Panel: U. not intellectual enough

Provost Michael Aiken revealed the results of the most recent visit by an outside review board of education experts designed to evaluate all four University undergraduate schools, during the May 5 University Council meeting. The committee, headed by Bryn Mawr College President Mary Patterson McPherson, visited the campus in the spring and held discussions with students and faculty from the Wharton School, the Nursing School, the Engineering School and the College. Many of the committee's criticisms revolved around what have been ongoing University problems, including the lack of an intellectual atmosphere and the tensions and competitiveness between the four schools which are supposed to make up "One University." Aiken cited several criticisms which applied to all four schools, including the observation that the University faculty, on the whole, "underestimates the intellectual capacity of their students." Aiken added that the committee came to this conclusion, in part, because of low faculty accessibility to students. Former Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Jeff Lichtman said he thinks the main problem lies in miscommunication during the faculty hiring process. "There is an inherent problem in the hiring of new faculty," the College senior said. "Faculty members coming in don't know what is expected of them, especially their responsibilty to undergraduate or graduate education." But Aiken defended the faculty hiring process. "You can talk all you want to [new] faculty the first week, and we do, but the real socialization happens in their departments," he said. Lichtman said too much emphasis is placed on writing books, rather than interacting with students. President Sheldon Hackney disagreed with Lichtman's assessment of the inaccessibility of faculty members. "We have been trying to draw faculty into student life for years," Hackney said. "The real problem is how do you create an atmosphere where faculty members feel better at being recognized for being known by their peers and students as good teachers, rather than being recognized for research in their field." The review board, known as the McPherson Committee, also found that while Career Planning and Placement Services serves Wharton students well, it lacks services for students from the other three schools. Another criticism of the University was that its Code of Academic Integrity is ineffective. Aiken said the committee found high levels of cheating, especially in the Wharton School, where it found that intense competition encourages plagiarism and cheating. Amidst these criticisms, however, Aiken said that the University too often becomes bogged down with the "Quaker mentality" of being "so self-critical that we don't focus on the good things." He added that while the University has got a long way to go to perfection, "it has still come a long way."