Editor's note: a previous version of this report misstated a quote from Steve Wellinski. His plea was for a public statement supporting EMU-trained teachers, not professors at the university.
Eastern Michigan University’s Board of Regents held a special meeting in Welch Hall Tuesday to hear some faculty members’ complaints about the university’s involvement in the Education Achievement Authority. Board members said they will carefully review the agreement, as an opportunity to opt out will come in December.
The faculty members in attendance were pleading with the Regents to consider severing ties with the EAA.
“EMU’s excellent reputation has been tarnished by the relationship with the EAA,” Joe Ramsey, an associate professor in the College of Education, said to the Regents.
In the winter of 2013, the Washtenaw County Education Association said it would boycott EMU student teachers until the university severed ties with the EAA.
Steve Wellinski, also a professor in the College of Education, said the boycott is not about the students; it is about the Regents and their decision to involve EMU in the EAA interlocal agreement.
He called upon the Regents to use their political capital to clear the name of EMU.
“Do not codify the EAA,” he said. “Please make a public statement that [EMU teachers] are the best and they should be leading the way.”
When EMU entered into the interlocal agreement in 2011, the Regents did not consult with the faculty. This has been a significant point of tension.
“Before we signed this agreement, shouldn’t we have had a conversation?” Wellinski said.
Regent Jim Stapleton, one of the regents on the board when the agreement was signed, said the biggest mistake the board made was not consulting the faculty.
“Should we have talked more to you guys? I think we should have,” he said. “The governor was pressing us on time.”
Stapleton said the state is not living up to the promises it made when the EAA was first introduced. He is troubled that the EAA has become an urban district, rather than a statewide district as originally promised, among other issues.
“I’ve always said that I’m not an expert at teacher education, [the faculty] are,” Provost Kim Schatzel said after the meeting. “What they’ve brought forward and the conversation they had with the board today is part of what we want to be able to do… I think that it’s going to be important for everyone to digest.”
Schatzel took over for former dean of the College of Education Jann Joseph as one of the three EMU representatives on the EAA’s board at the end of last year.
Joining the EMU faculty in opposing the EAA Tuesday were Michelle Fecteau, a member of the State Board of Education, and Tom Pedroni, a professor at Wayne State University who researches urban education.
Pedroni said the issue with the EAA is three-pronged.
“It is not helping children – it’s actually harming children, and it’s harming [EMU’s] reputation,” he said.
Education student Aimee Hayden spoke about the repercussions she has experienced as a result of EMU’s involvement with the EAA.
Hayden said she had a very hard time finding a school that would accept her as a student teacher because of the university’s ties with the EAA.
“It used to be an honor to put on your resume that you are from EMU, but now it’s a great big black ‘X,’” she said.
In December, EMU has the opportunity to duck out of the interlocal agreement, which would effectively kill the authority. Stapleton and Chairwoman of the Board of Regents Francine Parker both promised that board would carefully review the university's involvement with the EAA.