Faculty members at St. Edward's University are casting doubt on the leadership of their president, Montserrat Fuentes. Recently, an anonymous vote was cast with 83 of 135 tenured, and tenure-track professors expressing a lack of confidence in her leadership. This contentious decision follows a series of disputes over shared governance and transparency within the university administration, as reported by the American-Statesman.

The main spark that ignited the vote appears to have been the removal, and the delayed reinstatement, of a pride flag in a campus coffeehouse, alongside other concerns such as a controversial outdoor commencement ceremony, pay adjustments, and lack of input from faculty on university decisions. In the wake of the vote tally, which ended on April 19, Martin Rose, the chair of the university's board of trustees, fired off a swift three-sentence response to the faculty expressing disappointment but reassured that the board fully supports President Fuentes, according to Hilltop Views.

Other issues that contributed to the growing discontent included changes in program priorities, shifts in athletic resources, and matters concerning facilities and faculty workload. Fuentes, who addressed the concerns before the vote, later defended her administration in an email to faculty members on April 21, stating, "The recent vote will not detract from the many positive developments that have occurred over the past few years," according to Hilltop Views.

Faculty reaction to the board's continued support for Fuentes has been one of frustration, with some members calling for a greater level of engagement and accountability from the president in light of the majority's vote. "If I found out 61% of my faculty disagreed and didn't have confidence in me, I would sit down and do some serious thinking with them and be transparent and take accountability," stated Alex Barron, a St. Edward's associate professor in literature and a Faculty Senate member, in an interview with the American-Statesman.