Faculty Meeting 11/7: Public Policy Approved as a Standalone Major; Online Masters in Education Proposal
Thursday’s faculty meeting addressed the proposal to make public policy a standalone major, a proposal for a new online masters in education program and possible changes to the endowed chairs program. (William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
Thursday’s faculty meeting began with President Bob Iuliano addressing a campus-wide email that updated the community on steps the College has taken related to bias issues in the aftermath of the racist incident in which a racial slur was cut onto the body of a student.
Iuliano announced that the next faculty meeting will address steps taken since the racist incident. This meeting will be open to the entire College community and facilitated by Jamie Craige Harris of the Perception Institute.
“As you know, we’re really trying to learn from the racist incident that took place,” said Iuliano.
Iuliano encouraged faculty to invite students to attend that meeting, which will take place in the College Union Ballroom at 4 p.m. on Nov. 21.
He also acknowledged that Conversations for Change has invited Roger Worthington, a professor at the University of Maryland, to the Friday Forum meeting scheduled for Nov. 15. Worthington was invited “to help us think about how to navigate difficult conversations.”
Next, Iuliano addressed the joint statement condemning political violence authored by members of College Democrats and College Republicans that was published by The Gettysburgian on Nov. 3. He thanked the students for “speaking about the importance of democracy and their role in it.”
Iuliano introduced Provost Jamila Bookwala, who announced that Rita Doyle has been hired as the new director of the Center for Global Education. She will begin at Gettysburg in January. Previous director Jesse Phillips left the College in August. Doyle currently works as assistant dean for global education at Allegheny College.
Public Policy as a Standalone Major
The first item on the meeting agenda was a faculty vote on making the public policy major standalone. Currently, public policy majors are required to double-major, meaning that they cannot earn a degree only in public policy. Professor of public policy Ann Douds previously presented the proposal to faculty on Oct. 17.
Iuliano first opened the floor for faculty comments. Four professors spoke in favor of the motion. The motion was voted on and passed with 96 votes in favor and 10 against.
Online ‘Masters of Education: Educational Design and Inquiry’ Proposal
The next item on the agenda is the creation of a masters in education degree, which would be offered virtually. If passed, this would become the second masters program offered by the College, after the online masters in American history program.
Professor of sociology in educational studies Divonna Stebick presented the proposal to faculty at the Oct. 17 faculty meeting.
The floor was opened for faculty discussion of the proposal and questions for Stebick.
Economics professor Charles Weise spoke first, asking if there is a trigger mechanism in the motion that could eliminate the program if it is determined to not be cost-effective. Stebick said that mechanisms for reviewing the program will include graduate student interest determined through course evaluations, student surveys, as well as enrollment goals and tuition revenue.
Environmental studies professor Randy Wilson asked if there will be additional hiring to teach the program’s courses. Stebick explained that there will be one lecturer position, who would teach six of the program’s courses.
History department chair Dina Lowy spoke next. First, she asked a clarifying question about whether or not the program is fully virtual. Stebick said the program is fully virtual, but students would be able to use the Innovation and Creativity Lab in Glatfelter Hall.
Lowy then asked about the use of adjunct professor positions in the proposal, questioning why it is acceptable to use adjuncts to teach a masters program if they try to avoid adjuncts teaching undergraduate courses. She also questioned why one course in the program will be co-taught with a librarian from Musselman Library, mentioning that the library is already short-staffed.
Stebick responded, saying that the proposal has been endorsed by Musselman Library staff and that they have worked with the library throughout the drafting of the proposal.
Next, Lowy asked, “The proposal provides evidence for increased need for elementary and secondary teachers, yet we seem to be targeting, and again, I’m quoting from the proposal, ‘those looking to move beyond classroom teaching.’ Is this what school districts want to pay for?”
“Yes, this is what school districts want to pay for,” responded Stebick.
Lowy also questioned why the school is considering a masters in education after the recent closure of the education department.
“I’d like to see us spending money on advertising, recruiting and strengthening our undergraduate offerings,” said Lowy.
Another professor questioned the program’s cost to students. She pointed out that among other masters in education programs in the area, the highest enrollment is at McDaniel College and Wilson College, which are also among the cheapest programs.
Stebick pointed out that McDaniel is able to keep its tuition price low due to a partnership with the Carroll County, Maryland school district. She also argued that school districts would have the funds to afford Gettysburg’s program.
“You have to remember that the school districts already have these funds. They are available to the teachers. So they are available for teachers. We’re not asking the teachers to give us any more money. We’re asking families to give us money. You already paid that, your property taxes,” said Stebick.
The professor questioned why the Gettysburg program is fully virtual and not hybrid, saying, “I’m thinking that, thinking about quality of program, mentorship, access to library, all of those things, I think would be increased if there was an in person element. I could imagine a summer session for one month in person. So how come that hasn’t been considered?”
Stebick explained that it has been considered, and that Gettysburg’s program would be online but with synchronous classes, as opposed to asynchronous classes.
Professor Ian Clarke, Director of Hatter Planetarium, spoke next. He questioned the rationale behind upping the amount of adjunct professor slots to teach the program’s courses.
Bookwala answered Clarke’s question, saying that she does “not envision a tenure-track position” for the program. Clarke followed up, questioning if the program’s standards would be too low from reliance on adjunct faculty to teach the program.
“We are not in a position to grow the faculty for a tenure track position in the masters of education program,” said Bookwala. Further, she said that they are committed to faculty currently on the tenure-track, and thus the College does not currently have the resources to hire additional tenure-track faculty for this program.
Clarke also questioned the program’s pricing, asking how the price can be justified compared to cheaper programs.
“First of all, our degree is very different. Secondly, the degree was designed in a way to give teachers more autonomy in the classroom,” said Stebick. She added that many other programs, such as at Shippensburg and Wilson, have education leadership programs, unlike Gettysburg’s proposed program.
“Not every teacher wants to go into administration. I don’t want to go into administration. There’s lots of people that don’t want to go into administration. So on that note, this allows for teachers to get a master’s degree in something that they can use right away in their classroom,” said Stebick.
Clarke asked how the program fits into a historically liberal arts college like Gettysburg, saying that liberal arts educations traditionally are not vocational. He added that he has “deep reservations” about the proposed program.
Bookwala responded, saying that the program is not intended to undermine the liberal arts education model at Gettysburg.
Kelli Murphy, Senior Instructional Technologist and former teacher, spoke next. She said that a major factor in teachers choosing a masters program is what certification areas are offered.
“Comparing all those colleges is almost like comparing fruit. One’s an apple, one’s an orange, one’s pear. It depends on what your certification area is and what you choose to go into your advanced certifications,” said Murphy.
Physics department chair Kurt Andresen asked why professors in the education department are not involved in teaching the proposed program’s courses. Further, he expressed discontent with administrators, such as Murphy, teaching the courses instead of faculty members.
“I’m a little worried about us shifting towards a model where we’re shifting teaching from, at a time when we know that faculty positions are being eliminated and not being refilled. The idea that we would shift teaching from faculty to administrators, I think it sets a very bad precedent, because you could just continue to eliminate more and more faculty and just have the administrators,” said Andresen.
“Our intention is not to remove anyone’s current teaching opportunities to invite others into this program. If they are interested,” said Stebick.
The proposal will be voted on at the Dec. 5 faculty meeting. If passed, the new degree program would begin this summer.
Proposed Restructuring of Endowed Chairs Program
Next, Bookwala discussed a proposed restructuring of the endowed chairs program. Proposed changes to the program were first discussed at a faculty meeting in March and again in April.
“The goal here is to talk about the need that I’ve identified for restructuring the endowed chairs program,” said Bookwala.
She then recognized the importance of the program, stating the program is “very important in recruiting faculty and then retaining faculty. It gives students an opportunity to learn from excellent faculty of course, and it enhances the prestige and reputation [of the College].”
She explained that there are currently 18 endowed chairs, and this will increase to 19 next year. The faculty that receive these positions receive an average of $5,000 for a professional development fund as well as a $6,000 increase in their salary.
“We’re talking about $55,000 over a five year period for each of those faculty members, plus a half year salary that goes into that full year. So we’re talking about significantly over $100,000 that we spend on a small group of faculty, and if these costs are not covered by the income of these programs,” said Bookwala.
After Bookwala’s presentation, the floor was opened for faculty discussion. Mathematics professor Ben Kennedy spoke first.
“I would be perfectly content to hear [Bookwala] make the case that the money we have for these programs should be used differently, okay, but I’m really having trouble hearing that because of the indignant noise in my head from the assertion that ordinary faculty salaries are part of the costs of this program,” said Kennedy. “I know that that is how it is viewed at other institutions, but it is not the case here. If somebody does not hold the endowed chair, they still get their salary. If that appointment went away tomorrow for all these appointed chairs, you would still have to pay them their salary. And it does not make sense to construe that as part of the cost of the program.”
Kennedy’s comments were met with some applause from other faculty.
Professor Andy Wilson, chair of the environmental studies department, spoke next. He first thanked Bookwala for addressing this issue and acknowledged that the endowed chairs program is expensive.
Wilson asked if there is a way to preserve the full-year accelerated sabbatical as part of the program’s restructure.
Another professor said that the impact of restructuring the program on faculty is being understated.
The meeting then hit its hour time limit. Iuliano concluded the meeting, stating that discussion will continue at another faculty meeting.
