Proposal meets mixed reactions:
Students, faculty wait for more info
Cheryl Harrison
Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: News
The new plan to unify the university under a single academic dean that Bowman proposed last week was met with mixed reactions among students and faculty. Many are concerned or confused about what this shift would mean.
Under the proposal, a single dean would work to establish academic divisions in the college and appoint division chairs. The dean would also be added to the President's Cabinet to represent the concerns of the academic community. The law school would see few changes.
Bowman's next stop with the plan is the Faculty Policy Review Committee, and then he will present the plan to the Board of Trustees. Rich Ashbrook, interim dean of The College of Arts and Sciences, will continue dialogue with faculty and staff.
Students are unsure about what the merge would mean and how the changes would affect them.
"The plan has created a lot of controversy throughout the university," senior Michael Helman said. "I've heard too many rumors to really know what's going to happen. I haven't seen anything in black and white to know what the effects will be."
Many students share Helman's confusion.
"I've heard people in the School of Management talking about the fact that there won't be a School of Management anymore, but no one seems to know what the repercussions of that will be," sophomore Hollie Prater said.
Other students openly doubt the proposal's advantages.
"I cannot find one thing gained by Bowman's plan to unify the colleges and I don't think he's made a strong enough financial case for the change," sophomore Kevin Clager said.
Some faculty members feel otherwise.
"I think President Bowman set out a positive and holistic vision of what Capital can be," communication professor Thomas Baggerman said. "I think a lot of the departments and programs will benefit [from the plan]."
Supporting the plan, Baggerman said that the benefits of the plan extend beyond financial improvements.
"I'm sure there will be financial benefits from eliminating redundancies, but the bigger benefit, I think, is a clear, shared goal for the Capital community," Baggerman said.
Other faculty members are concerned that the shift will have no positive consequences, or even negative consequences.
"I don't know exactly what the great benefit will be," Alex Heckman, political science professor, said. "I only know the general outline of the plan, but I don't see what the changes will affect. I guess we'll see."
Some faculty refused to comment.
charriso@capital.edu
Under the proposal, a single dean would work to establish academic divisions in the college and appoint division chairs. The dean would also be added to the President's Cabinet to represent the concerns of the academic community. The law school would see few changes.
Bowman's next stop with the plan is the Faculty Policy Review Committee, and then he will present the plan to the Board of Trustees. Rich Ashbrook, interim dean of The College of Arts and Sciences, will continue dialogue with faculty and staff.
Students are unsure about what the merge would mean and how the changes would affect them.
"The plan has created a lot of controversy throughout the university," senior Michael Helman said. "I've heard too many rumors to really know what's going to happen. I haven't seen anything in black and white to know what the effects will be."
Many students share Helman's confusion.
"I've heard people in the School of Management talking about the fact that there won't be a School of Management anymore, but no one seems to know what the repercussions of that will be," sophomore Hollie Prater said.
Other students openly doubt the proposal's advantages.
"I cannot find one thing gained by Bowman's plan to unify the colleges and I don't think he's made a strong enough financial case for the change," sophomore Kevin Clager said.
Some faculty members feel otherwise.
"I think President Bowman set out a positive and holistic vision of what Capital can be," communication professor Thomas Baggerman said. "I think a lot of the departments and programs will benefit [from the plan]."
Supporting the plan, Baggerman said that the benefits of the plan extend beyond financial improvements.
"I'm sure there will be financial benefits from eliminating redundancies, but the bigger benefit, I think, is a clear, shared goal for the Capital community," Baggerman said.
Other faculty members are concerned that the shift will have no positive consequences, or even negative consequences.
"I don't know exactly what the great benefit will be," Alex Heckman, political science professor, said. "I only know the general outline of the plan, but I don't see what the changes will affect. I guess we'll see."
Some faculty refused to comment.
charriso@capital.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Michael Bendele
posted 2/07/08 @ 2:58 PM EST
The fact that very few seem to understand the scope or ramifications of the proposals would be my first concern. It is easy to play a numbers game and eliminate perceived redundancies. (Continued…)
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