Board backs President

The following is a statement, delivered by Dorothy Johnson, chair of Grand Valley State University's Board of Trustees, following a Faculty Senate announcement of a task force to review the issue of same-sex domestic partner benefits at the university. That announcement was made by Senate President Patrick Thorpe, who went before trustees on Friday, Feb. 15.

On behalf of the board, I would like to thank you Dr. Thorpe and through you the other members of the faculty who are expressing their disagreement with the President's decision. We respect the central role the faculty play at Grand Valley. We also respect that there may be times when you wish to share your views on important issues at Grand Valley directly with the board.

I, and most of my colleagues on the board, have served for the past few years when this issue has been under active discussion at Grand Valley. We appreciate that there are strong views both in support of and against implementing domestic partner benefits.

President Lubbers with his many years of experience and now President Murray in his relatively short tenure here have both reviewed the situation and come to the same conclusion - that it is not in the best interest of the university to add this benefit at Grand Valley.

We charge the President with coming to decisions that are in the best interest of Grand Valley, and we expect the President to do so thoughtfully and with respect for the many views that exist on any controversial issue.

I think I can speak for the whole board in saying that we appreciate President Murray's thoughtfulness and deliberative style in coming to his decision. We respect that no decision was going to be received with acclaim by all since there are strong views on both sides of the issue. But we support President Murray in the decision he made.

We know that he met with members of the gay and lesbian community on campus before he made his decision, and read and heard many comments both in support and opposed to the implementation of domestic partner benefits. We also know that he has expressed his commitment to continue to work with members of the gay and lesbian community to ensure that they study, work and participate fully in life of Grand Valley.

I think I can speak for every member of the board in saying that we expect everyone at Grand Valley should be accorded full dignity and respect as they pursue their professional roles or their studies. There was a time not too long ago when gays and lesbians at Grand Valley were afraid to let their sexual orientation be known. We know that many have now been willing to be open about who they are and we're pleased that the climate has changed to allow that. We expect the President and others at Grand Valley to continue to ensure that there is an environment where differences are respected and supported whether it be differences in belief, values, ethnicity, gender, race or sexual orientation.

We understand that you will establish a task force to continue to review policies and procedures relative to domestic partner benefits. There may be new information that is developed as a result of such a task force. If so, I would ask that you share it with President Murray. I would note again, though, that this issue has been under active discussion at Grand Valley now for at least two years and while we recognize that it is a challenging issue, both President Lubbers and President Murray have come to the same conclusion after their reviews. And we support the President in his decision.