When a course of events demonstrates an academic institution has failed to function well, or serve its mission, an essential step towards reform of its governance is a study of the events:
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence…”

The initial purpose here is to provide a record of events at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California to support a debate regarding its governance.

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ACADEMIC GOVERNANCE
https://www.academicgovernance.com

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THE MISSION OF AN ACADEMIC INSTITUTION is the education of students then certified by the granting of academic degrees. In recognition that the free search for truth is essential for excellent education, many academic institutions have endorsed this statement:
“Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good and not to further the interest of either the individual teacher or the institution as a whole. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition.
“Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research. Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in its teaching aspect is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching and of the student to freedom in learning. It carries with it duties correlative with rights.
“Tenure is a means to certain ends; specifically: (1) freedom of teaching and research and of extramural activities, and (2) a sufficient degree of economic security to make the profession attractive to men and women of ability. Freedom and economic security, hence, tenure, are indispensable to the success of an institution in fulfilling its obligations to its students and to society.”

An academic institution endorsing this statement has stated its mission is to support its faculty members to seek truth to teach.

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GOVERNANCE OF AN ACADEMIC INSTITUTION SHOULD ENSURE IT FULFILLS ITS MISSION. A governance system is comprised of policies defining the authorities and responsibilities of the institution’s members and its governing body. To function well an academic institution’s members and governing body must genuinely agree that:
1. The mission of the institution is to support its faculty members to seek truth to teach.
2. The governance of the institution rests on the rule of law: that everyone associated with the institution is subject to its policies and held accountable to its policies.

Even with this agreement, debate will ensue regarding establishment and maintenance of a well-functioning governance system:
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”  Federalist 51, 1788

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Harvey Kaslow 2019-08-30 12:05 AM