EDITORIAL: Our Support?

The University needs to informThe University needs to informits community about restructuringThe University needs to informits community about restructuringefforts if they want theThe University needs to informits community about restructuringefforts if they want thecommunity's support.The University needs to informits community about restructuringefforts if they want thecommunity's support.___________________________________ Okay. It requires our support, but we don't need or deserve the full story -- or so Fry seems to think. It requires our support, but how can we support something we know so little about? There are questions he will not answer, and the situation has gotten messier than he will admit. We believe that a process as important and all-affecting as restructuring does require the involvement and support of the entire University community -- but we do not believe Fry or other administrators have done much in the way of achieving this. Many University employees are concerned about the their job security. They do not know if they'll soon find themselves unemployed. They don't know because the administration is leaving them in the dark. It makes you wonder whether John Fry needs our support or our silence. Honesty and openness. Such natural concepts that are so forgotten by some. If you are striving to make things better for the students, shouldn't you tell them what you have been doing? We think so. But Fry refused to comment on the number of jobs phased out through restructuring. And he still has not addressed the issue of student involvement. It seems odd that the administration is working so much on University restructuring in the absence of the University's students -- the school's most important component. Fry said Business Services is "in the process of identifying an independent, non-food service consultant" to conduct an analysis of the University's Dining Services. Restructuring has been a focus of the administration's summer efforts, and Dining Services has been a focus of restructuring. And the University is sticking to their schedule and have supposedly accomplished much?So why haven't they chosen a consultant to conduct the analysis? And if they have, why aren't they telling us? Fry cited the new Financial Management Information System (FinMIS) as an improvement made through restructuring. Yet he failed to mention all the problems that have already arisen with the new system. FinMIS training was supposed to have been (logically) completed before its implementation, but it is still going on. The result? One fine mess -- there is backlogging and confusion. We're not condemning the technology -- only the poor planning. Restructuring may prove greatly beneficial. It may upset many, it may cause chaos and dissatisfaction. The point is, we need to know. The University community should be informed, and the community should be involved. Restructuring will affect everyone from University employees to students, and it is neither fair nor ethical to leave us in the dark. We wonder why, if the University's efforts are geared towards improving student services and efficiency, they will not let us know what's going on. They should.