When Northwestern named Mike Polisky its next athletic director on Monday, some faculty members moved to organize. Six professors co-signed a Wednesday open letter to Provost Kathleen Hagerty, calling on the University to increase transparency in the selection process. “The hiring of Polisky… signals a troubling continuity in Athletic Department leadership that, while successful in some areas, failed the University and its students in significant ways,” the letter stated. “We are alarmed by this decision and, indeed, embarrassed on behalf of the university.” Polisky was named a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by a former cheerleader earlier this year. In the suit, Weinberg senior Hayden Richardson alleged that Polisky failed to appropriately address complaints filed about sexual harassment. Additionally, in an investigation from The Daily, multiple sources claimed that Polisky did not take allegations of anti-Black racism within the cheer team seriously.