Stephen Kolison criticized a University Senate report.

SUNY Fredonia President Stephen Kolison defended his deficit-cutting policies, and slammed a report that was critical of the university, this week.

Kolison spoke during a University Senate meeting Monday, prior to a debate over a no-confidence resolution on his leadership. The resolution didn’t make it to a vote.

“The Senate has a job to do, I have a job to do, and we’ll see what happens,” Kolison said. “My plan is to work hard every day so this school winds up in a good place.”

He stated that SUNY system administrators are comfortable with his plans. “We pretty much have convinced SUNY to support us” if Fredonia manages its deficit and enrollment numbers properly, he said.

Kolison sought to move the conversation away from the deficit, touting a “Centers for Excellence” idea for the campus that would “be a game changer for our installation,” he said. Limited to a 10-minute report time, Kolison didn’t go into that much, stating it is in the new campus academic master plan.

Kolison then moved to a recent University Senate report by two outside consultants with SUNY ties, which was critical of his leadership and the environment on campus.

He lectured that there is a difference between the American way, the scientific way, and the prejudicial or “kangaroo court” way — strongly implying that the report is in the latter category.

The report is “heavy on opinions, misinformation, disinformation and innuendos,” lacks fact-checking, and is constructed poorly, Kolison said.

No one on campus should have been shocked by his proposed program cuts, he continued. That’s because cuts were brought up as early as 2016, though nothing happened then, he said.

The most damaging part of the consultation report, according to the president, was the allegations of racism, sexism and bullying on campus. Those allegations were noted in an OBSERVER article on the report, and Kolison lamented that “prospective students and parents will read this.”

He declared, “No report should be above fact-checking. To convict someone without knowing the facts is prejudicial.”

Kolison left the meeting before the no-confidence resolution was debated. Just before leaving, he asked Senate members to continue considering his proposal to allow students to start winter break at Thanksgiving. Kolison thinks it will assist out-of-town students with finding winter break jobs, and ease travel concerns.

The Senate appeared intent on keeping the traditional schedule, where students return after Thanksgiving for a couple weeks of classes before Christmas. Senate members submitted an analysis that supports keeping things “as is.”

“Don’t let it die. Keep thinking about it,” Kolison said.