Cheryl B. Schrader

Cheryl B. Schrader (born 1962 or 1963)[1] is an American educator and former academic administrator. She was president of Wright State University from July 1, 2017 until she stepped down from the position December 31, 2019 midway through her five-year appointment.[2][3] She was previously the chancellor of Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Cheryl B. Schrader
7th President of Wright State University
In office
July 1, 2017 – December 31, 2019
Preceded byDavid R. Hopkins
Succeeded bySusan Edwards
20th Chancellor of Missouri University of Science and Technology
In office
April 2012 – May 2017
Preceded byJohn F. Carney
Succeeded byMohammad Dehghani
Personal details
Born1962 or 1963 (age 57–58)
Spouse(s)Jeff Schrader
Children2
Alma materValparaiso University
University of Notre Dame

Early life and education

Schrader received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a concentration in computers and communications from Valparaiso University in 1984, and master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1987 and 1991.[4]

Career

Schrader began her teaching and academic career at Notre Dame during the early 1980s. She worked as a summer engineering intern for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics in 1982, 1983, and 1984.[5][note 1] During the early 1990s, she also consulted for Chimera Research while continuing to teach at Notre Dame.[6] After briefly teaching at Rice University during 1991, she became a tenured professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio and served as associate dean. She was president of the IEEE Control Systems Society in 2003.[7] In 2005 she became professor and dean of the College of Engineering at Boise State University. In January 2011 she left the dean position and became associate vice president for strategic research initiatives in Boise State's Division of Research and Economic Development. In 2012 she took the position of chancellor at Missouri University of Science and Technology,[1] which she held until her Wright State University presidency was announced in 2017.

Awards and honors

In 2005, Schrader received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from the White House.[8] She was honored as one of the 2005 "Idaho Women Making History" by the Gender Equity Center at Boise State University.[9] She received the IEEE Education Society Hewlett-Packard/Harriett B. Rigas Award in 2016.[10] For 2014, she was selected as an IEEE Fellow "for leadership and contributions in engineering education."[11]

Federal investigation

On May 21, 2014, during Schrader's tenure as chancellor of Missouri S&T, the U.S. Department of Education launched a probe of the university for potential Title IX violations over their handling of sexual violence cases.[12][13] Missouri S&T was the only Missouri institution investigated at the time,[14] and (as of 2019) remains the only public university in Missouri under investigation.[15] The case remained open when Schrader left the university in 2017.[16][13] Criticism of her leadership at Missouri S&T led to an effort to hold a vote of no confidence against her, which she acknowledged after accepting the Wright State presidency.[17] It was reported that the Wright State University board of trustees was unaware that Schrader had "stared down a no-confidence effort" when she was hired, although the board chairman said he was "not concerned".[18]

Wright State University presidency

Schrader entered the position of President of Wright State on July 1, 2017, after a time of financial and political turmoil at the school.[19][20] Years of overspending had drained the reserve funds.[21][22] The university budget had already been cut by some $30 million by the board of trustees and the interim president before her arrival.[23][24] According to Schrader, "the bulk of the budget cuts were supposed to have been completed" before she took over, but she faced further financial problems.[25] By the end of her first year, she had implemented close to another $20 million more in cuts while producing a "projected" surplus of some $7 million, the first operating surplus since 2012.[25] This earned her praise in her first annual review.[26] However, controversy arose when the university released a statement implying she had declined to accept an annual raise or bonus, when in fact neither had been offered.[27] The budget modifications did ultimately avoid a state fiscal watch, which had been considered likely in 2017 when she became president.[28]

Schrader's approach to the university budget, as well as her general leadership during the first year were not without criticism. One member of the Wright State University Board of Trustees called her proposed 2019 fiscal year budget "a recipe for disaster."[29] Schrader's strategic plan for the university,[30][31] which had been specifically requested to be "different than anybody would see at another university,"[32] received criticism for being "overly broad" and "generic."[33]

Relations between the administration and faculty, which were already strained by the financial difficulties,[34] deteriorated early in Schrader's presidency.[35] Members of the Wright State Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) were particularly strident in their criticism of the handling of the budget. In November 2017, the Wright State AAUP chapter president remarked that the relationship with the administration was no longer "cordial."[36] A major issue was the employment contract: the faculty had been working without one since June 2017.[37] The union argued that the austerity measures in the contract being imposed by the administration were harmful to the students and to the educational mission of the institution,[38][39] and that the faculty was being forced to bear a disproportionate burden of the financial crisis even though it had been brought by the administration.[36] Tensions publicly erupted after a closed-door negotiating session in January 2018 when hundreds of faculty and students marched across campus to an open budget forum hosted by Schrader.[40] More protests followed. At a February demonstration, a professor characterized the budget modifications as a "budget-cutting spree" that protects "extreme salaries and bloat of the upper administration" and "slashes" the core mission of the university.[41] Some students also expressed concern about the impact the cuts would have on their studies.[41]

Faculty contract dispute

Frustration mounted as the university entered the second fiscal year under Schrader's leadership without a faculty contract, even though both the administration and the faculty union acknowledged that the contract dispute was only one of many problems the university was facing. The administration insisted that the austerity measures in the contract were necessary, but the faculty union argued that the employment terms took power from the faculty and gave it to the administration, particularly in the areas of workload and imposed furloughs. Another issue was the right to collective bargaining, specifically, over health care.[39] The faculty union also said that the reduction in benefits would amount to a nine percent pay cut.[42] Talk of a strike, which had begun in January 2017[43] became more earnest in July.[44] The faculty union maintained it would only strike if the president and board tried to "impose a contract that would damage education at Wright State."[45]

The blame for the contract dispute shifted from the Board of Trustees and the former Wright State president to Schrader herself.[26][46][47] Several hundred faculty protested the stalled contract negotiations at the October 19 meeting of the Wright State Board of Trustees.[48] In November, some faculty members called for an expedited vote of "no-confidence" on Schrader.[49][50] The faculty senate, however, voted against proceeding.[51][note 2] The board president supported Schrader in the face of the no-confidence vote,[52] while the faculty senate president said "morale is the lowest I can remember it being" after the senate's decision.[51] A decline in morale among adjunct faculty was also indicated.[53]

On January 4, 2019, the trustees voted to implement a "last, best offer" it had extended and the faculty uniton had rejected in November 2018,[54] [55] effectively imposing the rejected contract onto the faculty. In response, the faculty union announced a plan to strike on January 22.[39] In a January 6 statement, Schrader described the employment terms as "fair" and said "we can return to the bargaining table when the university is back on solid financial footing."[39] As the strike date drew closer, the faculty union maintained its willingness to negotiate and avoid a strike, and blamed Schrader personally for the impasse.[56][57] Schrader stood firm in her support of the employment terms and the Board of Trustees. In a January 17 statement, Schrader said that renegotiation of the expired contract was "not possible."[58] The faculty union argued that continuing to work under the imposed terms was tantamount to accepting the imposed contract, which would diminish the future bargaining power of the faculty union.[38]

Faculty strike
Main article: Wright State University 2019 faculty strike

On January 22, 2019, following almost two years of failed contract negotiations and an unexpected imposition of employment conditions by the administration, the Wright State chapter of the American Association of University Professors began a strike that would ultimately become the second-longest public university strike in U.S. history.[59] The strike received national attention.[54][60][61]

On February 10, day 20 of the strike, after a long weekend of negotiating, the faculty union and the administration negotiators reached a tentative agreement to end the strike.[62] The faculty returned to work on Monday February 11.[63] "Both parties made substantial concessions to help move the university forward together," Schrader said.[62] The faculty union admitted it made some "serious financial concessions," such as agreeing to no pay raises until 2021, but kept protections on job security, workload, merit pay, and perhaps most significantly, the right to bargain over health care.[62] On the whole, the faculty union hailed the agreement[64] and considered the strike a success.[65]

Personal life

Schrader is married to practicing attorney Jeff Schrader, who served as chief legal counsel for the Idaho State Board of Education. They have two children.[4]

Notes
  1. Her biography at MS&T[6] also mentions "consulting work" with McDonnell Douglas.
  2. This and some other sources incorrectly reported or implied that the no-confidence vote itself failed, which is not strictly true: the faculty senate vote concerned "shortening the process that could eventually lead to a vote."
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gollark: They're not expensive.
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gollark: It isn't annoying at all. This is by design.

References
  1. Missouri University of Science and Technology (January 19, 2012). "Electrical Engineer Dr. Cheryl B. Schrader Named First Female Chancellor in Missouri S&T History". Newswise. Retrieved January 23, 2012. Schrader, age 49, ...
  2. Fisher, Jacob (October 15, 2019). "Wright State University president to exit". Dayton Business Journal. Cheryl Schrader, who became the seventh president of Wright State University in July 2017, will vacate the position. The president of Wright State University is ending her term prematurely.
  3. Filby, Max (October 18, 2019). "WSU's next president faces challenges". Dayton Daily News.
  4. "About President Cheryl B. Schrader". Wright State University. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  5. "Cheryl Schrader Curriculum Vita" (PDF). Wright State University. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  6. "Office of the Chancellor". Missouri S&T. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016.
  7. "Cheryl B. Schrader". IEEE Control Systems Society. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014.
  8. "President Honors Excellence in Mentoring" (Press release). National Science Foundation. November 16, 2005. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  9. "2005 Women Making History Honorees". Boise State University Gender Equity Center. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016.
  10. Hewlett-Packard/Harriett B. Rigas Award recipients, IEEE. Accessed May 15, 2016
  11. "2014 Newly Elevated Fellows". IEEE. p. 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  12. Linderman, Juliet (July 2, 2014). "Feds investigating Missouri S&T, 11 others about sex assault responses". Missourian. Associated Press. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  13. "Title IX: Missouri University of Science and Technology". The Chronicle of Higher Education. July 2, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  14. Shesgreen, Deirdre (June 4, 2014). "U.S. investigates sexual violence policies at Missouri S&T". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved May 1, 2019. Missouri S&T is the only Show-Me State institution on the DOE list.
  15. "Feds Probe 3 Claims of Sexual Violence at Missouri Colleges". KBIA. Associated Press. July 13, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  16. Jost, Ashley (July 13, 2017). "Three claims of sexual violence at Missouri colleges, 2 at Washington University, get federal probes". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
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  18. Filby, Max (April 21, 2017). "New WSU president faced criticism over changes at previous school". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  19. Sweigart, Josh; Filbey, Max; Bischoff, Laura (April 7, 2017). "Kasich's office: WSU leadership was 'cultivating a regime of secrecy'". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 18, 2019. Wright State University released an 'unflattering' 108-page audit Friday that identifies problems at the school and its research arm in the wake of a federal investigation, but trustees quickly noted that many of the issues identified – conflicts of interests, lack of controls – have been fixed over the past two years.
  20. Wright State Media Team (April 7, 2017). "Write State University Trusteed Release Audit Report of WSRI" (Press release). Wright State University. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  21. Stanton, David W. (October 29, 2018). "Fact Finding Tribunal State Employment Relations Board Columbus, Ohio In The Matter Of Fact Finding Between Wright State University; Public Employer -And- American Association Of University Professors, Wright State Chapter; Employee Association" (PDF). Wright State University's American Association of University Professors Chapter. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  22. Navera, Tristan (April 28, 2017). "Wright State Braces for Layoffs". Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2019. Wright State University could shed 170 positions in a bid to cut $32 million from its budget.
  23. Filby, Max (May 19, 2017). "In WSU's fast changing budget crisis, clearer details could come today". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  24. Filby, Max (May 19, 2017). "WSU hits its 'low point' with announcement of 71 layoffs, budget cuts". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  25. Filby, Max (July 22, 2018). "Wright State president cut $50M in first year, kept eye on future". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  26. Bogart, Devero (July 26, 2018). "Wright State University president receives first annual review". WDTN. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  27. Filby, Max (July 25, 2018). "New Details: WSU president wasn't offered bonus, raise contrary to release stating she declined both". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 23, 2019. [Trustee] Langos said he was 'shocked' when he saw a release today that stated Schrader did not accept a raise or bonus, because it made it sound like the board offered her one.
  28. Shively, Holly (May 2, 2019). "WSU avoids state fiscal watch after increasing reserves". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  29. Filby, Max (May 21, 2018). "Wright State trustee: University's next budget is a 'recipe for disaster'". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 29, 2019. Trustee Bruce Langos voiced concerns about enrollment and the budget proposal, calling it 'a recipe for disaster' and saying that it was 'going to drive this place into the ground....Next year is going to be a very, very tough year for the university'
  30. Navera, Tristan (August 9, 2017). "How Cheryl Schrader will form her plan for Wright State". Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  31. Bush, John (February 20, 2018). "Exclusive: Wright State University president talks budget, strategic plan, labor negotiations". Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  32. Strider-Iiames, Karen (June 26, 2018). "Reinventing Wright State focus of strategic planning mini-summit 3" (Press release). Dayton, Ohio: Wright State University. Wright State University Newsroom. Retrieved September 30, 2019. 'Let’s really push the boundaries to get a plan that is different than anybody would see at another university,' [Trustee Fecher] said.
  33. Filby, Max (Aug 20, 2018). "WSU trustees critical of proposed strategic plan for the university". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 17, 2019. Trustees criticized the proposals as 'overly-broad' and 'generic.'...'If you pull up the vision and mission statement of 100 universities across the country, they’re probably not much different than this,' said trustee Bruce Langos. Several other trustees echoed Langos and said that proposals reflect the same way the university has approached higher education for its first 50 years.
  34. Baugman, Kristin (May 4, 2017). "An interview with incoming president Cheryl Schrader". Wright State Guardian. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019. While optimistic about transitioning to the university, Schrader is aware of the growing distrust between the administration and the faculty, staff and students.
  35. Cavender, Sarah (September 3, 2019). "'We're ready for a fresh start': The aftermath of a faculty union strike". The Wright State Guardian. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019. 'The relationship has eroded between administration and faculty,' said former AAUP-WSU President, Dr. Martin Kich. 'We always had a collegial relationship prior to years ago.'
  36. Filby, Max (November 9, 2017). "WSU faculty union creates strike plan to use if deal isn't reached". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 14, 2019. 'We never had a procedure for calling a strike because in the past we always had a cordial relationship with the administration,' Kich said.
  37. Filby, Max (December 23, 2018). "Deal on Wright State faculty contract won't be reached until 2019". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 29, 2019. Contract talks first stalled in March 2017.... Although the union contract expired in June, an agreement with the administration means the expired contract remains in place until a new one is reached.
  38. Flaherty, Colleen (January 23, 2019). "No Deal". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  39. Laissle, April (January 27, 2019). "Wright State Faculty Union Announces Plan to Strike January 22". Cincinnati Public Radio. Retrieved September 15, 2019. ...they feel the terms of the administration’s offer put the quality of education at Wright State at risk.
  40. Levi, Maytal (January 25, 2018). "WSU faculty union members and administration face off at forum". WTDN 2 News. Retrieved September 30, 2019. Students and AAUP union members at Wright State University (WSU) funneled into a forum about the budget called "Let’s Talk". The forum was held by WSU president Cheryl Schrader and members of the board of trustees. Some union members shouted "instead of ‘Let’s Talk’, lets act".
  41. Barber, Barrie (Feb 16, 2018). "Wright State faculty angered by planned cuts; 'terrible decisions' loom". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved October 4, 2019. Dan Slilaty, a WSU mathematics professor and AAUP member, said Wright State had gone on a "budget-cutting spree" that protects administration and trustee priorities and "slashes" the university’s core mission. ... "What we the faculty demand is that all future cuts to the university’s budget be made in the irresponsible, multi-million dollar athletic budget and the extreme salaries and bloat of the upper administration and in risky side ventures," he said to audience applause..."If a strike is the only way in which meaningful shared governance is going to happen, if a strike is the only way to stop this reckless disregard for the core mission of the university, then I will vote for a strike, and I believe my colleagues will as well," he added.
  42. "Wright State University faculty announce October strike date". Associated Press. August 27, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2019. The American Association of University Professors says the cut in benefits and a furlough combined would amount to a 9 percent pay cut.
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  45. Filby, Max (November 8, 2018). "WSU faculty union overwhelmingly rejects fact-finder's report". Retrieved October 4, 2019. The union said in a statement that 'AAUP-WSU has committed not to initiate a strike unless the school’s president and the board try to impose a contract that would damage education at Wright State.'
  46. Laissle, April (October 19, 2018). "Wright State Faculty Union Protests Slow Contract Talks". WYSO BBC World Service. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  47. "Noeleen McIlvenna's Remarks at the Board of Trustees Meeting, 19 October 2018". American Association of College Professors. October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019. And it was the current admin who decided to put tenure and workload on the table, so that they can lay-off even more faculty to make fewer and bigger classes for students. These decisions didn’t happen on Hopkins’ watch. These decisions belong to President Cheryl Schrader.
  48. Ross, Catherine (October 19, 2018). "WSU faculty protest contract negotiations during board of trustees meeting". WDTN. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  49. Levitan, Monica (November 5, 2018). "WSU Faculty Senate Calls for Vote of "No Confidence" on University President". Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
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  52. Gnau, Thomas; Filby, Max (November 5, 2018). "Trustee president supports WSU president as 'no confidence' talk continues among some faculty". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved May 2, 2019. 'While she has only been on the job for little over a year the university has produced the first operating surplus in many years and has instilled strong budget controls and accountability that will serve the university well into the future,' Fecher said in a prepared statement. 'She’s had to make tough choices to facilitate a financial recovery and I’m certain she will continue to make the difficult choices necessary for Wright State to prosper and excel.'
  53. Carol, Simmons (November 1, 2018). "Faculty strike looms at Write State". Yellow Springs News. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  54. Pettit, Emma (January 22, 2019). "'Talking Is Over': Hundreds of Professors Strike at Wright State U." Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  55. Filby, Max (January 4, 2019). "WSU fails to reach faculty union contract deal, board implements last best offer". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  56. Filby, max; Wilson, Richard (January 14, 2019). "WSU faculty, administration, locked in stalemate as strike draws closer". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2019. At this point, the decision as to whether or not the union and administration will reconvene negotiations is up to Schrader, said Noeleen McIlvenna, a WSU history professor and contract administration officer for the union.
  57. Filby, Max (January 15, 2019). "Wright State: What we know about possible faculty strike". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved October 7, 2019. WSU union leaders have said they have repeatedly reached out to president Cheryl Schrader to negotiate but have not gotten a response. Kich has said the board and administration have not negotiated with the union since early November
  58. Wright State Media Team (January 17, 2019). "Statement from Wright State President Cheryl B. Schrader" (Press release). Dayton, Ohio: Wright State University. Wright State University Newsroom. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  59. Rhodes, Dawn (May 28, 2019). "'Because we know that strikes work': College unions leverage publicity in tough contract battles". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
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  63. Filby, Max (February 12, 2019). "Wright State looks to move on from longest faculty strike in Ohio's history". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved Sep 3, 2019.
  64. Bachman, Megan (February 21, 2019). "Wright State strike ends— Faculty union hails agreement". Yellow Spring News. Retrieved October 3, 2019. For one, faculty have spoken out about the confusing and sometimes intimidating messages to students.
  65. Flaherty, Colleen (February 13, 2019). "'Standing Up for What's Right'". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
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