Recently, the pages of The Poly and other vehicles we use to communicate with each other have been filled with heated dialogue on Rensselaer’s faculty governance review process. I am proud to see our faculty, our leadership in the administration, and student leaders all engaged and actively participating in the change that is occurring here. It is a change that deserves our attention.
But some people have not always been responsible in the way they have communicated their views. Some have not been collegial. Some have even gone so far as to be slanderous. The level of professionalism in this important discussion has been lowered. This disappoints me. That doesn’t mean that people cannot disagree, but they can disagree in ways that do not demean or halt progress.
As President Shirley Ann Jackson said at our most recent Town Meeting, we are “engaged together in creating an Institute of the future and for the future.” To achieve the best possible Institute of the future, we need to continue the conversation, but we also need to elevate the dialogue. Yes, we are grappling with change here. Change is not always nice and neat. It tends to make people uncomfortable. And what is occurring here is extraordinary change. We are changing our faculty governance structure, but we are also changing our entire Institute. And we are all active agents in this Institute-wide change. This is not just the Faculty Senate’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, this is not just Jackson’s Institute; it serves all who have worked, lived, taught, and learned here, lived in the community, or benefited from our life-altering research and technology.
I have worked at Rensselaer for more than 30 years, with seven different presidents and thousands of students. None of our current students, and very few of our faculty and administration, have witnessed first-hand, as I have, the long-term progress that this Institute has made. I know how far we have come. The students are inheriting a Rensselaer that has seen great turmoil, but also made great progress in recent years. The effective leadership of Jackson has transformed the Institute. Her guidance has brought us to the tipping point, but the long-term sustainability of this change and its continuation rests with all of us.
When Jackson came to Rensselaer in 1999, our facilities were in desperate need of revitalization, our academic programs needed new resources and new faculty, and our students were unhappy with the quality of student life here on campus. Our students were put through an academic wringer with extremely rigorous coursework, little faculty support, extremely limited diversity, and few facilities or outlets for student activities, leadership training initiatives, or stimulating campus life. We had branched far from our roots as the first and foremost technological university in the nation. Some alumni literally hated their alma mater. Change was required.
Today, thanks in large part to the ambition and courage of Jackson and her collaboration with some extremely dedicated administrators and faculty who have seen Rensselaer through its darkest and brightest times, we are finally fulfilling our destiny. No aspect of the campus, except the faculty governance structure, has gone without improvement by this administration. Through The Rensselaer Plan we have realized change at every level. From the student life perspective, we have improved campus housing (and yes, there is much more to be done), including new theme housing and living/learning communities; enhanced our dining halls and food service; fostered the development of more than 165 different student organizations; grown campus-wide diversity initiatives; provided unprecedented opportunities for student research; and encouraged our faculty to engage more than ever before in their students’ lives and education. Our alumni are now proud of Rensselaer. Our research and academic progress are known and featured around the nation.
The level of change that student life has seen with this administration has occurred at all levels of the Institute, from research to campus landscaping. Faculty governance is simply the next area of our Institute that requires change. I have faith in this administration, the faculty, staff, and students. The final outcomes of this process will be just as positive and impressive as all the other change that has come before it since Jackson joined our community eight years ago and refocused our administration, faculty, staff, and students on the long-term future of our Institute.
We are at the brink of something huge here, something that is beyond the tenure of all of us. Our past, present, and future teamwork is creating an Institute that will outlive all of us. This is one of the greatest moments in my history as a servant of this outstanding institution. I have had other opportunities outside of Rensselaer, but have remained because I truly believe in the positive change that is occurring here. I urge you to believe in it, too.
Eddie Ade Knowles
Vice President for Student Life
