Rebuilding Relations

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s Brian Dzenis reports in “Aligning Priorities” on page 1, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution stating that it cannot support Provost Richard Englert’s White Paper in regards to restructuring proposals, on the basis that there is not enough analysis on the financial or academic impact of such moves.

The concerns of the faculty, particularly from the four targeted schools – Tyler School of Art, Boyer College of Music and Dance, the School of Communications and Theater and the College of Education – are very valid. The Faculty Senate’s requests for more information are understandable.

The Temple News does not see a protagonist or villain in this conversation. Both the provost’s office and the faculty seem to care very much about the future of the university and both motivations seem noble, but right now the two parties do not seem to be on the same page with each other.

On the provost’s side, if Englert is serious about restructuring the four aforementioned schools, more details about the impact of those moves should have been shown and discussed when the White Paper was originally published in December 2011, not in February after drawing the ire of the Faculty Senate. This is especially pertinent since it has become apparent that this is not the first time the faculty has had an issue with a lack of details about potential restructuring from the provost’s office.

For the faculty, it is very clear that each faculty member has a lot of pride in the department he or she teaches in and wants the best for their respective department, however, it is not necessarily OK to dig in and demand to keep the status quo.

Although the provost is not obligated to listen to the faculty when it comes to decision making, he should consider their insight and expertise before reaching a verdict. The best solution is for the two sides to work together, approach the situation pragmatically and ultimately compromise.