COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M University faculty slapped system Chancellor Mike McKinney with a "no confidence" vote just weeks after the resignation of the university president and a suggestion that McKinney's job might be combined with the university president's to save money.

The Faculty Senate passed a resolution on a 55-9 vote Tuesday saying it had "no confidence" in McKinney's leadership.

"This is not to say that the chancellor is a bad person," Michael Benedik, a senator and biology professor, said. "Take the words literally. Do we have confidence in him as a leader? ... I, for one, do not."

Rod Davis, a spokesman for the system leadership, declined to comment.

James Wilson of Sugar Land, vice chairman of the Board of Regents, said he was disappointed by the vote. He said he and other regents continue to support McKinney's leadership.

Although the faculty has tangled with McKinney before, the vote came after university President Elsa Murano, the first woman and first Hispanic ever to hold that office, resigned in the face of a dismal performance review by McKinney. She had been on the job 17 months.

McKinney had said the regents were considering combining his job with the university president's to save money – a suggestion that angered many faculty members. He has since said he has no desire to oversee the day-to-day operations at the A&M System's flagship school.

The regents have appointed Bowen Loftin, the chief executive of A&M's campus in Galveston, as interim president of the university.

Bob Stawser, one of the faculty members who opposed the no-confidence vote, said the Board of Regents and McKinney sought input from the faculty in recent weeks. He said the resolution was not in the best interest of the university.

"What we need to do is end all this and move forward in a positive manner, working with the regents to make Texas A&M the place we want it to be," he said.

The Associated Press