Editor’s Note: a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that professor Bruce Larson won the “Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching” award. Larson actually won the “Distinguished Teaching Award.”
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
Thursday’s faculty meeting began with President Bob Iuliano speaking on recruitment for the class of 2029. Yesterday was the deadline for accepted students to make their deposit to confirm their attendance at Gettysburg College.
“It’s been another really difficult year in admissions for liberal arts and science colleges, with a lot of the momentum still heading to the big publics,” he said.
Iuliano said it is not yet clear if the College will make its enrollment goal.
“There are some very encouraging signs. There are some very challenging signs, and whether we’re going to make our headcount with revenue projections, candidly, remains uncertain,” said Iuliano. “At this moment, we’re just going to have to see how the next couple of days play out, what happens with transfers and the waitlist.”
He encouraged faculty to “continue to do a full court press to make sure we are doing everything to get more deposits, and once the students deposit, to make sure that they come.” He also cited external factors that potentially impacted admissions, including the political environment, fears among international students and the September racist incident that drew headlines in national news organizations.
Iuliano praised the faculty for passing three new majors — public health policy, finance and communication studies — as well as the masters in education program. He cited these as examples of how the College can recruit more students.
“For example, as of this morning, 62 deposited students have expressed an interest in enrolling in the finance major and 15 in the communications major,” said Iuliano. “You all know, we just passed the communications major. The fact that there are already 15 students who have expressed an interest in that, I think, is really remarkable.”
He thanked faculty involved in the College’s governance process, acknowledging they had a “bigger set of responsibilities than in years past” due to factors such as the implementation of the new curriculum. He also praised the Faculty Council, saying he is “blessed to have remarkable colleagues in the Faculty Council who have helped along the way.” He specifically thanked Faculty Council chair psychology professor Richard Russell, saying he has done “an extraordinary job.”
Next, Iuliano offered reflections on the past academic year, praising faculty for their work in the classroom and in the College’s governance.
“I only had one semester pre-COVID, but it’s very much my sense, not just talking to you, but talking to the students, that the vibe on campus is much more akin to what it was before COVID than it has been over the last couple of years,” said Iuliano. “Now, a lot of that has to do with our students, of course, but even yet, it has to do with the energy, the enthusiasm, the ambitions [faculty] all bring to the classroom every day.”
He cited that the College was ranked tenth in classroom experience by the Princeton Review, and thanked the faculty “for making that possible every day for our students.” He also cited the three new majors and new masters program as “enormous progress.”
“I’m so grateful for what it means, for the impact that it’s going to have. But I think I’m even more grateful for what it reflects about where we are as a community and as a faculty,” he said.
Iuliano praised the work of the campus community in “thinking, forward thinking, collectively, thinking ambitiously for our future.”
“We know the challenges are real. They’re not going away anytime soon, but if we continue to act with this sort of an orientation, I feel good for what’s ahead of us,” he said.
He thanked Provost Jamila Bookwala and her office for their work: “The hardest job in American higher education is not being president, it is being provost. And to my colleagues in the Provost’s office and beyond, thank you.”
Next, Iuliano spoke on the federal government’s actions changing higher education.
“It’s also hard not to acknowledge the gravity of this moment where the foundational tenets of American higher education are under attack in ways I have not seen in my career,” he said. “I know there are faculty members properly concerned about what they teach, how they teach, what they study, where and how to publish where, whether and how to travel abroad.”
He shared that the College will make an immigration lawyer available for community members who want to discuss “implications of travel abroad.” This is intended for both U.S. citizens and non-citizens. Additional details about this will soon be shared by the Provost’s office.
Provost’s Remarks
Next, Bookwala spoke on financial difficulties the College has faced since she began as provost two years ago.
“Two Julys ago, I arrived on campus with the goal of spending at least the first year getting to know the community, the campus and the culture. As we know things didn’t quite turn out that way,” said Bookwala. “On arriving, I learned that we were faced with one of the largest deficits at the College, and my office, still largely unstaffed, was charged with the responsibility of taking measures to help the College reverse the growing deficit.”
She said her office had “no option but to act with speed” to reverse the deficit.
“We embarked on a path of making curriculum delivery more efficient. I stand by the commitment I made at that time to protect academic programs and our tenure screen faculty and lecturer positions,” said Bookwala.
She acknowledged that these changes have led to less visiting and adjunct professorship positions across campus. Over the past two years, about 50% of visiting and adjunct professorship roles have been cut. Bookwala said this change saved the College $1.5 million in its first year of implementation.
“I know and understand that these are unwelcome changes and that they have brought difficulties for faculty,” she said.
Bookwala said her office has tried to “build some flexibility,” citing that the course cap for 100-level courses was reduced from 35 to 30 and some courses are allowed to have lower caps due to “specific pedagogies that are used.”
Next year, the College will have a full year of data that will show “how these changes have worked and where and how we may need to make further adjustments,” according to Bookwala.
Next, she spoke on more “positive” changes that have been made through the Provost’s office. For example, about a third of tenure-stream faculty received a salary equity adjustment following an equity analysis conducted last summer, which “accounted for years at the College, discipline or division, demographic factors such as gender and race, and performance ratings” of faculty.
She also discussed the following changes implemented by her office:
- Department chairs now receive a larger stipend, which is consistent across academic departments.
- A new retirement program was implemented that allows retiring faculty in their last year at the College to “receive a two course reduction and exemption from elected committee service, while retaining their full compensation.”
- Compensation when faculty are promoted has increased. Upon making tenure, faculty receive a $4,000 raise, and when promoted to full professor, they receive a $5,000 bump.
- Beginning next year, tenure-stream faculty will be able to receive teaching credit for overseeing students doing individualized studies.
- Faculty who are promoted to associate professor can now take their first sabbatical one year after their promotion. Previously, they were required to wait four years.
- There is now a mentoring program for new faculty and new department chairs.
- The budget for peer learning associates (PLAs) has increased to allow for additional PLA positions and a higher starting wage of $8 per hour, up from $7.25 per hour.
- In January, a faculty institute was held in which Jason Craig Harris of the Perception Institute “guided [faculty] on how we can be more mindful about upholding the dignity of every student and cultivate a culture of greater mutual respect and kindness inside and outside the classroom.”
Bookwala said these changes were only possible through faculty input and thanked the faculty for “[their] guidance and input.”
“I hope this report of some positive changes that have been implemented over the last two years will serve as a reminder that the goal of our office is to support faculty as best we can in the work that you do as teachers, scholars and in educating our students,” said Bookwala.
She asked faculty to continue giving their input: “These busy two years notwithstanding, there remains unfinished work ahead of us so that we can remain a thriving institution for future generations of students, faculty and staff. And we need your partnership in getting it done.”
Concluding her remarks, she thanked the faculty and the staff in her office.
Graduate Program Evaluation Process and Faculty Oversight on Department Mergers
Next, sociology professor and chair of the Faculty Governance Committee Cassie Hays spoke on creating a formal process for the College when considering the creation of graduate programs.
The proposal involves creating an ad hoc committee composed of three faculty members drawn from committees, the provost, the vice president of finance and administration, and the executive director of the budget to review graduate programs. This committee would solicit and then review graduate program proposals using market analysis performed by UQSolutions. Next, a review by operational groups would be conducted to assess the impact of the proposed program on the College. After this, the proposal would go through the normal academic approval process.
Hays also shared a change to formalize the process of academic departments merging. This process would involve a notification of interest in merging from the departments, consultation with relevant faculty committees, then consideration and a vote from the faculty at large. This change will be implemented in the fall semester.
The floor was opened for faculty questions and comments, but none spoke.
Faculty Awards
Next, Bookwala announced the winners of four annual faculty awards:
- The “Dr. Robert E. Dutton ’46 Memorial Mentorship Award” recognizes a faculty member for “[demonstrating] excellence in advising and mentoring students.” This year’s winner is professor Yan Sun, chair of the art history department.
- The “Luther W. and Bernice L. Thompson Distinguished Teaching Award,” which recognizes a new faculty member “whose teaching is recognized as outstanding by faculty colleagues,” was awarded to environmental studies professor Tasha Gownaris.
- The “Bruce S. Gordon ’68 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Excellence Prize,” which recognizes a faculty member “who stands out as having advanced a campus climate that is supportive of differences in the classroom or beyond,” was awarded to history professor Scott Hancock.
- The “Distinguished Teaching Award“ is the “highest honor that the faculty can bestow on a colleague,” according to Bookwala. This year’s winner is political science professor Bruce Larson.
Following this, Asian studies professor and director of the Johnson Center for Creative Teaching and Learning (JCCTL) Junjie Luo announced the winner of the “JCCTL Excellence in Teaching Award,” which is given to a faculty member whose teaching “has come to the fore as so exceptional that it stands apart from the work of many other gifted teachers.” This year’s recipient is chemistry professor Lucas Thompson.
Director of the Center for Public Service Jeff Rioux then announced the winner of the “Faculty Award for Community Engagement.” The award recognizes a faculty member who “has connected students to community engaged work for social justice in a meaningful and transformative way.” Spanish professor and head of the El Centro program Maria Perez was this year’s recipient.
Addressing Perez, Rioux stated, “Even though I know this makes you uncomfortable, be recognized for this work. Because you do not see it as exceptional, but simply what we are all supposed to do. You deserve this honor and to be recognized for all the years you did this work without pay, and for all the lives that you impacted, the kids in the program, the students you mentored, and the parents for whom you are a resource.”
Lastly, Spanish professor Chris Oechler spoke on the career of professor Alicia Rolon, who is retiring after 30 years at the College.
“Alicia has embodied the core values of teacher, scholar and mentor during her three decades at Gettysburg College,” said Oechler. “She has touched countless lives in the classroom and beyond. With Alicia’s much deserved retirement, we lose an experienced educator, a compassionate mentor and an inspiring colleague.”
He shared that Rolon was instrumental in “reformulating programs into diversifying the Spanish department’s curriculum.” Rolon also contributed to the creation of the Attic.
Additionally, Oechler praised Rolon’s scholarly work: “She published a 2005 monograph on the novels of Mempo Giardinelli, 13 articles on various Latin American authors and two interviews. She has also delivered 29 essays at national and international conferences.”
Rolon is a native of Argentina, where she lived under the dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla.
“Alicia’s scholarly work has been deeply influenced by her own personal experiences of living under a cruel dictatorship in Argentina and the nightmare of the [Falklands War]. In her scholarly essays, one can infer her obsession with history, memory and human rights, perhaps as a way of dealing with her own demons and ghosts from the past,” said Oechler.
Rolon also created a five-week summer course that took students to Argentina to volunteer in an orphanage in Rolon’s hometown and at an elementary school in the country’s northern mountains.
“At its heart, this program exemplified the values and mission of the College with a strong focus on interdisciplinarity, service, intercultural understanding and leadership,” said Oechler.
Oechler shared a reflection from health sciences professor Megan Benka-Coker ’09, a former student of Rolon’s who took the five-week course in Argentina.
“Professor Rolon’s dedication and bravery in providing students with life changing experience in Argentina is remarkable. She has been a dedicated faculty member, mentor and friend to so many at Gettysburg College,” Benka-Coker wrote. “She will continue to be a role model for many, and words cannot express my own gratitude for her passion and commitment to students. I hope our paths cross again soon, preferably in Argentina.”
Conducting his remarks, Oechler reflected on Rolon’s “enduring legacy of kindness.”
“When I asked faculty colleagues in the Spanish department what they would like me to share, each of them, myself included, wanted to convey just how welcome Alicia made us feel when we first arrived at the College, receiving us warmly into the community, sharing insight and advice and in some cases, offering a place to stay,” he said.
Iuliano then concluded the meeting.
