Engineering deans, students meet at forum

Alumni Hall felt more like a small living room than a large lecture classroom yesterday during the School of Engineering and Applied Science's "Dialogue with the Deans." The Engineering School's Undergraduate Advisory Board invited all Engineering students to to discuss a variety of issues pertaining to the school with Dean Gregory Farrington, Associate Dean David Pope and Engineering Advising and Admissions Director John Keenan in the Towne Building yesterday. Approximately 30 students attended the event. Pope, a Materials Science professor, set the light-hearted tone of the afternoon with his opening statement. "I want to do all of these things for you, but [Farrington] won't give me the money," Pope quipped. Although the atmosphere was laid back and personable, students challenged the administrators on issues including minority retention, the school's low ranking and programs to facilitate faculty and student interaction. Engineering junior LaShanta Johnson began the discussion by citing a national statistic that 80 percent of African Americans drop out of engineering schools before graduation. She explained that the SEAS's Office of Minority Programs is "great." "The people are great, and a lot of minority students owe their graduation to the office," she said. But Johnson added that she wanted to know if anything is being done specifically for African American students. "The statistics you state are tragic, but they are no way indicative of our school," Farrington said. "If there are aspects that aren't working, we need to talk about that. We don't want students to fail for inappropriate reasons." Engineering freshman Andro Nodarse asked the deans how they felt about the placement of the Engineering School as 28th in the nation in the recent U.S. News and World Report annual ranking. "I feel a deep and entrenched frustration," Farrington said. "I don't know how we can compete with larger universities with students and faculty the size of ours. "You are not getting a 28th-ranked education -- you are just not," he added. Farrington cited a colleague whose school was ranked above the University. "We're ranked above you but five years after graduation our students are working for yours," Farrington quoted his colleague as saying. Seemingly satisfied with his response, students then geared questions toward advising and faculty contact. "When I was a freshman, there was a program called Chili and Conversation [a program enabling students and faculty to meet informally]," Engineering junior Rachel Sheinbein said. "It was really good, but what other student-faculty contact programs will there be in the future?" Students and administrators discussed possible future programs, including eating with faculty through Dining Services on a regular basis. "We want every Engineering student meeting faculty within the first year," Farrington said. Turning to academics, Pope responded to requests for another communications seminar to help students with presentation skills. "We had such a course several years ago," Pope explained. "We weren't able to find another good professor, but we think it's a great idea." The event's mediator, Engineering junior Rodney Johnson, asked the deans what new projects students could expect from the school in the future. Pope said he hopes to be able to have students hook up their own computers to ports in the labs and classrooms. This move would result in a reduced number of computers available in the engineering labs. Pope's idea raised numerous questions about diminishing resources for students who cannot afford their own computers. "There are some problems, but it's a neat way to go," said Helen Anderson, assistant director of Computer and Education Technology Services. An informal coffee hour followed the discussion to allow for more personal interaction between the students and administrators.