The Multicultural Director had been an OU employee for 17 years.
It recently came to our attention that the Director of the Multicultural Center position at Ohio University was eliminated prior to the beginning of Spring Semester.
That left Linda Daniels, who held that position and had worked for OU for 17 years, out of a job.
The only explanation we could gather regarding the change was “to enable the office to function more efficiently, with a strategic targeted focus,” according to a university file. Vice Provost for Diversity Inclusion Shari Clarke said Daniels wasn’t “fired” and wasn’t eliminated as part of budget cuts. Clarke wouldn’t comment on Daniels’ performance.
After combing Daniels’ university personnel file, which The Post obtained via a public records request, a Post reporter didn’t find any evidence of wrongdoing on Daniels’ part. That leaves us wondering why a long-time employee was put of a job without — at the minimum — ample warning.
Daniels told a Post reporter she “had no reason to believe that when I came back from Christmas vacation that there was a problem.”
While there may be details about the abolishment of this position that we are not privy to, we feel that Daniels was disrespected when she was not provided a reason for the decision, a point that Clarke didn’t immediately respond to.
We’re not in a position to judge whether abolishing the position was necessary or not, but the decision seems surprising to say the least. And it seems that the decision was even more surprising to Daniels and the students who she served. After 17 years at OU, that’s a shame.
After hearing of the change, Daniels said “this is no way for Ohio University to treat long-time employees.”
We could not agree more.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors: editor-in-chief Jim Ryan, managing editor Sara Jerde, opinion editor Xander Zellner and projects editor Allan Smith. Post editorials are independent of the publication's news coverage.
