Follow-Up Meeting Scheduled on College Plan
Emory administrators committed to a follow-up meeting with students protesting planned department cuts in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences following a meeting held in President James Wagner’s office Tuesday afternoon.
A noon rally in the Quad turned into an afternoon sit-in on the fourth floor of the University’s Administration Building. About 25 protesters, mostly students, remained to hear the outcome of discussions between President Wagner, Vice President Gary Hauk, and six representatives – one faculty member, two undergraduate students, and three graduate students.
Following the meeting, Wagner emerged briefly to address those gathered in the hallway outside. He said there remains a great deal of work to be done, but that there was a building sense of good faith in the conversations.
He added he had agreed to convene a meeting between himself, Emory College Dean Robin Forman and representatives of the protest group, to be held as soon as possible. He said he thought those involved shared a common concern for the future of Emory University, even if they didn’t all agree on what that entails.
Negotiators for the group reported that Wagner had called Forman during the meeting and that Forman had spoken with the group at length by telephone.
Neither he nor Wagner agreed that the cuts would be reversed, they said, but they did agree to discuss the basis of the decisions that were made.
Vice President Hauk said that Wagner had emphasized repeatedly that he supports the dean and that the dean does have the authority to make the cuts that have been announced.
Julia Kjelgaard, chair of the visual arts department, was one of the six representatives who met with Wagner. She said she thought there was frustration on both sides, but still, “There is more conversation to be had.” And, she said, she thought further conversation would be worthwhile even if determines, as is possible, that her department lacks “eminence” and would indeed be cut in the end
In September, the Emory College of Arts and Sciences began implementation of a multi-year plan designed to enhance areas of distinction, transform areas of excellence into areas of eminence, and allocate resources to invest in important new and emerging growth areas.
The plan calls for investment in strengths of the arts and sciences and in new, interdisciplinary areas of instruction and inquiry, including contemporary China studies, digital and new media studies, and neurosciences.
To create opportunities for new investment and enhance existing academic offerings, the College is closing and reorganizing three academic departments and a program: the Division of Educational Studies; the Department of Physical Education; and the Department of Visual Arts, in addition to the Program in Journalism. In addition, admissions to the graduate programs in Spanish and Economics, and to the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, have been suspended. The ILA will be reorganized into an institute without permanent faculty.
Undergraduate students who have begun a major or minor in closing academic departments will be able to complete those majors, while all graduate students in affected graduate programs (Economics, Educational Studies, Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, Spanish) remain full members of the Laney Graduate School and all financial and academic commitments will be honored.
For complete information: http://news.emory.edu/EmoryCollegePlan
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My friends and I will believe that the administration is acting in good faith when I see the data regarding cut demographics that the University has not shared, and when the admins reveal what went on in the secretive CFAC meetings. Until then, they are on notice – the broader Emory community, and now the nation, are watching these negotiations. And no, they’re not just “meetings” – they’re *negotiations* – because the past 48 hours have made very, very clear that the community isn’t going to accept the usual Wagner-Forman shinejob anymore.
What a lot of people don’t seem to realize is that this is a very natural thing to happen in colleges and universities- departments are added, some are removed. Emory is doing its best to remain a good school and to take care of its programs. Many of the classes offered under departments being phased out will be available still, just under different departments, some faculty and staff will be relocated. It’s not a zombie apocalypse, and neither Dean Forman nor President Wagner are evil masterminds intent on ruining any lives. I understand and agree that the plans could have been communicated more effectively or respectfully, but we need to realize that these changes have happened, and they’ve been repeatedly affirmed by the administration, but the Board of Trustees, and by many alumni and donors. In the 90s when Emory decided to close the dental school, it probably meant even bigger changes for even more faculty. However, with the closure of the dental school, which was struggling to remain relevant in light of newer, cheaper state dental schools, Emory opened the Rollins School for Public Health, which has ultimately become a nationally-recognized program that does good both for the university and the community at large. It didn’t mean that students would no longer be able to go to dental school ever, it just meant that they couldn’t do it at Emory. And that probably upset a fair number of people, just like these changes; but look at it this way: Emory wants to do well by its students, and it couldn’t, in good faith, claim to do that if it gave students degrees and job prospects that weren’t up to snuff. Discussion is all well and good, but please, please, try to see the argument from both angles and envision these changes as part of a long-term, big-picture goal.
“I understand and agree that the plans could have been communicated more effectively or respectfully, but we need to realize that these changes have happened, and they’ve been repeatedly affirmed by the administration, but the Board of Trustees, and by many alumni and donors…”
Even something as seemingly trivial as “transparency” is something that has to be fought for tooth-and-nail; it’s not like the administration simply forgot to CC the students on some emails.
What’s at stake here is more than department reshuffling – what’s at stake is the role each community at Emory plays in making significant decisions like this. Emory’s administration has been secretive and autocratic when it comes to including the people who are by far the most affected by those decisions: the students and faculty. They should have at least as much a say in these deliberations as administrators, alumni, and donors. And decisions can be altered or un-made. That happens all the time in higher ed.
But even your shorthand displays how skewed your understanding of the university is. You talk about “Emory” doing this and that, “Emory wants to do well by its students,” “Emory decided to close the dental school,” etc. But Emory is nothing without its students; it is nothing without its faculty. What you should have said was “Emory’s administrators” or “Emory’s Board of Trustees.”
Eloquently stated Patrick St. John. As a recent PhD graduate and new alumna, I stand behind the students, faculty, and staff – the heart and soul of Emory – as they work to shape Emory into true eminence, one defined by its respect for all members of the community. I’m not giving a cent in donations to my alma mater until Administrators stop running this institution of higher learning like a greedy corporation and earn back the trust of this community.
Pointing out that departments have been eliminated in the past is irrelevant to the issue at hand and says nothing about our current set of circumstances. Nobody is denying that failing departments sometimes have to be eliminated to make way for more effective ones as part of a long-term vision for the University. The problem for the Emory community is that this is not our vision. It was handed down to us by someone else with a fundamentally different agenda.
When the dental school was closed down to make way for Rollins, the University did not see this level of uproar. While there were certainly people who were sad to see the dental school go, it made sense for the University’s long-term progress and the community trusted its administrators to move forward with the changes. That is not the case this time. The administration has not convinced anyone that this is a “new direction” we want to go in. It is also clear that appointing a secret committee of faculty who, coincidentally, decided not to cut any of their own departments is nowhere near our idea of student and faculty involvement.
Understaning: What a lot of people at Emory don’t seem to realize is that this is a very natural thing to happen in colleges and universities other than Emory – some authority figures make a questionable decisions, some students and faculty present questions and dissent. Emory is doing its best to remain a good school and to take care of its programs. It’s not a zombie apocalypse, and neither myself nor the Student Re-visioning Committee are evil masterminds intent on ruining any lives. I understand and agree that the plans could have been crafted more openly or democratically, but we need to realize that these changes have happened overnight, and they’ve been repeatedly affirmed by the people who announced them, by the body which mandated them, and by an alumnus and about two donors. In 2012 when the current discussion is taking place, it probably means little relevance for the dental school. However, with the mention of the dental school, which was struggling to remain relevant in light of newer, cheaper cosmopolitan universities, Emory opened the Rollins School for Public Health, which has ultimatley become a less-Semitic program that does good both for the university and the activist community in Atlanta. It didn’t mean that students would no longer be able to go to dental school ever, it just meant that they should transfer to an institution which would serve their needs. And that probably upset a fair number of administrators, just like these changes; but look at it this way: Emory wants to do well by its adminstration, and it couldn’t, in good faith, claim to do that if it gave deans jobs and paychecks that weren’t up to snuff. Discussion is all well and good, but please, please, try to see the argument from both angles and envision these negotiations as part of a long-term, big-picture goal.