Groups across campus have released official statements disapproving of the Institution of Higher Learning’s process of choosing Glenn Boyce as the 18th chancellor.
The Black Student Union, United Campus Workers of Mississippi, College Democrats and Abolish IHL have listed demands in their statements.
Both Abolish IHL and the UCW call for the immediate resignations of Boyce and the 12 current members of the IHL Board of Trustees and a reopening of the search led by Ole Miss community members.
“Students, faculty (of all ranks), alumni, and local stakeholders who are elected by their constituent groups must carry out a transparent and democratic search,” both statements said.
In addition to the abolition of the IHL, the BSU demands a “comprehensive and accurate timeline” of Boyce’s hiring and a creation of individual “University Boards” who will oversee each of Mississippi’s eight institutions separately.
“Therefore, we, the University of Mississippi Black Student Union, have no confidence in the Mississippi Board of Trustees in the State Institutions of Higher Learning,” BSU’s statement read.
On Saturday, University of Mississippi College Democrats released its own statement criticizing the board’s neglect of steps in their process.
“The IHL has caused harm to the academic and professional reputation of the University of Mississippi, and in turn our state as a whole,” it said. “Policy innovation created the system that allowed for IHL’s dishonorable decision-making, and policy innovation can make sure that it never happens again.”
All of the groups’ statements were released in response to the IHL’s decision of Boyce in the 10 month-long chancellor search after the resignation of Jeffrey Vitter last January. The IHL expedited its search process, only completing 12 of its 20 steps.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article should have reported that Jeffrey Vitter resigned in January, not October.
