The Independent Council voted for a new president last week after our former president chose to resign for personal reasons; I was graciously elected as the new IC president. I was going to take this opportunity to introduce myself and explain the purpose of the Council, but because I only have one column, I am going to talk instead about an issue that affects all RPI students, greek and non-greek. If you read The Poly, you might have seen a number of articles recently published regarding issues surrounding the Faculty Senate, even though most of us have no idea what this Senate even is. I hope I can help demystify their roles and explain why their issues should also concern us as students.
The Faculty Senate was created for similar reasons the Student Senate was—as an outlet for the members of the RPI faculty to represent themselves. We also aim to foster open communication and shared governance around issues between the faculty, students, and administration. The Senate has been functioning for a number of years and has previously worked closely with the administration on committees regarding curriculum, promotion, tenure, and allocating resources. Recently, the Faculty Senate was suspended by Provost Robert E. Palazzo for reasons the Senate seems to heartily disagree upon. I was fortunate enough to be one of three students who were not asked to leave the Faculty Senate meeting last Wednesday. While the faculty did act immaturely at this meeting, it was apparent that these issues were of grave importance and this may have caused some emotions to escalate. The reason why students should care about the issues surrounding the Faculty Senate became clear to me at this meeting.
After the provost chose to suspend the Senate, he asked each department to submit a list of faculty members to be appointed to committees that were previously created and elected by the Faculty Senate. From the lists submitted, the provost will choose who he wants. This point should seriously concern us. The Faculty Senate has functioned for years by electing who they feel will best represent them on these committees without say from the administration. While the departments still have the ability to submit a list of names, the administration now has the power to choose who they want and veto those they do not. My fear is that the administration will now use this as precedent to continue acting beyond their defined role. What if the administration decided students could elect four Grand Marshals who would then be sent to the provost for a final decision? This would be ridiculous and a clear violation of our rights. This illustrates how the provost having the last say on committee “elections” for the faculty would be a similar violation of its rights.
While this is a private institution, faculty and students should have the right to voice their opinions and work with the administration to foster a community that is conducive to living and learning. Many think the administration has gone too far this time and is impeding the faculty members from concentrating on why they are at RPI: to teach. I ask the students to stand behind the faculty on this issue. I also thank The Poly for voicing its opinion last week in a very strong staff editorial column. We cannot allow the rights of those who teach and guide us to be violated.
I encourage you to send your suggestions or concerns to me regarding any issues on campus at chesak@rpi.edu.
