Protesters Stage Walkout, Sit-In Over Department Changes
More than 200 University students and faculty protested in front of and inside the administration building on the Quadrangle Tuesday, voicing their concerns about the department changes announced earlier this semester and demanding a meeting with University President James W. Wagner. The protest culminated in a three-hour meeting with Wagner, who called College Dean Robin Forman on speakerphone. Protesters, many of whom left their classes to join the “walkout” at noon, met on the Quad and vehemently expressed their views on the changes via megaphone. Many held signs with phrases such as “Cut Forman” and “We are Emory.” Protesters also…
An Open Letter From the AAUP
On Sept. 14, 2012, Dean Robin Forman announced a number of changes to the curriculum, including the closing of the Department of Visual Arts, the Division of Educational Studies, the Program in Journalism and the Department of Physical Education (the last already in progress at the time of his letter). He also announced the suspension of admissions to the graduate programs in economics, Spanish, and the Institute of Liberal Arts (ILA). The ILA, he wrote, will be restructured as an “institute without permanent faculty.” Owing to these cuts, a number of lecture track faculty will not have their contracts renewed,…
Our Opinon: Students Must Work With Dean
Of the many issues surrounding the recent departmental changes, one concerns the role of students in major university decisions. In a recent interview, College Dean Robin Forman said that while the University believes in shared governance and joint decision-making, the recent changes were left to a faculty committee because it would be inappropriate for students to be making decisions that would have a direct impact on the lives of Emory faculty and staff. He also believes that it would be inappropriate for students to have access to the sensitive documents that the faculty committee used throughout the decision-making process. Although…
To the Editor: Decision to Eliminate Journalism Program is Baffling
To the Editor: As recent Emory University alumni, we could not be more baffled by Emory’s recent decision to eliminate its Journalism Program. In addition to the profound impact that the program had on our educational experience, the University’s removal of journalism is a move that should be of concern to anyone who cares about supporting the future of in-depth reporting in the Atlanta community. Robin Forman, the dean of Emory’s liberal arts college, has primarily cited two reasons in defense of his decision to cut journalism. The first is his claim that journalism is “not an easy fit” in…
Liberal Arts: Still Valuable
Emory’s recent decision to shut down or suspend various academic departments and programs has rightly generated campus-wide and national attention. On the popular education blog Inside Higher Ed, Liz Reisberg called the moves “stunning,” given that journalism, economics, and Spanish language are central to understanding — and succeeding in — today’s complex world. The news of Emory College Dean Robin Forman’s announcement was also been picked up by articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education, as well as a few other colleges’ student newspapers. Some coverage has emphasized the impact the downsizing will have on faculty, especially non-tenured positions; the…
Our Opinion: Grad Rally Very Constructive
Emory graduate students hosted a rally on the steps of the Administration Building on Monday in light of the University’s decision to suspend graduate programs in economics and Spanish and shutdown a number of other programs. The rally provided a forum for graduate students to air their grievances and offer solutions to rectify the elimination of these programs. The Emory Wheel commends the rally for being exceptionally well-organized and peacefully executed, in light of other, more incendiary protests that have occurred in recent memory. Not only was the rally carried out in a mature and respectable manner, but also those…
Are Emory’s Cuts Necessary?
In 1978, 1,200 students staged a three-day sit-in to protest massive cuts by their university. Their confrontation only ended when the university agreed to establish a more inclusive decision-making process that gave a seat on the board of trustees to one faculty member and one student. The provost advocating the cuts “resigned” later that year. No, this did not happen at Emory. This happened at the University of Pennsylvania where Dean Robin Forman earned his degree in mathematics just three years later. Unfortunately for Emory…
Graduate Economics: A Needless Casualty
The budget cuts Dean Forman handed down last Friday will have a devastating impact for many undergraduates in Emory College. However, the cut that will hurt all Emory undergraduates the most is one not mentioned in the dean’s email—the elimination of Emory’s Economics PhD program. When the news broke, I was shocked but not surprised. Over the last ten years, Emory has not supported its Economics program. Even though Economics is Emory’s second most popular major, it has the highest student-teacher ratio of any academic department. Economics majors will tell you how impossible it is to get into Economics courses,…
Letter to the Editor: Emory’s Dept. of Educational Studies a Sore Loss
To the Editor: Dean Forman stated that Emory University will “phase out a small number of [its] undergraduate programs… in order to ensure that [students] are immersed in an academic environment of the highest caliber.” By cutting the Division of Educational Studies, Emory University is straying away from its ultimate goal of reaching the highest level of academia. The Division of Educational Studies does two things exceptionally that promote a higher level of learning: (1) develop meaningful student-faculty relationships and (2) use applicable, practical, and interactive methods of learning. The Division of Educational Studies exceptionally develops meaningful student-faculty relationships. Emory…
Our Opinion: Communication Failure Betrays Students, Faculty
In an email sent to Emory undergraduates Friday afternoon, Robin Forman, the dean of Emory College, announced a number of significant changes that will be taking place within the next few years. A similar letter was sent to students enrolled in the Laney Graduate School. The letter announced the elimination, or “phasing out” of several undergraduate programs, including journalism, visual arts and educational studies. The economics and Spanish graduate programs have also been suspended for a minimum of five years, according to a statement from the…
