Friends of Principia #14

July 11, 2007

Dear Friends of Principia #14,

Sorry about the 27 days of silence since Friends of Principia #13. A lot has been happening during that time. However, until yesterday it was behind the scenes and I was not free to share what I was hearing.

Attached are some of the long awaited documents released Tuesday by the Resolution Committee. I say “some” because there will follow reports from the majority and minority scheduled to be released this Friday July 13^th. I will forward them to you as soon as I receive them.

This mailing includes:

1. Resolution Committee Report by Jim Reeves

2. Resolution Committee Response to findings

3. Resolution Committee Report

It is useful to put these documents into context by reviewing the incredible events of the last 6 months before reading the attached documents and assessing their impact on Principia.

1. CEO Stuart Jenkins offers his resignation to the Board of Trustees and they decline it. [January 30, 2007] As revealed by the Board in April.

2. The faculty votes (71-2) no confidence in Stuart Jenkins and requests the Board of Trustees that he be removed as both Board chair and CEO. [January 31, 2007]

3. The College faculty meets and approves four additional motions, including “no confidence in the current structure and procedures for selection of the Board of Trustees”. [February 1, 2007]

4. The Trustees “reject the College faculty’s 1/31/07 vote of no confidence” and forge ahead with their plan of dispute resolution.[February 13, 2007]

5. The Trustees, forcing a breakneck pace, prescribe that both campuses elect representatives the week of February 19^th to be part of the dispute resolution process starting Saturday the 24^th.

6. Stuart Jenkins offers to step down from the Board of Trustees at the upcoming April 19th-21^st meeting. The Trustees announce they will consider this offer. [March 28, 2007]

7. The petition from hundreds of alumni and friends of Principia asking for Stuart Jenkins to either resign or be removed as both CEO and Trustee, which has 439 signatures, is presented to the Trustees on April 3, 2007. [http://www.petitionprincipia.org]

8. The Resolution Committee describes its progress and

selects Jim Reeves as mediator to assist the process.

[April 13, 2007]

9. The Resolution Committee anticipates it will receive Jim

Reeves’ final report no later than June 4^th as he agreed when hired. It will then evaluate his findings and write its own report. Both reports will be presented to the community. [May 14, 2007]

10. The Colleagues of Principia [8 former highly respected

campus leaders] send a letter to the Trustees, the Resolution Committee, Jim Reeves and George Moffett. They ask the Trustees to preserve their credibility and protect Principia by accepting Stuart Jenkins resignation without further delay. [June 9, 2007]

11.The Colleagues of Principia, having not heard from

the Trustees, renew their call for the Trustees to provide

leadership, accept Stuart Jenkin’s resignation and follow

relevant Principia policies in selecting a replacement.

[July 9, 2007]

Despite the overwhelming statements, from faculty, staff, alumni, friends and former administrators, that Principia is not being well served by its CEO, the Board of Trustees insisted that a Resolution Committee be constituted to find additional facts. Since the formation of this representative body the Board has repeatedly refused to take action to resolve the CEO crisis, deferring to the future findings of the Resolution Committee. That committee has now voted by a significant majority [8 of 11 (plus 1 vote for continued prayer) when you take out the vote of the two trustees who have a vested interest in the outcome and also have enabled themselves to vote twice in this review process; 8 of 13 if you count them].

Stuart Jenkins should leave his position as CEO, as a trustee and Principia. Now is the time for the other Trustees to take the responsible action they promised once the resolution process was complete. The eight courageous individuals who have voted that Stuart Jenkins no longer be CEO have represented their constituencies and spoken clearly. They have stood up for Principle and Principia. We should all be very grateful for their unselfish service. Additionally, five other members of the committee voted that Stuart should be placed on probation, a peculiar conundrum at an educational institution whose standard for leadership [Policy 17] is “the most effective individual available” and “that…individual will be continued in office as long as the responsibilities of his office are discharged in ways that contribute to the growth of the institution.” Even the verdict of probation reinforces the need for Stuart to leave Principia.

There are significant problems with the report (it is biased, inaccurate, ignores key documented evidence, is replete with inconsistencies and contains conclusions devoid of support etc.) These can be dealt with later. Now is the time to support the members of the Resolution Committee. Now is the time to require the Trustees to seize the opportunity for good by following the recommendations of the clear majority of the committee and be instrumental in Stuart Jenkins immediate departure from Principia.