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LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
In late March, Mercer faculty reached out by email to a number of upper-level Mercer employees who served under the college’s current president Dr. Jianping Wang and are no longer working at the college. The goal was to gain a clearer understanding of the relationship Dr. Wang has with her administrative team, particularly in light of the potential for a faculty vote of no confidence in her leadership which has since occurred. (NOTE: All contact and responses were made prior to the removal of the most recent Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. J. Brandon Shaw).
The contact email explained that “It is not a good idea to form opinions about people without speaking directly to those that know them,” and that the goal was to “gather opinions of our president directly from former MCCC leaders.”
Participants were invited to take an online survey, which some did. Others opted to be interviewed directly by phone.
These were the questions given:
The respondents understood that their names and former titles would be kept confidential, so they could feel free to speak candidly.
The respondents’ comments fell into three basic categories. Their responses are paraphrased below. Key terms that respondents emphasized are included throughout.
Leadership
- Good leaders are transparent, collaborative, supportive, and set good examples. She is none of these.
- She did not demonstrate that she cared about input from anyone (internal or external to the College) on anything.
- [She is] a visionary leader who cares about diversity of ideas. However, she wants to surround herself with an echo-chamber.
- She micro-manages, is not receptive to input or criticism and will institute an agenda meant for you to fail if you disagree with her
- She does not make the administrators who work for her feel valued
Personality
- She is narcissistic (Defined by Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as: “extremely self-centered with an exaggerated sense of self-importance : marked by or characteristic of excessive admiration of or infatuation with oneself” Definition added for clarification.)
- [In] several instances she directly misrepresented the truth
Teamwork
- [I] felt part of an abusive professional relationship
- She enjoys very little respect among the NJ community college community
- Several current MCCC administrators will likely leave soon
- Given her actions, one wonders whether the board is actually paying attention
