UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks is on his way out — of that there is no doubt. The only question that remains is the timing of his departure, but the Chronicle reports that some university staff have found themselves at odds with University of California President Janet Napolitano's stated intention to leave Dirks at the helm for the entire upcoming academic year.

Dirks announced his planned resignation last week following numerous campus-wide sexual harassment scandals involving prominent members of the staff and faculty, as well as questions into his own use of public funds. And while Napolitano wants time to run a nationwide search to find Dirks's replacement, some faculty members think fresh blood should be brought in ASAP.

"Given the critical decisions that need to be made for the campus, I am very worried that having Dirks remain as chancellor for another 10 months is not tenable,” Eric Schickler, chair of the political science department, explained to the paper. “We need an interim chancellor — from among the Berkeley faculty — who can help provide real, forward-looking leadership for the campus.”

Schickler and others who want Dirks gone fear that with several key university positions needing to be filled, allowing the outgoing chancellor to do the hiring could lead to troubling results.

“Who’s going to fill these critical positions?” political science professor Jack Citrin told the Chronicle. “Is it even legitimate for someone leaving to make those calls? If not, then who is making those calls?”

Only 25 professors are needed to call a special session of the Academic Senate, but whether or not enough opposition to Dirks actually exists to win a no-confidence vote is in doubt.

Napolitano, meanwhile, is not having it. She wants a replacement candidate selected by this March, and told the Chronicle's Matier and Ross that bringing someone in before that time as merely a placeholder is a mistake. “I don’t see any value in playing musical chairs,” she observed.

As so while the timing of Dirks's departure is in doubt, that this issue will continue to dog UC Berkeley throughout the upcoming academic year is almost assured. Regardless of the outcome, Dirks, for his part, will likely remain comfortable with his $532,000 salary behind his $700,000 fence while everyone else fights it out.

Previously: Now A UC Berkeley Chancellor Has Been Accused Of Misusing Public Funds
UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks Announces He Will Resign