10 | DECEMBER 5 • 2019 

 editorial
Addressing Wayne State’s Board Dysfunction

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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

