Faculty questions administrative commitment to diversity
Issue date: 5/4/05 Section: News
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April 29, 2005
To President Burish, the Board of Trustees, and Members of the University Community:
We the undersigned faculty members of Washington and Lee University hereby express concern about the management of this university. Washington and Lee explicitly adopted a policy in the year 2000 that committed us to recruiting and retaining a more diverse range of students, faculty, and administrators. We wish to point out that, although recent successes in student admissions and in faculty hiring have begun to enrich this environment for all of us, a glass ceiling remains. The administration has not adhered to the "Statement on Diversity" adopted by the Board; if it does not change direction soon, all these gains, and our very integrity, are in danger.
Certain recent decisions indicate to many of us that women's contributions to Washington and Lee are undervalued. We applaud the substantial diversity now among administrators and staff in Student Life. It is also true that women now chair some undergraduate departments, programs, and committees, increasing their authority and influence. However, in the academic core of this university, far too few women have ascended to the highest posts. The current administration did not create these problems, but they have not yet demonstrated a commitment to correcting them. We are frustrated at this lack of progress, despite yearly meetings between the senior administration and the Women Administrators and Faculty Group asking for attention to gender inequities in hiring, policies, benefits, and salary. President Burish writes in his vision statement, "How can we achieve sufficient diversity in faculty, students, and staff so that all members of the University can participate in the liberating and transforming exposure to values, experiences, and assumptions of people unlike themselves?" It is striking to us that "administration" was left off that list.
In particular, we suggest that the rejection of Interim Dean Jeanine Stewart's candidacy for the position of Dean of the College violates the policy on diversity and damages our community. We fully intend to welcome and support the new Dean, Howard Dobin; we also note that he will be our only Jewish senior administrator, and as recent anti-Semitic incidents on campus remind us, we sorely need such leadership. However, this gain should not have cost us the only woman who has ever held a senior position in academic administration at Washington and Lee. In fact, President Burish and Provost Williams have put a good candidate in a difficult position. As someone hired for a job that a well-qualified woman could have continued to fill, Hank Dobin will inevitably symbolize administrative resistance to maintaining women in positions of significant influence. His appointment bypasses the candidacy of Jeanine Stewart, who has more experience at this level of administration and with liberal arts institutions. Dean Stewart has also served with tremendous approval from the faculty even in this time of diminished resources. She achieved this support despite a proliferation of vice presidents undercutting the executive power of the Dean of the College. Is it a coincidence that when a woman finally ascends to this role, changes in the institutional hierarchy radically diminish the authority of that position?
To President Burish, the Board of Trustees, and Members of the University Community:
We the undersigned faculty members of Washington and Lee University hereby express concern about the management of this university. Washington and Lee explicitly adopted a policy in the year 2000 that committed us to recruiting and retaining a more diverse range of students, faculty, and administrators. We wish to point out that, although recent successes in student admissions and in faculty hiring have begun to enrich this environment for all of us, a glass ceiling remains. The administration has not adhered to the "Statement on Diversity" adopted by the Board; if it does not change direction soon, all these gains, and our very integrity, are in danger.
Certain recent decisions indicate to many of us that women's contributions to Washington and Lee are undervalued. We applaud the substantial diversity now among administrators and staff in Student Life. It is also true that women now chair some undergraduate departments, programs, and committees, increasing their authority and influence. However, in the academic core of this university, far too few women have ascended to the highest posts. The current administration did not create these problems, but they have not yet demonstrated a commitment to correcting them. We are frustrated at this lack of progress, despite yearly meetings between the senior administration and the Women Administrators and Faculty Group asking for attention to gender inequities in hiring, policies, benefits, and salary. President Burish writes in his vision statement, "How can we achieve sufficient diversity in faculty, students, and staff so that all members of the University can participate in the liberating and transforming exposure to values, experiences, and assumptions of people unlike themselves?" It is striking to us that "administration" was left off that list.
In particular, we suggest that the rejection of Interim Dean Jeanine Stewart's candidacy for the position of Dean of the College violates the policy on diversity and damages our community. We fully intend to welcome and support the new Dean, Howard Dobin; we also note that he will be our only Jewish senior administrator, and as recent anti-Semitic incidents on campus remind us, we sorely need such leadership. However, this gain should not have cost us the only woman who has ever held a senior position in academic administration at Washington and Lee. In fact, President Burish and Provost Williams have put a good candidate in a difficult position. As someone hired for a job that a well-qualified woman could have continued to fill, Hank Dobin will inevitably symbolize administrative resistance to maintaining women in positions of significant influence. His appointment bypasses the candidacy of Jeanine Stewart, who has more experience at this level of administration and with liberal arts institutions. Dean Stewart has also served with tremendous approval from the faculty even in this time of diminished resources. She achieved this support despite a proliferation of vice presidents undercutting the executive power of the Dean of the College. Is it a coincidence that when a woman finally ascends to this role, changes in the institutional hierarchy radically diminish the authority of that position?