The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

A long talk with Wendler

One positive development is Wendler's announcement that he will begin attending Faculty Senate meetings again after a semester of absence. Wendler said he never meant for there to be an appearance that he did not wish to communicate with faculty.

"There is this perception that I don't care, which is not true at all," Wendler said.

His pledge to return should be taken as evidence that his commitment is genuine, and we urge the Faculty Senate to work in good faith with Wendler to heal the wounds that his absence may have caused and make productive use of the monthly meetings.

The chancellor also addressed concerns about his commitment to SIUC in light of his interviews with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the news that he applied a month ago for a position at Louisiana State University, for which he said he was not a serious candidate. In fact, Wendler is not in the running, as the job will likely go to NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, according to an Associated Press story filed Sunday evening. He is unapologetic about applying elsewhere, saying he has been approached by eight or 10 universities and has only responded to two of them.

"At most good universities - and I don't mean this to sound immodest - the people who are getting something done, then other institutions tend to show some interest," Wendler said. "This assumption that because I am talking to an institution or two means that I am leaving is not a valid assumption. I could retire from this place."

Fair enough. But we must remind Wendler that he did not merely talk to Texas A&M. He was a finalist for the position of Corpus Christi president and traveled to Texas for interviews. Perhaps, in light of this evidence, the chancellor can forgive campus community members who assume he wants to leave. And the fact that he applied at all to LSU appears to bolster that assumption, whether or not he believed he would actually get the job.

Furthermore, Wendler answered vaguely the question of where he saw himself in three or four years. He clearly wants to keep his options open, and that's understandable. But it is not wrong to wonder whether he might be leaving within the next couple years, and he should understand that.

Wendler went to great lengths to remind us that the fate of the "Southern at 150" plan that he initiated does not rest on his shoulders alone. The involvement of more than 200 campus community members in drafting the plan and the stated commitment to it by the SIU Board of Trustees should ensure that the plan will carry on with or without Wendler.

So, perhaps all we should expect of Wendler is for him to do the best he can to lead this campus for whatever length of time he is here.

There is still plenty of work to do.

The "Southern at 150" plan needs some intensive care, as the two consulting groups that analyzed the progress of the plan have shown that it is not proceeding as well as it should be at its basic levels, with liberal arts faculty feeling like the plan improves sciences at their expense. Wendler pointed out that the detailed plans required to make "Southern at 150" a success will have to come from the individual colleges, but he will be ultimately responsible if the plan does not get off the ground.

We have not been easy on the chancellor this semester, and we appreciate his effort to mend fences with us in spite of this. We also wish him luck in mending them with the rest of the campus. Given the contentious issues that arose this semester - many of which directly involved Wendler - that itself may be no small task.

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