| Trustees hear campus concerns during town hall meeting BY MATT GETTY 
Photo by Jeff Watts
Board member Matthew Pittinsky ’94 responds to an audience question at AU’s Board of Trustees town hall meeting. AU’s Board of Trustees chairman Gary Abramson and several other trustees fielded questions from the campus community on issues ranging from the presidential search to student evaluations of teaching during a town hall meeting in the SIS Lounge last Thursday evening. Abramson reported that the presidential search committee is still narrowing a wide field of “highly qualified” candidates and hopes to name a president by the fall. Asked what role students, faculty, and alumni might have in the final choice of a president, trustees noted that each group has representation on the search committee. Interviews with large groups of the campus community, they said, will only be possible if candidates are willing to make their identities public. Trustees also noted that the United Methodist Church is playing an increased role in board affairs—particularly in the oversight of the presidential search. Responding to questions on the balance between liberal arts and professional education and on the future role of the Office of International Affairs, after the move of AU Abroad to the Office of the Provost, Abramson said the president will take the lead on both issues. “These are exactly the kinds of questions the search committee is putting to the candidates,” he said. Several students voiced their concerns over the role political views might play in faculty hiring and retention and asked how they can voice support for faculty being considered for tenure or contract renewal. Interim President Neil Kerwin told the audience that “decisions on faculty appointment, tenure, promotion, and beyond will never be influenced by factors other than those articulated in the faculty manual and academic regulations.” Abramson added that while the board has no role in the university’s day-to-day faculty management, students can voice their concerns to the board’s academic affairs committee through their student representatives. Students also asked if diversity on campus is declining and whether student evaluations of teaching have any affect on the rigor of courses. Administrators reassured the audience on both issues. Diversity among students has remained fairly steady despite a decline in international students, and diversity among faculty has risen, said Karen Froslid Jones, director of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. Interim Provost Ivy Broder reported that data indicate the university’s courses have not become less challenging, noting how 85 percent of the respondents to the National Survey of Student Engagement reported that they are “very highly satisfied with the level of rigor of their courses.” Furthermore, she noted, student evaluations of teachers themselves show “a high level of correlation between how highly rated faculty members are and how demanding their courses are.” |
