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Greg Sandow on the future of classical music

So important — CIM faculty denounce president and provost

March 1, 2024 by Greg Sandow

The faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music — by an overwhelming majority, 90% — have voted no confidence in the school’s top administrators, president Paul Hogle and provost Scott Harrison. The faculty statement is long, detailed, and scathing. I’ll put it at the end of my post. I’ve never seen anything like it.

What led to this:

Over the objections of his search committee, Hogle hired Carlos Kalmar to conduct the school orchestra and teach conducting. Students said Kalmar was brutal to them, above all to women. After an investigation –and the firing of the school’s Title IX coordinator — the administration absolved Kalmar, on the narrow grounds that his treatment of women wasn’t bad enough to count as harassment.

My wife, Anne Midgette, scheduled to give a commencement speech and be given an honorary doctorate, heard from students and faculty, saw what was going on, and pulled out.

Students protested, supported by many faculty, going on strike at an orchestra rehearsal, refusing to play. There were stories in the Chicago Tribune and in VAN magazine, with one VAN story very detailed, not just about Kalmar, but about wider problems, including financial ones: https://van-magazine.com/mag/cleveland-institute-of-music-carlos-kalmar-discrimination-bullying/

CIM’s position, voiced most strongly by the chair of their board of directors, was that a small mob of malcontents was making trouble. The school’s trumpet professor — principal trumpet of the Cleveland Orchestra and one of the most distinguished and long-serving members of the faculty — resigned after he said he’d received a strict letter from the administration accusing him of saying things he hadn’t actually said.

Kalmar was placed on a leave of absence, which I’d think was a forced concession by the school, one they pretty much had to make, if the students wouldn’t play for him. (He’s now suing CIM.)

And now this faculty statement, which surfaced yesterday, on Norman Lebrecht’s blog, Slipped Disc. Here it is. Scathing:

_The CIM Faculty has voted No Confidence in President Paul Hogle and Provost Scott Harrison._

_Regarding Paul Hogle, the vote was **83 to 8** (91% in favor of the resolution of No Confidence)._

_Regarding Scott Harrison, the vote was **81 to 10** (89% in favor of the resolution of No Confidence)._

_These results will be sent to Susan Rothmann, Chair of the CIM Board. The resolutions are as follows:_

_Paul Hogle_

_WHEREAS CIM faces its most dangerous financial situation in decades, is running its first budget deficit in decades, and faces the difficulty of recruiting students with an uncompetitive discount rate for the foreseeable future;_

_WHEREAS President Paul Hogle has overseen a debilitating turnover of over 120 members of the staff, including eighteen in Development (including seven Chief Development Officers), eleven in Concerts and Events, ten in the Deans Office, nine in Marketing, and eight in Admissions, as well as unprecedented levels of resignations, causing substantial problems with continuity, institutional knowledge, and competency;_

_WHEREAS President Hogle appointed Scott Harrison to the position of Provost, who lacks any of the traditional qualifications, credentials, and experience required for the role of Provost to the position, leading to serious mismanagement of the Institute’s academic and artistic affairs, as well as repeated actions in violation of traditional academic standards and norms, as well as CIM and HLC policies;_

_WHEREAS President Hogle disregarded and/or ignored repeated complaints by students, staff, and faculty about the orchestra situation at CIM during the 2022-23 season, including ignoring the recommendations of the Orchestra 2.0 Task Force, as well as a fall 2022 survey of CIM orchestral musicians which was damning in its result;_

_WHEREAS President Hogle’s leadership style is ill-suited to an academic environment which relies on consensus-building and compromise in decision-making;_

_WHEREAS President Hogle accepted a raise of $111,282 (26.3%) between the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years while simultaneously guiding CIM into its first deficit in 30 years and advising faculty that merit-based or cost-of-living raises would not be expected for several years;_

_WHEREAS morale among faculty and staff is at a level detrimental to the functioning of the institution and advancement of its mission;_

_WHEREAS the once-great reputation of CIM has been severely diminished at a national and international level;_

_WHEREAS the aforementioned misdeeds have significantly jeopardized CIM’s ability to pass its 2025 comprehensive HLC accreditation site visit;_

_WHEREAS CIM is hungry for new, positive leadership which looks to the future and understands the educational challenges — and opportunities — facing the Institute and the young musician of the 21st century in a rapidly changing landscape. CIM needs leadership which will restore morale, inspire the faculty and staff, and renew trust in the Office of the President. CIM needs a leader with the temperament, education, academic experience, and shared values to lead us into our next century;_

_Therefore, we the Faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music are expressing a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in Paul Hogle._

_Scott Harrison_

_WHEREAS Scott Harrison was appointed Provost by the President despite lacking the traditional credentials (an earned doctorate degree and extensive academic administrative experience, often as a dean or senior faculty member intimately familiar with the norms and standards of academia and the concept and role of shared governance) required for the role of provost at an institution of higher education;_

_WHEREAS Provost Harrison has zero prior experience in academic administration and has never served on a university faculty senate, academic committee, or other governing body and has never managed an academic department or college;_

_WHEREAS his lack of credentials and relevant experience have led Provost Harrison to repeatedly violate norms of shared governance, disregard faculty consultation, and make decisions detrimental to the Institute, including:_

_– Overseeing alarming faculty/staff turnover due to toxic working conditions, stagnant salaries, and one-year contracts_

_– Showing a lack of fundamental understanding of basic management of academic areas and ensembles, leading to serious logistical and artistic issues that negatively impact the quality of offerings and well-being of students_

_– Attempting to unilaterally restructure the faculty in disregard for the role of shared governance and commonly accepted established academic norms and procedures_

_– Creation and modification of academic programs without the approval of faculty or the Curriculum Committee, as outlined in institution policy_

_– Refusing transparency in appointing a new Title IX investigator, causing confusion and distrust_

_– Replacing a unanimously supported department head without proper faculty consultation and against clearly defined policy, as outlined in the Faculty Handbook_

_– Refusing to follow standards of academic pay and benefits to candidates to join the faculty, resulting in loss of competitive talent to peer institutions_

_WHEREAS Provost Harrison’s lack of qualifications and actions have compromised CIM’s accreditation standards with the Higher Learning Commission;_

_WHEREAS the faculty have lost all confidence and trust in Provost Harrison’s ability to fulfill the duties of the position;_

_Therefore, we the Faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music are expressing a vote_ _of NO CONFIDENCE in Scott Harrison._

Greg back again. Hogle and Harrison — how can they survive this? Likewise, I’d think, much of the board, Susan Rothmann especially, since, if the charges are accurate, the board enabled it all.

CIM will be saved, we can hope. This seems like a crucial first step.

This just in, as I’m posting:

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland’s newspaper, today has a long and notably unsparing story about this, with many details, including quotes, from the faculty statement. They yesterday asked CIM to respond, but apparently got no response by the time their story was published.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Greg Sandow

Though I've been known for many years as a critic, most of my work these days involves the future of classical music -- defining classical music's problems, and finding solutions for them. Read More…

About The Blog

This started as a blog about the future of classical music, my specialty for many years. And largely the blog is still about that. But of course it gets involved with other things I do — composing music, and teaching at Juilliard (two courses, here … [Read More...]

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