College Council (CC) hosted a question and answer session with Dean of the College Robin Forman on Oct. 10 to discuss the recent departmental changes at Emory.
Forman announced plans to phase out and suspend several programs in a Sept. 14 university-wide e-mail.
Although the meeting was centered on the recent announcement, CC legislators also asked questions regarding tuition hikes, financial aid, sources of college revenue and recent construction.
Reuben Lack, a College freshman and college council legislator, asked Forman to discuss the formation of a committee that would allow students and administrators to communicate more openly.
"There is not a culture of [students and administrators] working together [at Emory]," replied Forman. "I was surprised that there wasn't a process by which administrators met with students in some form regularly. From the day I arrived, I wanted to know, where do you go on this campus to talk to the student body? It's not easy. On other campuses, it is easy."
Another student expressed concern over financial aid. Forman responded that Emory College is currently dedicated to both meeting full financial need and its need blind stance. He noted, however, that many schools have backed down from their commitment to maintaining need blind policies.
When asked about his decision on which departments to scale back or eliminate, Forman cited five criteria used by the College Financial Advisory Committee: scholarly distinction, interdependence with other parts of the college, how the department fits into the college's future vision, how the department contributes to the college's mission, and the role the department plays in an undergraduate liberal education.
Another student asked Forman why he did not give departments the opportunity to defend themselves. In response, he discussed a hypothetical scenario in which he would offer departments six months to mount a defense against the cuts.
Forman said that in order to make such an option plausible, he would have to notify over a dozen departments of their imminent removal rather than five.
"Just take a moment to think how last year would have been like had we done that." said Forman.
Both CC president Amitav Chakraborty, a College senior, and Forman agreed that there was still a communications gap between both students and administrators regarding the recent decisions. Chakraborty identified the lack of communication as a reason for tension between students and administrators.
"None of these groups were talking to each other," said Chakraborty. "The goal of tonight's meeting was to have him come in and open up the other side. It's easy to make assumptions without knowing what's going on. It's hard to make an informed decision from both sides if you don't hear one side."
Both Forman and Chakraborty emphasized that as long as students are still confused by the recent decisions, administrators and students must openly discuss the issue together.
"I have accepted every invitation I have been offered to come speak, whether by faculty, staff or student.," Forman said. "The more we understand each other, the more students understand the context for the recent announcements, the better for the entire community."
Forman said that he was pleased with the offer from the College Council to speak on the decision and agreed that it was beneficial for both students and himself.
"Not everyone [here] agrees with everything I said," explained Forman, "That wasn't the goal, nor is it a realistic expectation, but [the meeting] was productive. I got to hear what was on the minds of our student leaders, which was very helpful for me and they got to hear the thinking that went into some of the more confusing aspects of the recent announcements."
– By Dustin Slade
