To the Editor:
This letter is in response to the actions taken by the administration of this Institute after the release of the Chain of Command Satisfaction Survey, summarized in Joe Hamburg’s article in last week’s issue of The Polytechnic. I, as a student and tuition paying member of this institution, find it preposterous that our administration was so swift to criticize the basis of the survey, instead of heeding, and accepting, its results.
Excuses instead of actions were the first responses of our administration, which is the exact attitude that will, if anything, be responsible for preventing this institution from reaching its long-term goals as a potential top tier research university. Even if neutral votes were thrown out, they would be thrown out from both the satisfied and unsatisfied sides, leaving performance percentages relatively unchanged. And the over 50 percent of the facility that did not vote could mostly likely be attributed to lack of strong feelings about either side of the fence, leaving performance percentages relatively unchanged. Either way you stack it, there is a problem, and denial is not the answer to this ever-growing RPI divide.
I feel that this administration’s swiftness to issue a resolution fully supporting President Jackson and The Rensselaer Plan so soon after the release of survey findings only works against this Institute, showing our leaders’ devotion is more towards a grand future ideal, and not the actual present day people of this school, the very people they were appointed to protect and listen to. How do they expect to reach the goals of The Rensselaer Plan without the support of the people it encompasses? I would really like to see a statement on how they plan to do that.
Overall, I feel the administration’s reaction towards the findings of the Chain of Command Survey should not, and must not go unchecked. Their responses of denial and criticism will only work to more fully divide supporters and skeptics of The Rensselaer Plan, and a separation like this will only add years to the possible paramount of RPI as a first class research and higher education power.
Adam Plesniak
MECL ’05
