From
the Chair
The
Year of the Interims
| Welcome back!
On behalf of the Faculty Senate it is my pleasure to welcome both old and
new colleagues to a unique year in the history of the University, the "Year
of the Interims." During the coming year as we search for a new president
and a new provost, we will have both an interim president and an interim
provost. To Claire Faigin and Marvin Lazerson I also say, welcome.
In choosing the title of interim rather than acting, President Faigin and
Provost Lazerson have indicated that they do not wish to be caretakers,
simply minding the store until the next administration is appointed.
Instead they intend to be active administrators during the time they are
at the helm. They can make a beginning and there are major tasks in which
new beginnings are required.
Perhaps the most important of these is attempting to establish civility within our community. The "water buffalo" case shows the problems of trying to legislate civility. Common peer values must be developed that foster an atmosphere of mutual respect. President Faigin and former President Hackney have begun this process with the appointment of a high level commission of faculty, trustees and distinguished members of the wider community. This commission must still be expanded to include students and administrators. We wish the Commission well. We are all dependent upon its success. The events of
the spring also show a need to review the student judiciary process and
to facilitate discussion and mediation before adjudication. Another
committee has been appointed to consider this issue.
The University, like many of its peers, is facing increasing financial burdens. The cost of financial aid for undergraduates is increasing much more rapidly than tuition due to the effect of the sluggish economy. We must find a way to begin to accumulate the $500 million of endowment that is required to support undergraduate financial aid. Unless we do, need blind admission will have to be abandoned. Salary increases across the University were minimal this year. This is due to many factors including the increased cost of managing the University. There is a new committee on administrative costs that will try to find ways to decrease those costs. That too is important for all of us. The coming year provides a unique opportunity for the faculty to plan for the future of the University. The Senate has formed two committees whose common goal is to prepare a vision for the future of the University to be presented to the new president. One group will be studying the myriad planning documents of the past two decades in an attempt to understand our image of ourselves. In so doing we will evaluate what has been accomplished and what important steps need still to be taken. Penn's "greatest potential strength and (its) uniqueness lies in our historic linkage of professional education with the liberal arts and sciences, and in our contemporary advantage of the close physical proximity of our schools on one campus." These words formed the vision of "One University (that) sees life whole" given in the 1973 Development Commission Report. It is as cogent today as it was twenty years ago. I have asked a committee to study new ways of making that vision come true. Every journey begins with a single step and that single step can be taken by an interim president, an interim provost, or an interim chair of the Faculty Senate. Join me on that journey. It should be an interesting one. |