A Message From Dean Forman to the Faculty: A Follow-Up to Wednesday’s Faculty Meeting
The Wheel has obtained the following letter, which is from College Dean Robin Forman addressed to the College faculty. Dear Colleagues, I write to add to the thoughtful and respectful conversation we had at the faculty meeting yesterday. To be clear, my goal here is not to offer any opinions on the variety of issues discussed, but rather to offer some information that I think may be relevant to this deliberation. Two speakers offered their assessments of how forcefully President Wagner has supported the College relative to the other schools. It is my experience – admittedly limited to the last two…
CFAC Resigns Due to New Review Committee
All members of the College Financial Advisory Committee (CFAC), the group that helped College Dean Robin Forman evaluate departments in a process that culminated in the changes announced last semester, have resigned from the committee, effective immediately. Stefan Lutz, the chair of the Emory College Governance Committee (GovCom), announced CFAC’s resignation in an email to College faculty Wednesday morning. GovCom is Emory’s main governing faculty body under which CFAC falls. CFAC members declared their decision to resign in a March 6 letter to Lutz, who noted that the delay in the announcement of the resignation was due to the fact…
Faculty Vote to Review Dept. Changes Process
Emory College faculty have voted in favor of conducting a review of the departmental changes announced in mid-September. The motion to nominate and elect faculty members to an independent review board was brought up at the last faculty meeting before winter break and passed 64 to 54. While details of the review process will be decided in the coming weeks, faculty members expressed a desire to know how the decision-making process was carried out, with specific attention on the Governance Committee, which is the main governing faculty body, and the College Financial Advisory Committee, the group College Dean Robin Forman…
Committee Responds To AAUP Letter
Emory’s main governing faculty body has rejected the notion that “faculty governance was done improperly” in response to criticisms from a national organization that supports academic freedom at universities. The national office of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) sent a letter to University President James W. Wagner in December in support of AAUP members at Emory calling for a full review of the department changes. The local group consists of more than 60 Emory faculty and former administrators and is part of a national organization comprised of more than 500 campus chapters. College Dean Robin Forman, who spearheaded…
Tone, Direction of Meeting Disappointing, Admins and Students Say
Members of the Student Re-visioning Committee (SRC) and top administrators butted heads over the recent department changes at a private meeting last Friday. Seven students and three faculty members met with University President James W. Wagner, College Dean Robin Forman and Vice President and Deputy to the President Gary Hauk to voice their concerns, but by the meeting’s end, came up empty handed in their efforts to have the department changes reversed. Forman, who spearheaded the changes, first announced the reallocation of resources and closing of programs and departments within the College and Laney Graduate School in a Sept. 14 University-wide email….
Contradictions Have Come to the Fore
This past Friday’s abrupt and ineffectual negotiations between the Student Re-Visioning Committee (SRC) and President James Wagner, Dean Robin Forman, and Vice President Gary Hauk is the most recent expression of nearly three months of widespread campus and community opposition to the September 14th cuts. Students were shocked by the flawed process and faulty principles behind the elimination and suspension of various programs and departments, frustrated by the bromides and non-answers offered by administrators at various informational sessions, and troubled by the wider implications for their own education, the values of shared governance, and the future of Emory University. It…
Forman, Students Disagree Over Occupy Atlanta Involvement
In a meeting with department chairs, Emory College Dean Robin Forman discussed Occupy Atlanta’s involvement in the recent protest on campus and refuted claims that the Student Re-Visioning Committee (SRC) had met with him to discuss the department changes. The SRC developed in response to administrators’ decision to reallocate resources and eliminate certain programs and departments within the College and Laney Graduate School. Forman announced the reallocations in a University-wide Sept. 14 email. At the Dec. 5 meeting, sources say Forman claimed Occupy Atlanta demonstrators and professional political organizers were among the group of protesters during the Dec. 4 sit-in. “There…
National AAUP Calls for Review of Dept. Changes
The national office of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) sent a letter to University President James W. Wagner Friday afternoon, stating that it supports the Emory AAUP chapter’s concerns regarding the recent department changes. The AAUP aims to support academic freedom and shared governance at universities across the United States. The local chapter consists of more than 60 Emory faculty and former administrators and is part of a national organization comprised of more than 500 campus chapters. College Dean Robin Forman, who spearheaded the changes, first announced the reallocation of resources and finances within the College and Laney Graduate School in a…
Admins Deny Request To Reverse Cuts
The #EmoryCuts movement held a rally Friday evening outside Candler Library, where a student-faculty delegation met with University administrators to discuss the recent department changes. A group of seven students and three faculty members met with University President James W. Wagner, Dean of the College Robin Forman and Vice President and Deputy to the President Gary Hauk in Forman’s conference room. Following the one-hour meeting, the protesters announced on the steps of Candler Library that they were unsuccessful in convincing administrators to reconsider the department changes. Forman first announced the changes in a University-wide Sept. 14 email. The meeting was…
University Statement Re: Dec. 7 Meeting
Emory University Statement President Jim Wagner and Emory College Dean Robin Forman are meeting with a representative group of students on Dec. 7 to continue a conversation that began at a meeting in the President’s Office earlier this week. The meeting agenda will include a review of points agreed upon at the Dec. 4 meeting: Emory’s continuing and future eminence will depend on pursuing “focused distinctions,” not the “lifting of all boats.” Cuts will likely be necessary in any reallocation plan for Emory College of Arts and Sciences to invest more in opportunities for eminence. Students should have some input…
