Please note: The following submission was sent to The Ithacan in advance of the recent announcement re: the restructuring of the School of Music and the Department of Theatre Arts.
It’s not too late to slow down and examine how the college can proceed and address the enrollment decline before embarking on this disastrous plan.
It seems that without a credentialing system, programs have little value. The college seems incapable of valuing the rewards of nourishing the spirit.
Similar to now, contingent faculty members found themselves at risk of losing their jobs — and even more, their connections with students.
If regional demographics are impacting admissions, then why are many schools not seeing the same trends in applications and enrollment as IC?
The realignment of schools, departments and programs needs to be based on the imagination of those who teach, think, research and write — faculty.
The SLT has repeatedly stated they took feedback on the strategic plan, but the real decision hinged on a reduction to 5,000 students.
The administration’s commitment to disaster capitalism has permanently divided our community. Our wounds are deep; they will not be easily healed.
As we watch our community reeling from the current cuts, we should be invested in unambiguously defending tenure as a cherished institutional value.
Only 12.2% of faculty members identify as people of color. However, the college does not publicly share this information broken down by faculty rank.
It would be strategic for us to work on healing these traumas and learning how to offer each other compassion, even within stark disagreement.
A robust commitment to collaborative shared governance is needed now to move the college through this dark time and ensure that the college thrives.
