KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — The Oregon Institute of Technology’s faculty senate has called for university president Nagi Naganathan’s resignation, but school administrators say he has no plans to leave his post.
The senate last week approved the resolution, saying faculty had lost confidence in Naganathan’s leadership, The Herald and News reported.
“This is not knee-jerk,” professor Don McDonnell said. “This is not COVID. This is not union negotiations.”
McDonnell, a professor of medical imaging technology at the school, will present the resolution to Naganathan asking him to resign. If Naganathan declines, all full-time faculty will vote on whether they have confidence in Naganathan’s leadership in late March.
McDonnell said he would give a presentation to the Board of Trustees, which then has the power to remove Naganathan or keep him in office, on April 8.
Board of Trustees Chair Jessica Gomez said Thursday that board members she has talked to are happy with the direction of the university and fully support Naganathan’s leadership.
She said the resolution declaring no confidence stems from a labor dispute.
“I understand that the faculty senate might be frustrated in some ways,” said Gomez. “But over the last four years under Dr. Naganathan’s leadership, we have seen some of the biggest investments in Oregon Tech for probably the last 20 years.”
OIT’s vice president of institutional advancement, Ken Fincher, called Naganathan an “agent of change” and claimed faculty are afraid of new ideas needed to move the university forward.
