November 27, 2001

Dear Chancellor Cox and State Board members:

Many thanks for your letter of November 20th. I greatly appreciate your quick response to my letter of November 15th. It is reassuring to receive support from the Executive Committee regarding both the principle of shared governance and the commitment to make the chancellor search process as open as possible while preserving confidentiality up to the point of the finalists.

The University of Oregon faculty understand the current governance structure of the State System and appreciate that Board members assume sole responsibility for its condition and legal operation. It was not the purpose of the previous letter to challenge that authority (and I very much hope it wasn't taken that way), but to make known the fact that faculty and students, both of whom are important stakeholder groups in the Oregon University System, would like to assist the process in any way we can.

It remains the hope of the faculty and students here at the University of Oregon that our suggestions regarding specific experiences, professional points of view, and desirable qualifications for the next chancellor -- which were detailed in my November 15th letter -- might be incorporated into the search criteria you and the Board are no doubt developing. To facilitate communication between the Board and the faculty, I would greatly appreciate receiving a copy of those search criteria when the Executive Committee has had a chance to review and approve them.

Thanks again for your help and understanding in this matter.

Sincerely,

Nathan Tublitz

Professor of Biology

President, University of Oregon Senate