"The first step is to have public Faculty discussions, endorsed by the central administration, of the way the [central administration] budget is allocated and managed," Landes says.
Fractured Relations
The Faculty's scrutiny of the central administration's finances began in earnest following objections to the 1994 decision to reduce faculty benefits.
At several meetings in 1994 and 1995, a host of professors lambasted the administration for failing to consult before the reductions.
Tensions were particularly high in May, after the Corporation rejected a faculty recommendation to roll back a one percent reduction in the University's contribution to retirement benefits.
The issue further escalated as several faculty members complained about how the central administration obtains its funds from the individual faculties while retaining absolute control over their allocation.
Landes accused the central administration of "taxation without representation."
Mallinckrodt Professor of Applied Physics William Paul and McKay Professor of Mechanical Engineering Frederick H. Abernathy have joined Landes as the most outspoken professors on each of these issues.
In a letter to The Crimson last June, Paul voiced his concerns over the increasing tensions between the FAS and the central administration.
"[The faculty objections] involve the restoration of genuine consultation and collaboration, as distinct from the misrepresented and discredited consultative procedures of 1994," wrote Paul. "This is an issue which is not going to go away, since decisions involving the best use of the resources of the University in accomplishing its missions of education and research must involve the faculty as well as the administration."