This is an open letter to President Shirley Ann Jackson.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lucien Gerber. I am the professor of French at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I am addressing this plea to you for the preservation of the foreign language programs, namely Chinese, Japanese, and French, at this institution of higher learning. I shall be as brief as possible; I shall not bore you with the rehashed reasons  that have been put forward in the defense of the foreign language programs. I would like to make two points.

Primo: RPI has striven in the past 10 or so years to become an internationally recognized institution of higher learning, a move behind which you yourself have been a driving force. It does you honor. However, how can Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute claim to join the ranks of international universities, technical or otherwise, if it does not offer comprehensive foreign language programs?

Secundo:  Quite a few students spend countless hours taking difficult courses in the foreign language programs (for instance: Business French) in order to have a minor . Why minor in a foreign language? Because it looks mighty good on a resumé. Ask my 14 students who are finishing the program or those who are planning to take advantage of that program. They will tell you themselves: “In this competitive market, a minor in a foreign language makes a world of a difference in hiring.” Moreover, it seems to me a matter of elementary justice: considering the immense cost incurred to obtain a diploma in a private university such as RPI, the students are entitled to courses that will benefit them in their private lives (traveling to foreign countries is common nowadays) as well as in the job market—after all,  the global economy is here to stay.

I am fully aware of the financial difficulties that are facing Rensselaer. There is, it seems to me, a solution. Every year, when the time comes to share our resources with the less fortunate, you send a memo asking the employees to be as generous as possible, so as to live up to the ideals  of a socially concerned institution. I am referring, of course, to the United Way fund drive. Well, the time has come to show solidarity among all employees at RPI. Let us all, from janitor to president, take a 5–10 percent pay cut. That should generate enough money to keep all the employees slated to be laid off on the pay roll and keep the programs going. This will allow our university to weather the financial storm without depriving the students of the availability of the various programs and services that are rightfully theirs.

Finally, I wish to commend you on the fine job you have been doing since you took the helm of our Institute. I fully realize that it is not an easy task to run such a university, and the hurdles to clear are many. I would hope that you will at least read carefully my letter and give it careful consideration.

Lucien Gerber