When Frank Pogue was appointed the 15th president of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in mid-1996, he asked his predecessor for a report of all union grievances during the prior five years, and their current status.
"Are you sure you want that?" came the reply. "It would take a U-Haul to deliver them all."
Pogue, then the vice chancellor for student affairs at the State University of New York (SUNY) central administration in Albany, didn't expect that response. But the fact was that more grievances were filed at Edinboro, especially by faculty, than at all of the 13 other campuses of the Pennsylvania State University System combined.
"Unfortunately we achieved that distinction before Dr. Pogue came here," observes Janet Dean, Edinboro's associate vice president for human relations.
Too much grieving
Ms. Dean notes that 26 grievances from the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) were filed in 1993, and another 40 in 1994. Many of the complaints stemmed from budget problems at Edinboro that began during the prior administration's 17-year run.
"The former president had to slash positions," Dean says, especially faculty positions. "Many people called him a 'hatchet man,' and a lot of them never forgot."
Memories have faded, however. APSCUF grievances have been sharply reduced, Dean says. In 2002 there were 17 grievances filed; 19 in 2003; and 10 through September 2004. Interestingly, the drop has occurred in an environment where grievances are encouraged.
"People have the right to air their grievances," Pogue says. He observes that most grievances today are filed by people leaving the university are not directed at the university's administration. Many are filed at the system level during the summer months.
An open environment
Dean says Pogue has instituted an "open door" policy, fostering communications with various campus and external constituencies. He has instituted an "open budget" process. He has fostered a new openness for and with students.
A sociologist, Dr. Pogue holds a bachelor's degree from Alabama State University, a master's degree from Atlanta University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. While vice chancellor at SUNY, he also served for a year as interim president at SUNY, Cobleskill, good preparation for Edinboro.
"We've tried to create an inclusive planning process at the university," says Pogue. After spending nine months interviewing just about every constituent group on campus, he closed Edinboro for a day and a half for an exercise he dubbed "Mission Day."
"Included were cooks and full professors, people who mow the lawn and people from the community, the mayors of five local cities, students, trustees, everyone you could think of," Pogue recalls. "There were some 37 breakout groups with different titles and assignments with the charge of clarifying our mission."
Nine goals percolated out of the Mission Day process. They were presented at Edinboro's university-wide convocation that fall. Most of those goals involved the creation of a student-centric environment.
"Students are our reason for being, and they are the focus of everything we do," Pogue says. To reinforce that attitude, Pogue can be seen at almost every campus function affixing Edinboro Family Pins to new students, faculty, staff, parents, visitors, speakers, celebrities and dignitaries.
The family pin ritual is not reserved for the president - anyone can pin anybody. However, Pogue has personally pinned thousands - James Earl Jones, Wynton Marsalis, John Kerry, Tom Ridge, Janet Reno and Ben Vereen, just to name just a few.
Nurturing involvement
Meanwhile, the campuswide planning now includes an Edinboro "family retreat" each July prior to "Mission Day." Representatives of all constituencies who help establish Edinboro's goals for the upcoming academic year attend. A spring convocation provides an opportunity to review the prior year's achievements.
"We are keeping people involved in how we do business," Pogue comments. To that end, Pogue implemented an "open budget" process that begins in the fall. Department chairs present their narratives to the deans, who present the financials to the provosts and administrative vice presidents. After some hammering, the eventual budget plan is presented at a meeting of the entire university population.
"Anyone in the university can come to the meeting," Pogue says. "We want to connect university planning with budgeting, and to expose the way we actually spend our resources."
A more perfect union
In attendance are representatives of the seven unions involved with Edinboro. APSCUF is the largest and most influential. The others are the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME ), the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), the Pennsylvania Doctors Alliance (PDA), the Pennsylvania Social Services Union (PSSU), the State College and University Professional Association (SCUPA) and the Security, Policy, Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA).
"Every campus in the Pennsylvania System has seven local unions, but there are different relationships with each, and some have been better than others," Pogue says . Early in his tenure, relationships between the Edinboro administration and its unions were "extraordinary contentious," Pogue recalls.
"There was open hostility when I arrived in 1996," Pogue says. "That's what motivated me to create an environment where people could talk to one another. I chose the mission as the focal point for the university and all the constituencies."
"We try to make sure that union leadership is involved," Pogue says. He hosts receptions and lunches with union leaders as well. "All any of the presidents of any of the unions have to do is pick up the phone to talk to me."
Meanwhile, negotiations with the various unions are done at the system level, so Edinboro's open-budget policies are not designed to gain leverage over the unions.
"What's important is a community approach," Pogue observes. "It's far from the truth to say we always agree. But when we disagree we do so in a different climate."
Not all roses
All this openness has some drawbacks. Decision-making is more time consuming and complicated. Criticisms are more easily delivered in a democratic regime. "When something happens that someone doesn't like, he or she might say, 'I thought you wanted to create a family,'" Pogue remarks. "Deny a faculty member a desired promotion, or violate what is perceived as a trust, and you will be reminded of the speech you just made. But, that's the nature of democracy."
To Pogue, it's worth it. Decisions made as the result of an inclusive process are not as likely to change. There are also fewer decisions, and revisiting them becomes less of a chore, he says. Ultimately, it's all good.
"If you had visited Edinboro in 1996 and looked for a common theme shared by students, faculty, administration, staff, trustees and everybody else, you would not have found one," Pogue states. Today, you can.