Editorial: Wichita State’s dorm decisions raise credibility questions
The path to students moving into The Flats apartment complex at Wichita State University this month has been winding – much like the new roads through the university’s Innovation Campus.
Along the path have been concerns about transparency and communication by university leaders. They can and should do better, especially when there are factors that can bring skeptical looks from the community – such as one of the developers of the new apartment complex being chairman of the state board that oversees the university.
It started July 14 with a surprising announcement that more than 300 students scheduled to live in Fairmount Towers dormitory during the 2017-18 school year would instead move (at no extra cost) into The Flats, a 113-apartment, 286-bedroom complex that was originally billed as a private residence for upperclassmen.
But students had signed only 48 contracts to live in The Flats, a new complex south of Eck Stadium. Empty beds would have outnumbered tenants 5 to 1.
University leaders saw moving students into The Flats as an opportunity to close and eventually tear down Fairmount Towers, located at 21st and Hillside and part of the campus since the mid-1960s.
Those 48 students who wanted a private, on-campus living experience will receive some amenities not available to those moved from Fairmount Towers; now they’re in much more of a dormitory setting.
But there was a problem. When WSU announced the switch July 14, it had not formally asked for approval from its overseer, the Board of Regents.
On July 18, Regents vice president for finance and administration Elaine Frisbie e-mailed Werner Golling, who has the same job at WSU. She wanted clarification on the leasing structure for The Flats. She noted a change like this needs Regents approval, which had not happened.
Two days later, WSU president John Bardo requested approval from Regents president Blake Flanders. Flanders approved it July 31 – 2 1/2 weeks after Wichita State’s initial announcement.
Lou Heldman, WSU’s vice president of strategic communications, explained it by saying, “Decisions are made and decisions are reached before the paperwork is completed.” A Regents spokeswoman confirmed the board and WSU had talks about Fairmount Towers before the announcement.
Heldman went on to tell The Eagle’s Daniel Salazar that he thinks recent decisions are the right thing for students and the university. There’s no disagreement, and yes, agreements are usually made before paperwork is completed. But in this case, it appears some people at the state level were not up to date on WSU’s plans and a decision was finalized by WSU outside of normal procedures.
As a public university working on behalf of the taxpayers of Kansas, WSU must follow proper procedures. An example needs to be set for the 15,000 students the university serves, who wouldn’t get credit for an assignment simply by announcing an intention to do it.
Transparency and proper procedures are especially important for this project, given that one of the apartment complex developers, David Murfin, is chairman of the Board of Regents. The potential for a conflict of interest is real, which is why Murfin abstained from a June 2016 Board of Regents vote approving the WSU Innovation Alliance, the nonprofit overseeing the Innovation Campus, to lease property for private housing.
Murfin – part of the MWCB, LLC group that has developed three Innovation Campus buildings – will make more money from a full apartment complex rather than one with 48 students. The fact that WSU went outside normal procedural lines certainly presents the appearance that it might be trying to help a developer who also happens to be chairman of the Board of Regents.
The Flats is part of an Innovation Campus project that will take years, if not decades, of public-private partnership to complete. Many of these contracts will be complicated and unusual for a state university.
Bardo and WSU are to be commended for vision and initiative on a project that will make Wichita a better place. But Wichita State must be careful to conduct itself throughout the project in a way that maintains its credibility and the trust of the community.
This story was originally published August 4, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Editorial: Wichita State’s dorm decisions raise credibility questions."