Nwanne Eke
Viewpoints Editor
On Thursday, Feb. 12, several faculty department heads received an email from chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mark D. Goodman ’90, endorsing President Anne McCall and her leadership of the College “fully and unequivocally.” Goodman listed “demographic headwinds, sustained cost pressures and shifting expectations” as a few of the problems plaguing higher education institutions before characterizing the decisions made by President McCall as courageous, “acts of responsibility reflecting our desire to ensure the College’s continued contribution of leaders of character and influence to our interdependent global community.” I call bullshit.
Let’s take a look at the departments that fell victim to the layoffs. The office of Advising, Planning and Experiential Learning (APEX), suffered the loss of five staff, some of which are responsible for ensuring that students with disabilities have an equitable experience. The Dean of Students office saw the layoff of Ashley Reid, Vice President for Student Affairs and Posse liaison, as well as Student Support and Outreach Manager Camille Mallett. With a minimally-staffed wellness center, lack of telehealth mental health services post-TimelyCare and limit to the number of appointments students can make, these layoffs come as a harsh blow to a department entirely focused on addressing issues of student wellbeing. The writing center lost our beloved Gillian Lee ’07, who was a Phi Beta Kappa inductee and one of two professional staff. This isn’t the first time the writing center has dealt with staff reductions; the team once boasted four professional staff and a postgraduate intern. Now, student tutors, some of whom are seniors working on their own independent studies, will have to pick up the burden caused by shrinking an already limited resource.
President McCall’s actions do not protect the academic core of the institution but rather weaken it. The “Princeton of the Midwest,” the College prides itself on its Independent Study curriculum, molding students through FYS, a writing intensive course, and junior I.S. so they develop the skills necessary to be able to curate a unique senior thesis. It’s during this very journey that students are encouraged to make use of the departments gutted in the layoffs. By laying off student-facing positions, President McCall’s actions are the antithesis of Goodman’s claims of her commitment to safeguarding the College’s academic mission.
How are seniors supposed to focus and dedicate themselves to I.S. when their peers are stretched thin trying to help them? In moments of stress and anxiety, where can they go when the wellness center is closed and they’ve used up all their free therapy appointments? Do they turn to student support staff, such as their Resident Assistants? The Office of Residence and Life is an office that is also facing student staff cuts in the coming academic year, increasing their workload, with likely no improvement in compensation. I would hate for next year’s RAs to have to apply their QPR suicide prevention training on residents AND fellow RAs because of the institution’s inability to provide adequate support.
When signing off, Goodman voiced the Board of Trustees’ full confidence in President McCall, calling for future productive discussions. An almost laughable request when considering the arduous efforts of the Scot Council to be heard by the Board of Trustees through in-person Missions and Outcomes meetings. On closer inspection, this confidence seems to be loyalty to the position holder, rather than to the mission of the institution. Goodman himself previously served on the board of trustees at Xavier University of Louisiana, President McCall’s former institution. Can we truly trust the Board of Trustees to do what they’re called to do? Or must we publish op-ed after op-ed pointing out the inaccuracies espoused by the President and systematic failures that have compounded into a deteriorating quality of life felt by both the “spoiled” and “unspoiled” fruit attending the institution. I still don’t quite understand McCall’s goal in saying that at the 2023 Tri-Alpha Honor Society induction — all the while wondering if our protests and criticism will once again be dubbed “public shaming and bullying”.