The Murray State News

Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Opinion

The staff editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Murray State News.
The dictionary defines the word interim as "for or during an intervening period of time which is temporary or provisional."
Yet, at Murray State, interim has a very different meaning when it comes in front of a job title.
In the hiring process, many universities place interim, meaning temporary, applicants into positions to help the University make a smooth transition to the next candidate.
Many of these interim positions are necessary to the operation of the University, like department chairs or directors of various campus departments.
For example, David Wilson, now the full-time Housing director, filled the interim position for five years, preforming all the duties of a hired Housing director.
Currently, there is no University policy or restriction on how long a person can hold an interim position without the University hiring the incumbent, but a proposal for a policy change has been brought before the Board of Regents.
University President Randy Dunn agrees keeping someone in a an interim position more than a year isn't fair to that person or the University.
"I like a year, at most, for an appointment," Dunn said. "I'm not saying they should all be for a year; that's just kind of a maximum amount of time. I could see in a very unusual circumstance maybe extending that appointment by some period of time, but there should be a review."
A reason for the University's lethargy may be an economic one. It costs less to keep an interim in a position than it does to hire someone permanently.
Another problem with the current interim process is the University sometimes fails to look outside the area to find new faculty members. It is a common practice at Murray State to fill open positions with interims already at the University and then post the job opening later. Following protocol, job openings must be advertised and the interview process must be conducted.
Perhaps because of lack of funds, costly nationwide searches for positions are rarely conducted, so many positions are filled from within the area. This is a precarious hiring practice because it can lead to favoritism and a lack of staff diversity.
The University should go above and beyond to try to find qualified applicants to fill crucial jobs on campus as soon as they open.
Unfortunately, they cannot always be found in Murray. If we are a campus of diversity, shouldn't the people running it be diverse as well?

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