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The West Texas A&M Faculty Senate is holding a vote of no confidence in university president Walter Wendler. The vote, which is scheduled to wrap up on Friday, cites Wendler’s cancellation of a student organized event which led to the university being sued by free speech advocacy group FIRE.
In addition to concerns that Wendler actions were “counter to state and federal laws protecting free speech on campus,” as well as WT’s University rules protecting free speech, the resolution contains several other complaints. The first several clauses of the resolution refer to the university’s enrollment and in particular criticize comments made by Wendler advocating for students to spend their first two years at a community college rather than WT. The resolution also cites problems Wendler had during his time employed by Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, including “intellectual dishonesty,” as well as his “ultimate dismissal due to ‘conflicting leadership styles’ and ‘cooperation problems.’”
Other items cited by the resolution include Wendler’s move to reduce reliance on textbooks, faculty salaries, and alleged “misogynistic, homophobic, and non-inclusive rhetoric.”