Several University of Colorado faculty and staff organizations have called for the institution’s faculty newspaper to remain an independent voice, as CU administrators and professors work to write new policies governing the Silver and Gold Record.
CU President Hank Brown is scheduled to meet today with the CU Faculty Senate and is expected to field questions about the proposed new policies.
“My particular assembly thought it was very important, however they are written, that they guarantee the editorial independence of the Silver and Gold because that means we trust it when we read what is in there,” said Roxanne Byrne, chair of the CU-Denver Faculty Assembly.
CU system spokeswoman Michele McKinney said CU administrators will not use the new policies to infringe upon the Silver and Gold Record’s independence.
“The (policies) just put in accountability measures for the paper,” she said.
The hubbub began earlier this year when the editor of the Silver and Gold Record announced her retirement. When CU officials set about finding her replacement, they realized the newspaper does not have an administrative policy statement – also known as an APS – which would set the rules for appointing a new editor as well as other key aspects of how the publication is governed.
In the past weeks, three faculty or staff councils on CU campuses have passed motions asking that the policy statement uphold the newspaper’s independence. Byrne said the CU-Denver faculty assembly passed such a motion not so much out of worry that Brown would try to take over the paper but to guard against the possible power play of a future president.
A draft of the proposed APS – written by two CU administrators and the chairs of the systemwide faculty and staff councils – was released Monday. The draft states that the Silver and Gold Record should be “independent of special interest groups and individuals.”
“This is a normal, routine thing to do,” said R L Widmann, the chair of the CU Faculty Council. “Departments have operating principles. So we just need to get one for the Silver and Gold Record.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
