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U. Vermont has 'no confidence' in Miami provost candidate

David Rosowsky's 'incentive-based' budget caused concern in former position

David Rosowsky, a candidate for provost at Miami University, received a vote of no confidence from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) faculty at his former university in April.

Rosowsky resigned from his previous provost position at the University of Vermont (UVM) at the end of April after UVM hired a new president, Suresh Garimella.

In 2015, Rosowsky tested an "incentive-based" budgeting (IBB) model at UVM. The plan was fully implemented in FY16. The CAS faculty ultimately agreed they had no confidence in Rosowsky's ability to sustain university programs with such a funding model.

Enrique Corredera, UVM's executive director of news and public affairs, said the model moved financial decision making and responsibility from the central university administration to the college's individual schools.

UVM's CAS expressed concern that their revenues weren't sufficient to cover their expenses. Rosowsky's plan did not provide sufficient funding to academic programs to keep them viable and competitive.

According to an article in VTDigger, faculty in CAS at UVM have "expressed disdain for [his] IBB which they say forces CAS to compete with other schools for resources and discourages cross-disciplinary cooperation."

Another article from VTDigger states that the Dean of CAS at UVM, Bill Falls, said that CAS student enrollment has "fallen 17 percent in the past eight years [due to Rosowsky's IBB]".

According to UVM's website, Rosowsky's model has led to, "challenges with smaller course offerings, disincentive on hiring adjuncts that advance academic quality in some applied areas and no incentives for cost centers to promote or sustain academic quality."

When asked for comment, Corredera sent UVM's initial press release and refused to comment further.

The Student reached out to Miami's director of university news and communications, Claire Wagner, who was unable to provide a comment.

"All I can say is that this is a not a topic that I am able to comment on," Wagner said.

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haubence@miamioh.edu