KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — We don’t know if the fact that Dr. Keith Hearit is an expert in crisis communications management played any role in his appointment, but he has now been named to serve as the Interim Dean of the Western Michigan University College of Arts and Sciences, effective immediately.
Handling public relations in controversial confrontational situations will be a skill set that could come in handy as he takes the reins of the department, which includes over 300 tenure track professors.
Many of them are angry over the decision to remove Dr. Alex Enyedi from that post. He was popular with the staff but less popular with university administrators because of positions he took over equity pay and other issues. Administration also says it was disappointed in recruiting and in his enrollment numbers.
Enyedi’s removal prompted the AAUP the professor’s union to organize a “no confidence” vote in Provost Tim Greene. The results of that symbolic vote have not been released, even though online voting was scheduled to conclude at noon on Monday.
Dr. Hearit has previous administrative experience at WMU having served as a Dean of the Honors College and as Vice Provost.
He will remain in the hot seat until a national search can be conducted to find a permanent replacement.
