Interview with acting president Neil Kerwin

by Linda McHugh

On Monday evening, Oct.10, Thomas Gottschalk, acting chair of the Board of Trustees, stated that “the Board of Trustees decided that Benjamin Ladner would not return to American University as president.” On Wednesday, acting president Neil Kerwin spoke with the American Weekly editor. In the interview below he addresses AU’s goals and priorities for the year, and moving forward, and expresses admiration for how students, faculty, and staff conducted themselves during this challenging time.

Q: What was your reaction to the way campus student leaders handled themselves over the past several weeks?
Kerwin: First, I think they showed a remarkable capacity to organize around a serious issue. The acting provost, deans, faculty, students, staff and alumni organized quickly and effectively. When the time came to speak, [they did so] with what amounted to a single voice. Of course, there was some variation in point of view, some nuance to what people were saying. But I was extremely impressed.

Second, I was even more impressed with the professionalism and dignity with which they conducted themselves. They put the interest of the institution above all else; that was the paramount concern. In their communication with the Board of Trustees, they made a strong and influential impression. They were intelligent and their commitment to the institution was evident.

Q: AU has been through a challenging two months. What advice do you have for campus groups on how to move forward?
Kerwin: Each of the units and constituencies on campus has its own objectives, and they have been established, in many cases, for months. I don’t see anything impairing their ability to move forward on agendas that have already been in place, and I encourage them to do that.

Q: Do you plan to meet with student, faculty and staff leaders in the near future?
Kerwin: I’ll be meeting with the Faculty Senate on Oct. 19 at a regularly scheduled meeting. I’ve met with students already this semester and will certainly entertain any requests I get from student organizations to meet with them again. Staff leaders are part of University Council, and that group will meet again later this month.

Q: As we move through the school year, what are your top three priorities for the university.
Kerwin: Let’s look at the goals we’ve already established for ourselves as a university. Priority number one is to complete the campaign and to ensure the many academic goals and objectives that we’ve set in that campaign are achieved, and the goals related to campus life and athletics also get the attention that they deserve.

Related to the campaign of course is the need to continue making very strong progress on the academic mission of the institution. That would include all of the appropriate support for our instructional program; support for the faculty in their scholarly, professional, and creative activities; and ensuring that we remain committed with regard to service to our larger community.

Beyond those two priorities, we have the responsibility to ensure that the resources of the institution are properly administered. That is a priority today; it has been in the past and will be in the future.

This year we said we would play particular attention to “inclusiveness” and that means on every level on campus. In one way it’s a recommitment to the principles of diversity. On other levels it’s being sure that every major constituency on campus has a voice when major decisions are made.

Q: AU’s key focus for several years now has been the 15-point plan. Can you comment on the status of that work at this point?
Kerwin: We’ve made tremendous progress on implementation of the plan, but there are areas that still require work.

The campaign is the major issue and remains the number one priority for the campus for the coming year. Beyond that, we still have some work to do regarding AAUP level 1 salaries for some of our faculty. We have considerable work to do on differential teaching loads. I expect progress.

We should revisit the logic and the wisdom of the provision for limits on adjunct teaching because we want to be absolutely certain that in reducing the number of adjuncts in the program that we’re not eliminating exceptional instruction. That’s a balance we seek on a regular basis. Right now we’re comfortable with the size of the institution. The new University College is, from all accounts, having a terrific first year, so the expectation is that it would continue and may expand modestly next year.

Q: Some staff have expressed concern for their positions due to possible future financial constraints or reorganization. Can you reassure them?
Kerwin: It should reassure people to recall that we have a two-year budget. We’re halfway through the first year of that budget, and there is no plan or indication that the two-year budget is going to be changed.

Q: Preview day was Friday, Oct. 14, what did you say to prospective students and parents?
Kerwin: The things I reinforced were the progress the institution has made in recent years with regard to academic quality and standing. I spent considerable time talking with them about our philosophy of undergraduate education because that philosophy has been very firm for a long time. It has proven to be very successful for us and our graduates.

Q: Could you elaborate on those?
Kerwin: The three elements that undergird the entire undergraduate program include first, our commitment to produce truly educated men and women. We deliver on that promise through the General Education Program.

The second is to ensure that they leave here expert in at least one field of study. We do that through our system of majors.

The third is we hope that each one of them leaves here experienced, and we do that through experiential learning programs ranging from co-ops and internship programs, to volunteer activities and study abroad.

Parents will be aware of the board inquiry. I will reassure them that the board is taking that matter, and what remains of it, very seriously. The former president has been replaced, and the board will search for a new permanent president. In the meantime I’ll be serving in this capacity.

I hope they find it reassuring that I’ve been at the institution for 31 years; I’m an alumnus myself. I care deeply about the place and am fortunate to be working with a group of vice presidents and deans who are very experienced and committed to the institution.

Q: How can we begin to put recent events behind us and get on with our work?
Kerwin: : I don’t think we’re going to—in some ways. The events of the past week will become part of our history and part of our institutional memory. This is a story that’s still unfolding. That said I am quite confident everyone is getting on with their work. The evidence is all around us.

Q: Are there lessons we’ve learned from this difficult experience?
Kerwin: The lesson I’ve seen from the past few weeks is the strong evidence that we’ve seen of how deeply every major constituency on this campus cares about this place. Each of our constituencies put in a lot of extra hours, a lot of extra effort, and engaged in a lot of difficult conversations over a matter they thought was important to our future.

So the lesson I will repeat to people both on and off campus is that if there’s any doubt that a large, complex campus can unify and accomplish something significant, these last several weeks are evidence that those doubts are misplaced.

Q: Someone commented that these are students any parent would want their child to meet and study with. Do you agree?
Kerwin: Everyone who has come in contact with students who engaged this issue has seen that they approached it with a great deal of maturity and presented it in a way that responsible decision makers took very seriously. You can’t ask for more than that.