Auburn provost facing no-confidence vote over pandemic plan

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - The top academic officer at Auburn University is facing a no-confidence vote by faculty members this week over lingering dissatisfaction with his handling of class scheduling around the coronavirus pandemic.

The Opelika-Auburn News reports the University Senate is scheduled to meet Tuesday to address complaints against Provost Bill Hardgrave.

More than 500 faculty members met in a virtual gathering in November to discuss their concerns about Hardgrave and his insistence on returning to primarily in-person classes in the spring.

President Jay Gouge is defending Hardgrave.

He says a no-confidence vote during a global pandemic and social unrest would be “unprecedented and destructive.”