Letter to the Editor-in-Chief\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Malon Courts \u201992\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chairman \u2013 Roanoke College Board of Trustees\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n December 12, 2024\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dear Mikaela,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I have been closely following your recent series in The Brackety-Ack, which examined the\u00a0 college\u2019s financial circumstances, shared governance, and change in teaching load. I\u00a0 commend you for tackling a highly complex situation. However, I feel compelled to respond\u00a0 to several misunderstandings in your series. Notably, you reference certain faculty\u00a0 assumptions about the board and its understanding of faculty opinions, knowledge, and\u00a0 perspectives. Yet, you did not invite the board chair or any member of the board of trustees\u00a0 to express their views on the decisions made by the board when writing this series. This\u00a0 omission represents a missed opportunity if your objective was to thoroughly examine this\u00a0 complex situation from a neutral perspective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When I was elected board chair in 2019, I publicly stated that my singular goal was to position\u00a0 the college in a permanent state of stability, success, and celebration. This goal remains\u00a0 unchanged today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When hiring President Shushok, the board and search committee delivered a mandate: fix the\u00a0 college’s broken business model, innovate to make it relevant to today\u2019s students and those\u00a0 of the future, and act with urgency. This is what it will take to succeed in today\u2019s highly\u00a0 competitive and changing higher education market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The change in teaching load was necessary and was the only way to begin a serious attempt\u00a0 to close a $6 million budget deficit. No member of the board or administration would have\u00a0 chosen this change unless it was absolutely necessary. The alternative would have been a far\u00a0 worse outcome for all faculty, staff, and students. With perfect clarity, hindsight reveals that\u00a0 the college had been clinging to a teaching model it could not afford for at least a decade.\u00a0 Over this time, budgetary decisions were made to preserve a model preferred by faculty but not economically viable. The consequences of these decisions are apparent across our\u00a0 campus, from deferred maintenance to residence halls needing repair, diminished budgets,\u00a0 reduced staffing, and limited opportunities for professional development. Witnessing the\u00a0 ramifications and execution of this change over the past 17 months clarifies why the former\u00a0 administration was resistant to this shift; in my opinion, they did not want to deal with the\u00a0 political fallout. To be clear, these changes were inevitable, regardless of the administration;\u00a0 the only difference was the rate of implementation. As it has for many other colleges, the\u00a0 rapidly changing and competitive higher education market necessitated financial\u00a0 adjustments. While most other colleges are simply eliminating multiple academic programs,\u00a0 we listened to the faculty when they asked that we try to avoid doing that\u2014but we could not\u00a0 simply do nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n The change in teaching load is the right decision and the best outcome for the college\u2019s long term health and viability, aligning with my singular goal as chairman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There has been significant debate about the increased teaching load and its impact on\u00a0 student outcomes, relationships, mentoring, and time management. There is no debate about\u00a0 the allocation of work: Faculty are being asked to spend more time teaching in the classroom.\u00a0 Faculty may continue to engage in research with students and in scholarship of teaching and\u00a0 learning, though it may be more realistic for faculty wishing to conduct specialized\u00a0 disciplinary research to utilize time during the summer or other times when the college is not\u00a0 in session. The notion that the new teaching model will irreparably harm student outcomes is\u00a0 simply false. Numerous institutions have successfully implemented this model for many years.\u00a0 With support, I believe our faculty members are up to the challenge, as I witnessed their\u00a0 resilience and determination during the shift to online learning during the global pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Concerns have been raised about faculty retention and the balance between tenure-track\u00a0 faculty, visiting professors, and adjuncts. While it is always difficult to see colleagues leave,\u00a0 this is a common and natural occurrence in any workplace. Data from our Human Resources\u00a0 office show that from 2019-2023, an average of 17 faculty members and 50 staff members\u00a0 departed each year; in 2024, the numbers were 21 and 49, respectively. For those faculty\u00a0 members who left in response to the change in teaching load or other changes, they made\u00a0 the decision that they felt was best for them. Any departure presents an opportunity to bring\u00a0 in new talent to benefit the college, its students, and the community. The 12 new faculty\u00a0 members who have joined our community are shining examples of this, eager to teach,\u00a0 mentor, and build relationships with students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some faculty members have made veiled assertions that reducing the number of tenured\u00a0 faculty impacts the college’s teaching quality. I, along with many others, find this claim\u00a0 offensive and baseless. While the achievements necessary for tenure are certainly worthwhile, tenure is not the sole guarantor of teaching quality, and assuming so ignores the fact that\u00a0 talented educators are found throughout the faculty ranks and also among the staff. One of\u00a0 my most memorable experiences as a student at Roanoke College was a class taught by a\u00a0 business practitioner. Today\u2019s higher education environment requires additional flexibility to\u00a0 quickly adjust teaching resources to meet new demands from our students and needs in our\u00a0 community, responding to the dynamics of our marketplace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Your series also highlighted ongoing debates about shared governance and the belief by\u00a0 some faculty members that a faculty vote was required to change the teaching load. Neither\u00a0 the administration, board, nor many other faculty members believe such a vote was necessary\u00a0 or advisable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The board of trustees is the fiduciary of the college and controls all budgetary matters. No\u00a0 dollar can be spent without board approval through the annual budgeting process, and\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n direct board approval is also required for any tenure and promotion requests. While the\u00a0 faculty handbook may have long-standing processes, these do not bind the board of trustees,\u00a0 especially in significant budgetary matters. To exaggerate the point: If faculty or staff voted to\u00a0 reduce their workload to zero, would these changes be binding on the board? The answer is\u00a0 obvious, yet this is the argument some faculty members are making.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Since August, a shared governance task force of faculty, staff, a student, and board members\u00a0 has been working to define a process that allows all constituents appropriate input on matters\u00a0 within their domain while permitting the college to execute new ideas and initiatives\u00a0 efficiently. The co-chairs of this task force report that progress is being made, albeit slower\u00a0 than anticipated, but they are pleased with how the conversations are unfolding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I have met with, and continue to meet with, dozens of faculty members, many of whom were\u00a0 interviewed for your series. The vast majority of faculty members I speak with understand why\u00a0 the change in teaching load was necessary. While they may not like it, they have decided to\u00a0 go to work and teach to the best of their ability, given the current circumstances. I am deeply\u00a0 appreciative of these faculty members. There is, however, a minority group of faculty who\u00a0 claim that the administration and board have disempowered them, violated the faculty\u00a0 handbook, undervalued their labor, threatened academic freedom, and promoted a lack of\u00a0 transparency. They have not, however, offered any viable solutions to our financial difficulty.\u00a0 Instead, it often feels like each week brings a new complaint, from decisions made by the\u00a0 former administration to issues regarding alumni donations for locker rooms. The American\u00a0 Association of University Professors (AAUP) represents many of these faculty members. I have\u00a0 met with AAUP leadership on multiple occasions to maintain and improve communications,\u00a0 build trust, and find common ground. When I met with AAUP leadership a year ago and was\u00a0 asked to improve transparency, trust, and communication, I offered a solution: an invitation\u00a0 for faculty to add two faculty representatives as observers in board and committee meetings\u00a0 for a two-year trial. I believe this initiative is the best way to improve communication and\u00a0 transparency. These representatives have offered valuable input and context. I hope they\u00a0 have seen firsthand the difficult circumstances the administration and board are navigating to\u00a0 make Roanoke College as successful and relevant as possible while keeping student success\u00a0 at the forefront of all we do. In a recent meeting with the leadership of AAUP, I asked for a\u00a0 written statement that describes their goals and objectives. I find it frustrating that the\u00a0 administration\u2019s goals are clear, as are mine as chairman, while AAUP remains silent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Where do we go from here? Most of the faculty members I speak with start or end our\u00a0 conversations with the same question: How can I help? I am always humbled by this question,\u00a0 realizing that the necessary actions to adjust the teaching load are deeply unpopular but necessary. My request to faculty who want to help is simple: be engaged, be forward thinking, and be heard, in a professional manner. Some faculty members continue to air their\u00a0 grievances in the classroom, which I find unprofessional and disrespectful of our students\u2019\u00a0 time and tuition dollars. While this behavior is limited to a minority group, it does cast a\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n shadow over the entire faculty. If faculty members want to help, they should begin by holding\u00a0 their peers accountable for the appropriate decorum expected of community members.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Difficult circumstances demand thoughtful minds engaged in constructive conversations.\u00a0 Neither the administration nor the board is opposed to diverse opinions. We must\u00a0 acknowledge that, as an institution and community, oftentimes we must make decisions at a\u00a0 pace that will feel uncomfortable to some. We must approach our challenges with novel and\u00a0 agile solutions. To think that we can bury our heads in the sand and wait for a new day is\u00a0 simply unrealistic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As we continue navigating these challenging times, I remain optimistic about the future of\u00a0 Roanoke College. While we face difficult decisions and changes, undeniable green shoots are on the horizon. The dedication of our faculty, staff, and students, combined with the hard\u00a0 work we\u2019ve put into adapting and evolving, will set the stage for a thriving and dynamic\u00a0 future. Roanoke College is a place we all deeply care about, and with commitment,\u00a0 collaboration, and perseverance, we can ensure it becomes the best version of itself.\u00a0 Together, we will rise to meet the challenges ahead and build a college that will inspire and\u00a0 succeed for generations to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sincerely,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Malon Courts<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Letter to the Editor-in-Chief\u00a0 Malon Courts \u201992\u00a0 Chairman \u2013 Roanoke College Board of Trustees\u00a0 December 12, 2024\u00a0 Dear Mikaela,\u00a0 I have been closely following your recent series in The Brackety-Ack, which examined the\u00a0 college\u2019s financial circumstances, shared governance, and change in teaching load. I\u00a0 commend you for tackling a highly complex situation. 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