New position raises questions about hiring, not Farrington

While The Blue Banner doesn’t question Emergency Management Coordinator Sylvia Farrington’s qualifications, the editorial staff does question her hiring process.

Farrington seems to have bona fide experience, and early signs show she is friendly and willing to work with students. We have confidence in her ability to perform her duties.

However, the way campus officials hired Farrington as quickly as possible to fill the vacant seat raises several interesting points.

Since the position is intended to organize safety resources and planning, it stands to reason the better thing for administrators to do would be to hire the most qualified person rather than the first available candidate.

This is not a critique of Farrington, but rather of the hiring process. She may be the most qualified candidate, but there is no way to know since the university bypassed a proper search.

In last week’s issue, Bill Haggard, vice chancellor for student affairs, reported the hire was a precautionary measure against emergencies, which include the H1N1 virus.

Administrators seem slightly paranoid. A news release announcing Farrington’s appointment cited, among other emergencies, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Avian Flu scares of recent years. SARS only infected 27 people in the United States and the much-hyped Avian Flu never spread far beyond Asia.

UNC Asheville shouldn’t be overly concerned with vague threats, but should instead focus on realistic risks, including potential shootings.

With practically no major emergencies in the past decade and a low crime rate, administrators should also focus on providing more educational resources.

We don’t intend to minimize the threats UNCA faces. Yet it is necessary to turn an objective and critical eye on Farrington’s appointment.

Does UNCA expect an emergency coordinator to personally protect students from everything?

Expecting Farrington, or any other individual, to bear the burden of thousands of students’ safety is not realistic.

There are three reasons we believe administrators hired Farrington.

First, they genuinely care about student safety.

Second, filling the position gives students and their parents peace of mind.

Finally, in the event of a major emergency, Farrington will be the first person critics target if things go wrong. Like her former boss, FEMA Director Michael Brown, who coordinated the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, Farrington could make an easy scapegoat.

Perhaps Farrington is a insurance policy against critics who will inevitably scrutinize UNCA’s administration in the event of an emergency. Let’s hope this is not the case.

Again, our concern rests primarily with the way administrators hired Farrington and with their rationale for filling her position the way they did, not with Farrington herself.

It’s not about ignoring emergencies or pretending they don’t happen; it’s about questioning what’s best for students. Administrators acted negligently by filling the position without a proper candidate search. 

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