Dr. Charlie Sparks, tenured Associate Professor with UAF's School of Management, is being transferred to the Bristol Bay Campus in Dillingham against his wishes. Sparks was given only six-month's notice, the minimum the university is obligated to provide, and he is still asking the question: Exactly what is the value of tenure at UAF?

"I believe it was really designed to force me to resign my tenured position," said Sparks in an email. "The root of the cause is that I am an outspoken faculty member."

Sparks says this is a measured attempt to force his resignation, in essence, firing a tenured professor, because of internal politics. The relocation costs for his move are estimated at about $46,000. The university has agreed to pay only $20,000 of this amount, leaving Dr. Sparks the rest out-of-pocket. To him, that seems like an unfair expense for an involuntary move, but the university's policy is to pay only one month's salary worth of relocation expenses, or about $13,000.

"The university has agreed to contribute more than it is obligated to under the terms of the union's CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement)," said spokesperson Carla Browning, with University Relations.

Daniel Walsh, the local United Academics Grievance Chair, did not take that as any consolation. "My personal opinion of how Dr. Sparks has been treated is extremely shabbily, in the sense of unfair, ungenerous, and dishonorable, and not in the best interest of an academic institution such as UAF," Walsh said. The union itself has also taken the position that this is an attack on Dr. Sparks' tenured position.

So why Dr. Sparks? Because he was out of town, phone calls and emails to Dean Marr over the past three weeks requesting an interview were not returned. Associate Dean Goering declined "to comment on personnel matters." According to Browning, though, "Dr. Sparks was chosen for this because of his qualifications in the area of applied business."

Dr. Sparks himself believes that he is being transferred to either get him out of the way or as an attempt to force his resignation. He said it is because he was outspoken about changes made to the Accounting Department, most notably Dean Marr's decision to drop the program's accreditation and to appoint the department chair, instead of leaving it up to the faculty.

"The program here is struggling and it's because of poor leadership. At UAA, Accounting is the biggest major program." Sparks said the UAF Accounting program has the potential to be bigger than in Anchorage, but it is being mismanaged. He said that a transfer to Dillingham is the perfect way to get rid of an unpleasant faculty member, one with his own opinions and ideas. "There is no test for the practicability of a transfer. It is simply the dean's call."

Several students who met with Dean Marr and Associate Dean Goering said the move was an attempt to get rid of Sparks. In interviews with the Sun Star, students said Dean Marr told them at a meeting that he wanted to fire three tenured accounting faculty immediately, but was unable to do so because of tenure and union rules. He told them he was working on other measures that were available to him, including sending one faculty member to Dillingham. The students wished to remain anonymous to avoid repercussions for speaking out.

The university's rationale for sending Dr. Sparks to the Bristol Bay Campus is simple: "The decision was made to meet the needs of UAF programs, including the development of a collaborative program-a partnership between the School of Management and the rural campus, allowing it to provide applied business courses on the rural campus," said Browning. "The plan will eventually include an MBA program at the distance campuses."

However, Sparks said the situation is not so straightforward. For the rest of the fall semester he will teach "two one-credit courses that would normally be staffed by local adjunct instructors for less than $3,000 per course," Sparks said. Sparks' nine-month salary will be over $110,000. Either hiring local adjuncts or sending a Fairbanks faculty member on bi-weekly trips to Dillingham would be more cost effective, he said, as the cost of a round-trip ticket can be conservatively estimated at $500. The relocation costs alone would pay for 40 trips between Fairbanks and Dillingham, he said.

"With the University expecting students to handle more and more of the operating costs, this does not seem like they are being good stewards of the students' money," said Dr. Sparks.

The university said these costs are part of the program. "The partnership with the College of Rural and Community Development needs to have someone on-site to build the partnership," said Browning. "It is more than just two courses, as currently there is nothing for the accounting program in Bristol Bay."

Sparks has filed a grievance with the faculty union, which is currently in the third of four stages. The first stage was an attempt at negotiating with Dean Marr, who declined to reverse his decision. The second stage was contacting Provost Paul Reichardt.

"The dean has made an academic decision in determining that the relocation of Dr. Sparks is beneficial to SOM and to UAF," Reichardt said. "In summary, there is no evidence of a violation of the CBA." Then the issue goes to Chancellor Steve Jones, whose response is expected by Sept. 29. The final stage is President Mark Hamilton, or his designee, who will likely be Roger Brunner, the University's General Counsel.

So what is the value of tenure at an institution where a professor can be transferred to a rural campus with only six months notice? According to Dr. Charlie Sparks, not very much.

Dr. Charlie Sparks

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