Faculty vote against SAS cut proposals

The faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences voted last night to urge Dean Rosemary Stevens to postpone making her recommendations to disband two of the schools 28 departments. But a similar proposal regarding the fate of the American Civilization Department went down to defeat in a close vote. The faculty called for external and internal review boards to study the Religious Studies and Regional Science departments. Passing 40 to 21 and 37 to 18, respectively, the motions urge Stevens to charge these committees and wait for their results before releasing her proposals to Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson, Interim President Claire Fagin and the University Board of Trustees. The motion for similar review boards for Am Civ was voted down 25 to 23. Votes on the merger of the Astronomy and Physics departments and the placement of the Slavics Department into receivership were not taken. The vote on these motions, postponed at last week's faculty meeting, followed a lengthy discussion yesterday on the substantive issues surrounding the cuts. Stevens, who opposed the review boards because of potential delays, would not comment on the votes. But, Parliamentarian and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Donald Fitts said last week that the vote is only advisory to Stevens and she is not required to follow it. "I want to think about the comments that were made," Stevens said after the meeting. "There were a wide variety of suggestions and I thought it was very important that we have extra time to discuss the substance of the proposals." Undergraduate Am Civ Chairperson Melvyn Hammarberg said he has a mixed reactions about the votes. "I was very pleased with the votes for Religious Studies and Regional Science and I was disappointed in the vote for American Civilization," he said. "This vote allowed the faculty to exercise its authority in the situation without having to take a direct strong stand against the dean." Hammarberg added he is unsure if the dean will follow the faculty's recommendations. "I have no idea what she will do," he said. "Clearly these are only advisory votes. I think the dean is in a position where she needs to examine her recommendations and I think the faculty has given her the time to do it." Associate Art History Professor David Brownlee said he is not surprised by the votes. "I think it was a useful meeting," he said. "The vote was more or less what I expected. The activities of this afternoon reflect the fact that we place a great deal of importance on making our opinions clearly understood." Hammarberg said he sees no need for his department to "fight on." "I don't see any reason for us to have to fight on," he said. "The moves are really in [Stevens'] court. There are really no moves for us to make at this point. She asked for guidance from the faculty and she received that guidance." The faculty meeting, which attracted about 75 faculty members, was mostly dominated by comments on the substance of the plan. Faculty members raised issues ranging from how the cuts fit into the dean's overall vision for SAS to ways in which faculty committees, chosen by the faculty, could look at the proposals and make recommendations. The most emotional address of the afternoon came from Regional Science Chairperson Stephen Gale, who spoke about his department's students and reputation. "The substance is real," Gale said. "I don't think you've looked and I don't think you've dreamed and I don't think you've built. I think you've slashed, and I think you've slashed to the ends of the curve, without thinking of what benefits the University." Stevens, who listened to the faculty members' criticisms for over an hour, said there is no easy way to make decisions which affect SAS and its faculty. "We have been engaged in this planning process over the past 18 months specifically to try to grapple with some of the questions about what it is we are as a School of Arts and Sciences," Stevens said. "It has not been an easy process for anybody." Another group of faculty, representing the entire teaching pool of the University, opposed the cuts, as outlined in a letter dated Wednesday. The University chapter of the American Association for University Professors "strongly urges" that SAS faculty "insist that they be allowed to exercise their rights and responsibilities in the matter of restructuring the institution and that their demand be supported by the Faculty Senate," Emeritus Finance Professor and AAUP President Morris Mendelson wrote in the letter. This criticism is only one of several levied against the proposals. Others include two requests for Stevens to postpone her decisions by the Undergraduate Assembly and Graduate and Professional Students Association.