Amendments proposed
The faculty met April 2 to discuss amendments to the Faculty Senate constitution as proposed by the committee jointly chaired by Provost Robert Palazzo and Larry Kagan, professor of art and deposed chair of the Faculty Senate. The changes were then referred to a general faculty vote that started on Monday and will conclude today.
The changes were developed in an attempt to streamline the makeup and procedures of the Senate, as well as to bring them in line with directives from the Board of Trustees. Specifically, the revised document distinguishes between voting (tenured and tenure-track faculty) and non-voting senators (representative of other constituencies), redefines the officer and committee structures, and changes certain Senate and faculty meeting procedures.
The referendum that would enact the changes is split into two parts. The first addresses the concerns of the Board that, if passed, may lead to the reinstatement of the Senate as a formal representative body—a status that it lost last summer due to its noncompliance with the aforementioned concerns. The second half of the ballot details issues that are more procedural that the Palazzo-Kagan committee hopes will not affect the Board’s acceptance of the Senate.
Donald Fry resigns
In an e-mail addressed to the RPI Community list, President Shirley Ann Jackson announced that Vice President for Institute Advancement Donald Fry had resigned his position, “effective immediately.”
Jackson stated that she has asked Vice President for Enrollment Jim Nondorf and Vice President for Student Life Eddie Ade Knowles to co-chair a Steering Committee that will oversee the operations of Institute Advancement during the interim as the Institute searches for a new vice president. Jackson plans to conduct a national search to fill the position, and has asked Vice President for Finance Virginia Gregg to chair this search committee.
Fry, Nondorf, Knowles, and Gregg were all unable to be reached for comment.
S&W website shut down
On April 1, the website of the Statler & Waldorf was shut down in accordance with a directive from Dean of Students Mark Smith. In a letter to Jim Tatalias ’10, the S&W editor in chief, Smith indicated that an article entitled “This Week in Bigotry ... is cancelled” violated the Rensselaer Policy on Electronic Citizenship. Furthermore, he noted in the letter that the piece did not, in his opinion, constitute satire, and that it was not appropriate content for a student publication.
In suspending the website, Smith drew upon his authority to take emergency action when the continued presence of an individual or group may endanger the safety of a person or property at RPI, as outlined in the Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Following a meeting between Smith and Tatalias on April 2, the website was restored. The offending article was taken down, pending a more thorough discussion of the status of student media, particularly with regard to electronic publication.
Open forum planned
At the annual Spring Town Meeting on March 17, President Shirley Ann Jackson announced plans to conduct an open forum in response to the outcry following the shutting down of Wafaa Bilal’s exhibit in mid-March.
The open forum will allow students the opportunity to discuss issues related to free speech on the RPI campus.
In response to this request, Vice President for Student Life Eddie Ade Knowles will host a forum next Wednesday, April 16, from 4­­–6 pm in the McNeil Room.
Changes made to titles
The President’s Office recently announced changes to two administrative positions—the executive assistant to the president and the executive assistant to the board of trustees. Patrice DeCoster, who serves as executive assistant to the president, now also has the title deputy chief of staff. In addition to DeCoster’s current duties, she will assist with the coordination and tracking of performance planning initiatives, and develop and implement procedures and administrative controls that will strengthen and improve communications with the Office of the President.
Theresa Hobbs, who was executive assistant to the Board of Trustees, is now executive coordinator for Board of Trustees affairs. In addition to her current responsibilities to the Board, Hobbs will serve as assistant secretary of the Institute. She will perform a full range of advanced administrative duties in the Office of the President and assist the secretary of the Institute and general counsel in the maintenance of the official books, papers, records, correspondence, and documents belonging to Rensselaer.
