William & Mary’s Faculty Assembly could vote on a series of motions regarding the athletics department as early as next week.
Michelle Lelievre, associate professor of American Studies & Anthropology and Anne Rasmussen, professor of Music/Ethnomusicology, introduced three motions Tuesday which called for W&M President Katherine Rowe and the Board of Visitors to create a new “Athletics Task Force” to come with a new strategic plan for the athletics department.
The other motions called for the reinstatement of the seven sports programs as well as an external audit and independent body review of the athletics department’s compliance with NCAA and Title IX requirements.
Suzanne Hagedorn, English professor and director of English undergraduate studies in the Arts & Sciences department, Katherine Guthrie from the Business school and Tom McSweeney from the Law school had written the three motions with input from other faculty members.
The motions come less than six weeks after the Rowe, former Tribe Athletics Director Samantha Huge, and Provost Peggy Agouris announced seven varsity sports programs would be cut effective in the 2021-2022 academic year.
William & Mary’s Faculty Assembly needs more time to consult with their colleagues and “more time to educate themselves on the issues,” Hagedorn said.
“They were introduced,” Hagedorn said, describing the motions as “put on pause.” “They were tabled until the next faculty assembly.”
When asked if the faculty assembly could vote on it next week, Hagedorn said someone could table it again or form their own task force to further study the motions.
“Generally what happens with a motion is there is an up or down vote,” she noted.
Oftentimes, when the faculty assembly makes a suggestion “their input is taken very seriously,” Hagedorn said.
But it’s still just a recommendation.
“And technically, let’s just say, even if they do pass the motion, faculty assembly is purely like an advisory suggestion like a vote of no confidence,” she said, adding a vote of no confidence would just be an opinion poll. “The only people who can do things like make decisions on who serves on an athletic task force is the president and the Board of Visitors.”
During the Tuesday Zoom meeting — and prior to the faculty assembly’s discussions of the motions — Jeremy Martin, the interim athletics director, spoke about the athletics department’s plan going forward.
“I have now met with all of the affected student athletes teams,” he said.
Martin spent his time going over the slideshow which was sent to the faculty assembly before the meeting, the same meeting Martin showed during his 26-minute video message via Youtube to the W&M community last Thursday.
RELATED STORY: ‘Decisions are as final as the circumstances in which they are made,’ W&M interim athletics director says
The main points he focused on was institutional identity, budget sustainability and legal requirements. He noted how “W&M means an incredible amount” to him and he wants to do his “best” for the university.
The next Faculty Assembly special meeting is Oct. 20 at 3:30 p.m. via Zoom.
A little background
On Sept 3. Rowe, Agouris and Huge announced in an open letter the following seven sports teams would be cut: men’s swimming, gymnastics and outdoor and indoor track teams and the women’s swimming, volleyball and gymnastics teams.
Parts of the open letter were plagiarized from Stanford University’s open letter. After the discovery, Huge and Rowe sent out statements about the letter but did not admit it was plagiarized. Agouris did not release a public statement.
In the weeks following the open letter and the plagiarism surrounding the statement to the community, an attorney representing the women’s teams threatened to file a Title IX lawsuit against W&M and Hagedorn called for a motion for a vote of no confidence in Huge’s leadership, citing the lack of transparency with the faculty about the sports cuts and the plagiarism.
Less than an hour before the motion for a vote of no confidence was about to presented at the Arts & Science faculty meeting, Huge resigned.
Here’s the timeline of events — from the cutting of the programs to Huge’s resignation.
YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT TO CHECK OUT THESE STORIES:
- Motions call for new strategic plan, external audit of William & Mary athletics department
- ‘Decisions are as final as the circumstances in which they are made,’ W&M interim athletics director says
- W&M alumni sign pledge not to donate; open letter sent to Rowe demanding reinstatement of cut sports
- Huge resignation aftermath: Motion calling for reinstatement of cut sports programs at W&M to be proposed
- W&M Athletics Director Samantha Huge resigns amid controversy over cutting 7 sports programs
- Motion proposed for a vote of no confidence in W&M athletics director; calls for dismissal or resignation
- W&M avoids Title IX lawsuit without reinstating cut sports; ‘open dialogue’ slated
- Time’s up: W&M avoids Title IX lawsuit — for now
- Resolution: W&M Student Assembly calls administration lack of transparency about sports cuts ‘appalling’
- ‘Open dialogue’: W&M plans to discuss future of athletics; aims for transparency
- Lawsuit against W&M may be in the horizon over women’s sports programs cut; Rowe apologizes for copied letter, saying it was a ‘mistake’
- Plagiarizing parts of Stanford U’s letter: Students, staff subject to the Honor Code. So, what happens to W&M’s athletics director?
- Petition to save W&M swim team raises more than $1 million just weeks after the program was cut
- Amid financial concerns, W&M to discontinue seven sports following the 2020-21 academic year
