Black and Hispanic professors at Florida International University have slammed the university administration for allowing former President Mark Rosenberg to return to campus as a professor in the spring, after he resigned in January amid a harassment scandal.
The Hispanic Faculty Association and the Black Faculty Association sent separate emails to the FIU Board of Trustees, condemning its 12 members for not consulting faculty and other stakeholders regarding Rosenberg’s case. They also warned that putting him back in a classroom “disrespects women” and sends a “terrible message” to those who have been harassed.
Rosenberg didn’t respond to multiple requests from the Herald for comment via text, email and a phone call.
The faculty groups have protested Rosenberg returning to co-teach one class for the semester beginning in January at a $376,933 annual salary, or more than twice the $153,142 average annual salary for a tenured professor in FIU’s Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs, where Rosenberg will teach.
In order to return to campus, Rosenberg completed sexual harassment training and met with the FIU Title IX coordinator to review university policies on sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and other topics. He must repeat the training and review the policies every year.
Perception of being ‘rewarded,’ says faculty group
“While we firmly believe in second chances, we do not feel enough has been done to address the underlying concerns that led to Dr. Rosenberg’s departure, and his return sends a terrible message to those who have experienced harassment,” the Black Faculty Association wrote in its Oct. 31 missive. “It gives the perception that he is being rewarded, especially considering his salary in comparison to other tenured faculty. It is our hope that there will be more university wide dialogue to prevent such controversies in the future.”
The Hispanic Faculty Association sent its own letter Monday to the board and to FIU interim provost Elizabeth Bejar, saying it “strongly” opposed Rosenberg’s return, “considering the disturbing series of events leading to the resignation.”
On Oct. 13, when the Herald broke the news about his return, Rosenberg said: “I’m like most human beings; I’m fallible. Fortunately it’s not a pattern. It’s not routine, it’s not me. It wasn’t me. And I’m certainly regretting it, it’s not like I’m not.”
FIU spokeswoman Maydel Santana said FIU knew about the letters from the faculty.
“We are aware of the two letters. We always want to hear from the faculty associations, and we appreciate their confidence in reaching out to the Board of Trustees and university administration,” she wrote in an email to the Herald. “The university, of course, takes all instances of employee misconduct seriously.”
Advisory board determined Rosenberg’s future
In late January, Rosenberg, 73, quit as FIU’s fifth president, a position he had held since 2009, after a woman in her 20s who worked with him in the president’s office said Rosenberg made unwanted advances to her over several months.
The woman’s allegations triggered a two-and-a-half-month investigation conducted by an outside law firm at FIU’s behest. The law firm released its investigation report in early March.
The 15-page report, which didn’t name the woman, said she told investigators he called her “princess,” commented on her clothes and asked if she had dressed “so nicely for him.” He also told her he would get a divorce and asked her to be his “lover.” He then confessed he had fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her, promising she would be “taken care of” financially and professionally.
Rosenberg “flatly denied” calling her princess, according to the report. He said he never used the term “lover” but suggested she could act as his “companion” post-presidency. He also said he thinks he told her he loved her, “but in a broader context,” the report said. He also confessed he was depressed and struggled with his wife’s advanced dementia.
Dean Colson, a prominent Miami attorney and chair of the FIU Board of Trustees, told him in January his presidency “could not go forward,” according to a source close to the investigation. Rosenberg stepped down instead of facing a possible firing by the trustees.
Because he was an employee in good standing when he resigned, his contract stipulated he could stay on as tenured faculty, a well-protected position in academia.
The FIU Board of Trustees didn’t directly decide Rosenberg’s future at the university. The board left it up to the FIU Faculty Advisory Board, a group that works through such scenarios.
The advisory board — comprised of the vice provost for faculty leadership and success, the associate provost for academic planning and finance, the director of employee and labor relations, the associate director of employee and labor relations and FIU’s deputy general counsel — reviewed the report and signed off on his return under some conditions, including the sexual harassment training.
Board of Trustees chair ‘satisfied with the result’
Santana, the FIU spokeswoman, said Rosenberg resigned because of the investigation.
“His return to faculty was determined by his contract, a rigorous investigation completed by an independent, outside law firm, the Faculty Advisory Board process, which applies to all faculty, Faculty Advisory Board recommendations and applicable policies and law,” she wrote. “Dr. Rosenberg has been fully cooperative and completed all faculty advisory board recommendations. He has committed to completing ongoing requirements.”
Colson, the board chair, described the situation as “tough” but said he agreed with the conclusion.
“I think Dr. Rosenberg has paid a very big price for his misconduct, and I think the Faculty Advisory Board’s recommendation is appropriate,” he told the Herald in an interview Monday. “I’m satisfied with the result.”
If any faculty members disagree with how the process took place, Colson said they can propose how to amend the process.
“If the faculty process needs to be improved, the faculty is certainly in a position to initiate that discussion, but it isn’t a discussion that should begin from the Board of Trustees,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Board of Trustees confirmed Ken Jessell, 67, who was named interim president after Rosenberg resigned, as the university’s sixth president with a compensation package of nearly $1 million. Jessell had been FIU’s chief financial officer.
Deanne Butchey, a finance professor and the chair of the FIU Faculty Senate, didn’t respond to a request for comment about Rosenberg. Last month, she declined to comment about Rosenberg’s return when the Herald first reported about it.
Martha Meyer, the president of the local chapter of United Faculty of Florida, the union that represents more than 20,000 instructors across the state, including about 1,300 at FIU, didn’t respond to requests for comment from the Herald.
Ignoring the ‘Me Too’ movement
The Hispanic Faculty Association represents about 60 faculty members — three signed the letter to the FIU administrators: Francisco A. Fernandez-Lima, the president and a chemistry professor; Carolina Gomez, the vice president of membership and a business professor; and Enrique Villamor, the vice president of development and a math professor.
In an interview with the Herald, the three veteran FIU scholars said they felt they couldn’t stay silent.
“Otherwise it’s like burying your head in the sand, and that’s very dangerous to do,” Villamor said.
“We’re ignoring the whole ‘Me Too’ movement and everything that’s happened in society and how far we’ve come,” Gomez added.
It’s unknown how many faculty members the Black Faculty Association represents. Maria Reid, a psychology professor and a director of the association, declined to comment in an email to the Herald. She and four others signed the email; since, one has resigned because of it.
“At this time the BFA will not add any additional comments to what we have already said,” Reid wrote in an email Tuesday to the Herald. “We stand by our original internal statement.”
The five Black Faculty Association officers who signed the email to the FIU administrators are Reid; Donna Weir-Soley, an English professor; Andrea Raymond, a medical professor; Agatha Caraballo, a public policy and administration professor; and Erica Caton, the director of educational and faculty development at the FIU Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
Caraballo, who works in the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs like Rosenberg, resigned Tuesday from her leadership role in the association because she didn’t support the correspondence sent. She wrote an email to the association’s directors Monday and then forwarded it to the Board of Trustees and Bejar.
“It was unfortunate that the letter was sent prior to my review and without my approval,” she wrote. “I am not supportive of the letter and did not respond earlier due to a family tragedy. I am stepping away from my role as one of the Directors and remain a member.”
