Faculty at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, including the Lock Haven campus, voted overwhelmingly this week to say they do not have confidence in the university president’s leadership.
Of the 458 people across the university who voted, 406 people or nearly 89% voted to register a lack of confidence in President Bashar Hanna. The vote was open to faculty and coaches who were members and nonmembers of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties.
“I just think that (Hanna) has been an absolute PR disaster for the university," said David Russell, an associate professor at the university's Lock Haven campus. "And he has not been a good leader in the process of consolidation. So, I have no confidence in him whatsoever.”
Commonwealth University was formed in 2022 by bringing together three state schools: Lock Haven, Mansfield and Bloomsburg.
Russell said the recent announcement to close the Clearfield teaching location is an example of poor leadership. But he said the main catalyst for the vote was a nearly $4 million federal wrongful termination verdict against Hanna.
“The way that you recruit students to a campus is to make sure that they and their parents and their loved ones know that they're coming into a safe environment," Russell said.
In summer 2024, jurors found Hanna guilty of retaliating against and wrongfully firing former Bloomsburg University Dean Jeffrey Krug. Krug said he was fired for helping an administrative assistant file a sexual harassment report against Hanna in 2017.
In a statement to WPSU, Commonwealth University leaders said enrollment has increased since integration and they continue to support Hanna. Hanna himself said he has no intention of stepping down.
"We believe that Dr. Hanna remains the right leader to guide Commonwealth University forward through these challenges, and our stance is unwavering," said trustees Chair John Wetzel.
Stanley Berard, a professor at the Lock Haven campus and Lock Haven’s chapter president for APSCUF, said faculty would like to see a vote by the whole board of trustees.
"Chair Wetzel has taken it upon himself to state his support for President Hanna," Berard said. "And we don't necessarily know that that is a unanimous view of the whole council."
Russell, who is also the secretary for Lock Haven's APSCUF chapter, said he thinks the no-confidence vote could send a strong message to other stakeholders, even if it does not change the board of trustees' opinion about Hanna.
"I think behind the scenes, this vote and the enormity of the vote is certainly going to begin to resonate with decision makers," Russell said.
Ultimately, union leaders want Hanna to either step down or be fired.
