Mr. James Biggs, professor of art, has taken on the role of interim chair.
Photo by James Trent
Correction: The SGA meeting was not live streamed to Facebook.
On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Mr. Jack Sheffler, chair of the Fine Arts department, was fired from his tenured position at Concord University. In his absence, Mr. James Biggs, associate professor of art and gallery director, has taken the role of interim chair of the art department.
Haley Fields, student representative and business manager for the Student Government Association, stated in the weekly SGA meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 7, that President Kendra Boggess had informed the SGA that while Jack Sheffler’s dismissal was in the best interest of the students, no students were harmed prior to his dismissal. Furthermore, President Boggess has informed SGA executive members that the reason for Mr. Sheffler’s dismissal cannot legally be disclosed or discussed, as reported by SGA President Sarah Fancher in that SGA meeting.
“A lot of the uncertainty about what is going on is due to the fact that we can’t say much,” stated Fields in the meeting. “Administration can’t say much because it’s a personnel issue and there are things we can’t say because of legal matters. I can say for certain, confirmed by Dr. Boggess, that the events leading up to his termination had nothing to do with a student being harmed, in case that was a concern of anybody. We will continue to follow this and look for statements coming from the administrative side of Concord University and will keep you updated as we can.”
At this time, the University has reassigned Sheffler’s class load to present adjunct and tenured art faculty. These classes include weaving, drawing, painting, and art history, among others. The reassignments began the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 7, and the changes were finalized by the morning of Monday, Feb. 12.
Art students received department emails from faculty or art department staff informing them that Sheffler’s classes were cancelled Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, while some received emails that informed them that another faculty member would be taking over their classes for the remainder of the semester.
Students who chose Sheffler for their senior art shows and jury preparation may have to choose a new advisor to fill that role. Sheffler’s general academic advisees will also be redistributed among the professors in the art department. At this time, the University has not hired any new personnel.
At the time of his dismissal, Mr. Sheffler had been with Concord as an instructor of art since August 2002.
President Boggess attended the SGA meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 14 to hear student concerns. The meeting was open for all students, faculty, and staff to attend. The meeting was also livestreamed on Facebook.
At the present time, President Boggess and administration have not released a statement to the school. This story will be updated as necessary.