150 Columbia was a little cozier than usual at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting, thanks to the unusually high number of students present.
Dozens of students attended the meeting to urge Senate members to support departmentalization of the ethnic studies program. Led by Oscar Guerra, Kari Herinckx and Shanté Stuart, the students reminded senators that the University is the only Association of American Universities institution on the West Coast without an ethnic studies department. The students are currently campaigning to change that, and they have the support of several faculty and ASUO President Emily McLain, who also lobbied for departmentalization Tuesday.
University President Dave Frohnmayer told the students “the issues that have been raised have been considered and are being considered seriously.” He said a decision should be made within the next couple of weeks.
Frohnmayer also briefly addressed the recent dismissals of two long-standing employees within the Office of International Affairs. Contrary to what Wednesday’s editorial in the Emerald suggested, Frohnmayer said, the reviews of the office and dismissals will be both timely and official. There has been some criticism of Provost Linda Brady’s decision to delegate the reviews to an administrator within her own office when she authorized the dismissals in the first place.
Andy Schulz, associate art history professor, updated the Senate on permanent director search for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. The candidate to whom the search committee made an “aggressive offer” turned it down. The search committee will pick up on the search again late this month and likely bring candidates to campus this spring, hiring one by the end of spring term. In the meantime, the art museum leadership will continue to work on issues brought to its attention by a consultant’s report released about a year ago.
“I prefer to call this rather than a failed search, a successful non-hire,” Schulz said.
Schulz also presented a letter Frohnmayer wrote after the Senate passed a motion at its November meeting. The motion formally urged the president to remove the museum’s oversight from University Advancement and restore it to Provost Linda Brady’s office when a permanent director is hired. In the letter, Frohnmayer said he would continue to use his own judgment regarding museum oversight while keeping the Senate’s recommendation in mind.
A motion to appoint three classified staff to the Senate generated substantial discussion.
“We are the face of this University, and I don’t think that we should be excluded from voting for any cause,” said staff member Sue Martinez. “We are part of the University community.”
Biology professor Nathan Tublitz and ASUO Senator Nate Gulley showed strong support for the four classified staff present and for their motion.
“We are a Senate that is inclusive,” Tublitz said. “If we don’t have them on here they lose their representation and they lose their voice. And that’s just not right.”
The motion passed with only one opposed.
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