YSU is not being served by the absence of veep

It's bad enough that John Habat, YSU's $148,000-a-year vice president for administration and finance is no longer on campus, but his working from his home makes this whole sordid mess even more egregious. That's because Habat's home is in Cleveland. Think about it: he came to Youngstown State University when Dr. David Sweet was named president in 2000 as one of the highest paid administrators on campus. Yet, he never moved to the Mahoning Valley.
So now, he's doing his work long distance while Sweet decides what to do with him. Habat and Hugh Chatman, former director of human resources, were named in a report by the president's Labor-Management Review Commission as no longer being able to serve the university in any capacity. The commission blamed them for much of the labor turmoil last year that resulted in strikes by classified employees and faculty.
Chatman has been given a new job as compliance officer in the university counsel's office. Habat has been told by Sweet to work from home.
The president said last week that YSU has hired an outside law firm to negotiate a possible separation agreement with the vice president for administration and finance. Habat's contract with YSU expires in June 2007, which means that he could walk away with a check paying him at least a year's salary. He could also continue receiving benefits for the year.
And that raises a question: If Sweet agrees with the labor-management panel that Habat can no longer effectively serve the university -- his willingness to negotiate a separation agreement suggests that he does -- why reward him for leaving?
Sign of weakness?
On the other hand, if Sweet does not agree with the commission's conclusion about Habat and is only acting because he wants to ensure labor-management peace, he could live to rue this sign of weakness.
Obviously, the president is between a rock and a hard place, but allowing Habat to work from his Cleveland home is not acceptable. Indeed, Sweet's contention that having his vice president away from campus frees him from some of his day-to-day office business begs this question: Why then is he still earning such a substantial salary?
"I'm pleased I can serve the university in this continuing capacity," Habat told The Vindicator. He declined further comment.
But he told The Jambar, YSU's student newspaper, that it wasn't his decision to work from home and that he was "saddened by the directions I've been given."
He added that he was still able to do his job effectively. Really?
What about interaction with others in the executive suite? What about meetings? What about face-to-face discussions about problems that arise?
It's ridiculous to argue that the vice president for administration and finance -- certainly not a low-level position -- can be as effective and productive working from his home in Cleveland.
This sordid mess needs to be resolved quickly. And the board of trustees at YSU had better make sure that their actions are in the best interest of the students and the community at large.
After all, if a top administrator can stay home and claim that he's just as effective as if he were in his office, what's to stop some creative student from refusing to show up in class and arguing that he can get all his school work done through the Internet?