KALAMAZOO, MI -- In a rare move, the Western Michigan University professors' union has approved overwhelmingly a no-confidence vote in Provost Tim Greene, though the vote is unofficial since faculty members can vote electronically until noon Monday.

About 120 members of the professors' union met Friday for the vote, which was a voice vote and passed with fewer than five "no" votes, according to members present. They represent about 12 percent of the approximately 870 members in the professor's union.

The vote came the same day College of Arts and Sciences Dean Alex Enyedi was removed from his position as dean and assigned other duties. Two faculty members who served as associate deans under Enyedi resigned on Friday. Provost Tim Greene's decision not to renew Enyedi's five-year contract as dean has drawn criticism.

"I've been very disappointed in the leadership in Provost Greene in my college and in the way (he has handled the gender equity issues and the firing of Alex Enyedi," said Lynn Nations Johnson, an education professor.

Nations Johnson said she "can't think of a worse time" for the dean to be gone, since the WMU deans during this time conduct program reviews to decide which programs will be offered to students.

Judith Rypma, a professor of English who left before the vote was taken, said the lengthy union meeting showed that all of the members are united for the university, but differ in their opinions of what should be done.

"I think it just increased my perception that this is a more complex issue," Rypma said.

Rypma said she would like to see a joint agreement between the union and the Faculty Senate, since both bodies have a desire for shared governance.

"We should be united with how to proceed," Rypma said.

WMU Spokeswoman Cheryl Roland said the vote has to be fully counted for it to be meaningful. She stressed that a very small representation of the faculty was in attendance at Friday's meeting.

In a response to the vote, WMU administration released a statement from James Hettinger, chair of the WMU Board of Trustees.

"As a board, we respect the right of members of the university community to express their opinions, and we value their input," the statement read. "At our formal meeting last week, we changed locations to allow more people to attend, and we listened carefully as members of the campus community shared their views on the decision to not reappoint Dean Enyedi. It's important, now, for the community to know that the board firmly supports the administration's decision to move forward with new leadership for the College of Arts and Sciences."

The no-confidence vote is rare. The last time the faculty union held a vote of no confidence was May 2006. Then-Provost Linda Delene resigned the next day. This isn't the first time the union has voted on Greene. The union voted to censure Provost Tim Greene in September 2013 for his handling of the ongoing issue of gender equity for female faculty.

A vote of no confidence is stronger than a vote of censure.

One faculty member who did not agree with the no-confidence vote was Dennis Simpson, a professor in WMU's Specialty Program in Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Simpson also is a past president of the union.

Simpson said when the union voted "no confidence" in then-Provost Linda Delene, the union was able to articulate how the provost violated the contract and university policies, two factors that govern the faculty union, along with the Redbook, which Simpson called the "Bible" of the national AAUP.

"I told them today that unless you can articulate violations of one or more of those pieces, you cannot vote no confidence on someone on something that is basically decided as an administrative issue," Simpson said.

He said Friday's vote of no confidence was without any rationale. He said, however, the administration does need to address the lack of leadership felt by some in the College of Arts and Sciences with the ouster of Enyedi and the resignation of two associate deans. He also said administrators need to get out more and talk to people.

"The main issue I see is the integrity of Western Michigan University," Simpson said. "We are there for our students, we are there to do research secondarily ... but we can not affect negatively the reputation of our university."

Cathryn Bailey, senior associate dean, and Ed Martini, associate dean, sent a joint email to their colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences on Friday, saying they "no longer feel able to continue working" in the leadership roles, and that they have concerns of the motives for firing Enyedi.

Greene on Wednesday sent an email to College of Arts and Sciences faculty and staff saying Enyedi was being removed as dean because of leadership issues.

The email from Greene states Enyedi's contract will not be renewed because of several issues, including "declines in enrollment, declines in funded research, expectations of how to manage budget allocations, transparency in communications to university administrators and support for decisions made by either the Provost's Council or by me."

The letter explained that Enyedi's contract as dean will end on July 1 and he would be assigned different duties for the five months until then and an interim dean will be appointed to fulfill his duties.

In the letter, Greene praised Enyedi for his accomplishments, but also wrote that deans must implement and support a decision made by the senior manager -- in this case, the provost.

"For the orderly management of a university, there has to be a recognized organizational structure and rules of management," Greene wrote. "While there should be vigorous discussions among management leaders, in this case the deans, there comes a time when a decision is made by the senior manager. Once a decision is made, then the deans must implement and support that decision. If they cannot implement the decision, then they have the obligation to relinquish their leadership position and return to the faculty.

"...Quite simply put, when any manager acts in opposition to a leadership directive, that person would normally expect to no longer be a member of the management team."

Enyedi, Bailey and Martini remain faculty members in the college. Associate Dean Keith Hearit remains in his position.

The College of Arts and Sciences has 330 tenure-track faculty in 26 departments. Approximately 5,000 undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students are enrolled in the college, according to Western Michigan University's website.

In the email to their colleagues, Martini and Bailey call the decision a sober one, and say they regret the impact it will have on their students and colleagues.

"But given the circumstances, in which basic processes have been suspended and voices are being ignored, we see no other way to move forward with integrity, serving the deeper interests of CAS and WMU," the pair wrote.

"That Alex is being replaced so urgently and unceremoniously, without time or opportunity for a normal process, having been informed directly of what is occurring only just this morning, is especially disturbing," Martini and Bailey wrote in the email.

"In Wednesday's message to faculty and staff, the provost stated that he has been seeking input from CAS members about how to proceed, but the nature of his communications and actions, and this breakneck pace do not inspire considered deliberation or honest dissent. We do not, then, see the voices of CAS constituents being genuinely encouraged or considered in this hasty process."

Supporters of Enyedi packed a WMU Board of Trustees meeting last week to protest Greene's decision not to renew Enyedi's contract as dean.

Enyedi, who was appointed dean in 2010, said he believed the decision stemmed from his request to issue salary adjustments for female office workers in the college.

That request was denied by university administration. Administration instead suggested Enyedi submit staff excellence awards, which include a cash bonus. Enyedi applied for awards for 45 female employees, and the awards were approved by administration. Each award came with a $4,000 cash gift.

Other colleges attempted also to issue the awards, but were denied, according to Enyedi.

An online petition urging WMU administration to renew Enyedi's contract has received more than 1,300 supporters.

Greene became WMU's provost and vice president for academic affairs in 2008, after serving as dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering since 2005. Before that, he served as the dean of the College of Engineering and as assistant vice president for research and academic affairs at the University of Alabama.