10 | DECEMBER 5 • 2019
editorial
Addressing Wayne State’s Board Dysfunction
Views
W
ayne State University
and the Detroit
Jewish community
have had a long and mutual-
ly beneficial relationship. For
Jewish immigrants, their chil-
dren and grandchildren, Wayne
was the affordable, high-qual-
ity pathway to achieving the
American Dream. Virtually
every Detroit-area Jewish family
included at least one member
who earned a Wayne degree.
In return, the Jewish commu-
nity has provided Wayne with
supportive and generous alumni,
contributing philanthropic dol-
lars to assist students with schol-
arships, faculty with grants for
their research and endowments
for entire program centers.
Sixteen of the school’
s buildings
carry the names of prominent
Jewish Detroiters.
Therefore, the ongoing public
battle among the university’
s
eight-member board of gover-
nors — with half of its members
aligned with its President, M.
RoyWilson, and half seeking
his ouster — is disheartening
and an embarrassing case study
in dysfunctional board gover-
nance. The board’
s polarization
is reflective of our poisoned
political climate, where being
willing to disagree without being
disagreeable has been eclipsed by
certitude that one side — your
side — is the sole possessor of
truth.
Candidates to the Wayne State
University Board of Governors
are selected by their political par-
ties at nominating conventions
for inclusion on the statewide
ticket. They are listed “down
ballot,
” where name recognition
is almost non-existent. It is not a
place where any Wayne governor
can claim to represent the “will
of the people.
” Many candidates
selected by their nominating
conventions to serve on Wayne’
s
board have excellent credentials
and a sincere interest in the
school. However, others are cho-
sen for purely political consider-
ations, including as consolation
prizes for being passed over for
other positions.
The result? A university
growing in stature and impact —
locally and nationally — being
compromised by board mem-
bers entrusted with its mission.
Is there room for disagreement
and debate about President
Wilson’
s tenure? Absolutely. Has
he come up short of expectations
in some areas of his job descrip-
tion and exceeded them on oth-
ers? Likely. But publicly claiming
he is unfit to serve? Publicly
professing that he is unable to
execute the ideals and the will of
four of the eight board members
and must be removed from his
office now?
Would it be any wonder that
students will be reluctant to
enroll at Wayne? That candidates
for faculty appointments will be
less likely to accept them? That
legislators in Lansing will use
this to justify Wayne receiving an
even smaller share of the higher
education allocation pie?
It should be no surprise that
“relationship counseling” among
board members has been unsuc-
cessful. Ultimately, the balance
of power on the board may have
to wait until the November 2020
election. Two governors have
terms that expire in December
of 2020. Would it be too much to
ask the political parties to nom-
inate candidates for the Wayne
board in a more thoughtful
manner?
Meanwhile, the current board
and administration should
receive some assigned reading
… Dale Carnegie’
s Abraham
Lincoln-influenced classic How
to Win Friends and Influence
People. His “don’
t criticize,
condemn or complain” mantra
sounds so innocent these days,
but remains timeless advice.
Board members who truly have
the best interests of Wayne and
its students at heart would be
wise to embrace it, and the hum-
bleness that it requires.
resilience astounds me, with
the teachers and principal who
show up every day for the kids
amidst a system that is failing
them.
Tikkun olam — the Jewish
idea after which Repair the
World is named — is com-
monly understood as a com-
mitment to improving the lives
of others and building a better
world. My parents raised me
with this idea as the central
piece of my Jewish identity. I
believe it is invaluable. But I
think tikkun olam asks some-
thing else of us, too: that we
commit to repairing ourselves.
It asks that we break down
the prejudices we have inter-
nalized, that we strive to over-
come our fear of the “other”
even when we would rather
rationalize or ignore it. To
become empathetic beings in
a world that keeps us discon-
nected, segregated and dis-
trustful — this is what tikkun
olam calls on us to pursue.
I feel very lucky that in my
time at Coleman A. Young,
both types of tikkun olam have
challenged me: that of service
to others and that of self-repair.
Working on reading with the
kids is an uphill battle. Even
on the days when we make
real progress, it is painfully
clear that they have been set
up to fail, whereas I was set
up to succeed. But struggling
through new words and stories
brings us closer together each
week. The friendships we have
formed have been such a gift.
I chose to join the Repair the
World Fellowship in Detroit
because I wanted to be back
in Michigan and because I am
considering becoming a teach-
er. Thanks to my Mondays at
CAY, I have gained something
else: healing, connection and a
sense of purpose.
Kendra Watkins and Ben Ratner are
serving as 2019-20 Repair the World
Fellows in Detroit. After having lived in
North Carolina and Maine for the last
several years, each of them has val-
ued the chance to come to Michigan.
Tikkun olam — the Jewish idea aft
er
which Repair the World is named
— is commonly understood as a
commitment to improving the lives
of others and building a better world.
— BEN RATNER
COMING HOME continued from page 6