ferguson had been hired as Ball State’s 15th president effective Aug. 1, 2014. He signed a five-year contract with Ball State.
The board’s unwillingness to say why Ferguson quit is fueling speculation in the public and on campus, such as: Is the university facing a financial crisis? Is Ferguson facing a health crisis? Is it related to a crisis in management of on-campus enrollment, which continues to decline?
And the board has hired Ball State graduate Myra Borshoff, a retired Indianapolis public relations consultant and an expert in crisis communications, to advise it on Ferguson’s departure.
But she said in an interview on Monday, “I have a lot of expertise in crisis communications, but this would not fall into that category. Oftentimes when organizations have situations like this, they have me work with them to maintain a level of confidentiality within the institution, so it doesn’t put anyone inside the organization in an awkward position.”
Associate professor Amy Harden, president of University Senate, told The Star Press: “I am surprised by the seemingly abrupt nature and am immensely saddened by this news. In the short time he has been at Ball State, he has had a tremendous positive impact through the various initiatives and the refreshed refocus on Ball State as the university for entrepreneurial learning and community engagement.”
Like almost everyone else, she has no idea why Ferguson left.
Political science professor Joe Losco said, “The faculty will be sorry to see him leave. As a scholar and former faculty member himself, he understood faculty concerns and seemed genuinely committed to helping faculty achieve goals they had set for themselves in research, teaching and service. His demeanor is always cheerful and upbeat.”
Ferguson, a toxicologist, was the first scientist to lead Ball State. His initiatives included a plan to address declining on-campus enrollment.
No matter how many ways the question was asked, Indianapolis attorney Rick Hall, chairman of the trustees, declined during an interview on Monday to say why Ferguson was leaving.
The president simply asked the board for a two-month sabbatical leave and submitted his resignation to be effective at the end of that leave, Hall said.
“That is something that he and the board agreed was a good route forward. The board has great confidence in the ability of the faculty and the administration and all that they have accomplished in the last decade,” and the university is in a “good position to build on our past success,” Hall said. “The future is very bright.”
Ferguson was paid a base salary of $450,000. His five-year employment contract, executed in June 2014, states that “it is understood that both parties desire and anticipate a long-term relationship” but included all kinds of escape clauses. For example, it gives the board authority to fire Ferguson without cause, in which event both parties “will work cooperatively to prepare a public announcement” regarding the termination.
For more on this story, visit The Star Press