Newspaper Page Text
PAGE J-THE CLUSTER, APRIL 28. IMP
Macon faculty respond to closing of CAS
By DONNA ML ITZOE
**—-|*~« Editor
A* Mercer'i Board of Trustees
plans to dose the doors at the Col
lege of Am and Sciences, many
Macon faculty members say that
this is a sad tune for the university.
English Professor Walter
Kalaidjian said, "I think the clos
ing of CAS is a tremendous episode
in Mercer's history and should be
feh as a tremendous loss for anyone
committed to liberal am educa
tion.”
“First. 1 am grief-stricken." said
Catherine Meeks of Afro-American
Studies. “I don’t think it's a solu
tion to the problems."
Several other professors express
ed cooccr- for their colleagues in
Atlanta, particularly those who are
tenured. Questions arose about
what those professors will do after
next school year and whether they
will be able to find positions.
Some faculty members also said
they are concerned with the fact
that Atlanta faculty bad no imput
in the decision to dose CAS. Dean
Karcher of CAS said the decision
took him by surprise and that be
had no part in the discussion.
“What is deplorable is the man
ner in which die faculty have not
been a part in their decisions and
their future." said History pro
fessor Eric Klingelhofer.
Another History professor,
Wayne Mixon, said, "The manner
in which it was handled leaves
much to be desired.”
Other Macon faculty members
asked why CAS. which has been
financially in the black, would be
closed.
Mathematics Department Chair
man Emory Whitaker does not sup
port the Trustees' decision largely
for that reason.
"From all that I have heard.
CAS is in no way responsible for
our financial crisis,” he said. “It
seems illogical to close a school
that has the ability to make a pro
fit."
After the Trustees made their
decision to close CAS, Mercer
President R. Kirby Godsey
explained that the present focus of
the university is the College of
Liberal Am in Macon.
Godsey said, "Mercer Universi
ty has made an important decision
to concentrate its resources for
undergraduate liberal am education
on the College of Liberal Am in
Macon.”
This statement prompted several
CLA professors to question if it
will be the future focus of the
univeristy, particularly considering
the closing of one liberal am
school in the university already.
Whitaker explained, "The Col
lege of Am and Sciences and the
College of Liberal Am have a
common goal. The decision of the
board saddens and angers all of us
who support the liberal am.”
Some professors laid they did not
have the same information a*-tbe
Trustees, so they felt they were not
in a position to give an opinion
about the closing of CAS.
Engineering professor Jack
Mahaney said, “I don't want to se
cond guess the Trustees. I'm cer
tainly net going to contend that it's
a bad decision.”
He added, "The guys who were
m charge of the management of this
university didn't have a clue of bow
to run an $80 million corporation.
We are all now paying for those
mistakes.*’
One professor, who was in the
Trustees’ meeting on Friday, said
he does not believe the decision to
close CAS was justified.
Peter Brown, Chairman of the
Senior Capstone Department and
Philosophy instructor, was the
House of Delegates representative
at the meeting.
He said, "Last Friday is pro
bably the saddest and most
shameful day in the history of
Mercer University. Lies, in
competence and a shallow vision of
our educational mission lie at the
heart of our crisis. This response
(closing CAS) is morally and
educationally banknipt."
Celebration lacking
for tenure recipients
By DONNA M. ITZOE
have been a day of celebration for three Macon
Lfoerai Am foculty members turned into more of a day of grief
Chartea Atwood, and Edward Weimnsit, but the board
Atlanta
i said
member Kalaidjain said, "As to my feeling
atm, I am not persuaded, in light or
« CAS, Hat having tenure here makes
Trustees close CAS
Dr.
fessor of Religion and Philosophy
at the CAS, upon hearing of this
situation commrnfod that “We
(CAS) are being made a scapegoat
for the administration's gross
mismanagement of the university
Thptnove is totally unjumfied. The
handling of the matter waa not ap
propriate. There waa no due pro
cess among die board let alone the
University."
After a week of publicity on the
issue, Hudson argued that the
"message" of what had happened
to the CAS was understood in the
Atlanta area and that be wished to
"invite the Macon brethren to join
us. not only for our lakes but for
theirs.”
Fears that the CAS warfarjeted
for closure steppeiEop last spring
with the release of the report of the
Trustee’s Select Committion on
Univeristy Priorities which in
to decrease the
najors in Atlanta
from 30 to six lo 10 “market
driven" programs
In previous statements to con
cerned faculty and student groups
who feared closure of the Atlanta
campus once these decisions had
been made. Dr. Godsey replied
that. "There's no plan to disman
tle liberal arts."
Fifty-nine faculty jobs will be
rlimmaird with the closure of the
College. Tt eras revealed this week
that thegeven Atlanta faculty
members, who had been told after
the January meeting that they
would not be referred for the next
I between the Universi
ty administnlsoo and the fired
faculty. These faculty members
received notice of this change in
their status the day before the Fri
day Trustees meeting.
Speaking of this sduatioa. Dr
Matthew Mancmi, Associate Pro
fessor of Hialocy is Atlanta, said
"this (decision to rehire these
faculty shortly before the College
was dosed) is crossing the line
from cynicism to sadism.”
Dr. Mandni commented dot last
week's events were indicative of
the way the Atlanta college had
been treated for the last four years.
"The action is beneath contempt.
It shows that the years of
mamanaymea and tricky accoun
ting procedures resulted in innocent
people suffering for what the guil
ty party had done. It's a fact that
the liabilities are in Macon and the
assets are in Atlanta."
In his first public statement
following the Friday meeting Presi
dent Godsey staled that, "Mercer
University has made an important
decision lo concentrate iu
resources for undergradude liberal
arts education on the College of
Liberal Am in Macon . "
No statement was released in
dicating that monies obtained
through the cloture and sale of land
at the CAS would be channelled
directly back to the College of
Liberal Am in Macon.
Dr. Monroe Swilley. the first
President of the Atlanta Baptist
College (the name of the CAS
before u was merged with Mercer
in the early 1970s) and current Vice
President for Mercer's Atlanta Pro
grams. described the meeting as.
"One of the blackest days of my
life." In a short interview with the
Cluster following his attendance at
the Friday session he commented:
“So many other alternatives could
have been implemented to (solve
our problems) rather than dosing
the College of Am and Sciences,
but there was no dim ns ion of alter
natives in the meeting.”
Swilley, who was instrumental in
Halting the College in Atlanta, fur
ther staled that he hoped "some
good would come out of this
Hr tragedy."
Wg ‘ At the same
/ .^.^1 meeting, the
Trustees decid-
cd to rclurn lhc
; ■ 2kfi Mercer athletics
program to
i Division I. At
| 28L the last meeting
in January the
Swfiky board had
decided to move the programs to
Division II in an effort to save
money. Following a recommenda
tion by Dr. David Jones, athletic
committee chairman for the Board,
the Trustees voted to allocate
S300.000 to the program with the
remainder of the budget to be fill
ed by a mayor hind drive.
A seven percent tuition increase
was also approved by the board. At
the January meeting, a four percent
increase had been targeted. Ad
ministration sources have com
mented that the increase is still
below the average for private
schools in the area.
Finally, the Board approved a
budget for fiscal year 1990 which
includes a S5 million deficit. This
was part of an overall plan to dear
up the university debt in three to
five years. The plan includes a
university wide freeze on faculty
salaries and continued tightening of
budgets for the various colleges and
schools.
In related news, following the
meeting, two trustees. Tommy Day
Wilcox, a Macon Superior Court
Judge, and Jim Gilbert, a promi
nent Brunswick attorney, announc
ed that they would be resigning
from the Board.
Citing the board's continued sup
port for President Godsey. the two
men had no comment other than
handwritten statements which were
given to the Macon Telegraph as
they left the meeting.
The Telegraph published
Wilcox's statement last Saturday:
“In early December of last year-
the morning after President Godsey
advised us that he had failed to
disclose the true extent of mounting
deficiu-I told the president that
because of our long-standing
friendship I would resign before I
asked for his resignation, but I was
really disturbed by his
performance.
“Today, after the meeting, I am
advising Chairman (Robert) Steed
that I am resigning my position oil
the board of trustees. If the majori
ty of the board strongly supports
the president with all we know
about his performance, I have no
place here.
“Yesterday, I advised the presi
dent that he had to know the extent
of human pain and suffering his
continued presence as president
was causing faculty, students,
employees, alumni, friends and
trustees. And if it was his decision
to continue as president, I would
have to consider resigning.
“I am sore there will come a day ■*
when renewal at the university will
begin and I ask to be allowed back
on campus, because I have devoted
28 years of my life to this institu
tion and my bean and soul will !
always remain here."
Gilbert’s statement, as it ap- J
peared in the same issue of the j
Macon paper:
“When I became a trustee, Twas 1
told that the university and its com- 1
ponent parts were healthy At that j
time, I now believe, there were 1
those in authority who knew beter J
“In December, when it became 1
apparent to everyone that the 1
university was in fact very ill. I
many wise and capable trustees j
began a process of healing. I 1
respect and appreciate their cooti J
nuing efforts.
“We have faced our financial j
crises with vigor, but we have not I
addressed the profound failures of I
leadership which have brought u* I
to this troublesome time
“For this reason alone and with j
deep sorrow. I shall next week sub- 1
mil my resignation as a trustee of I
Mercer University.”
According to sources inside the g
meeting no discussion occurred I
concerning the leadership of the I
university. Earlier votes by the
faculties of the CLA, CAS, Stetson
School of Business, the L*»
School's Board of Visitors, the
University wide faculty House of
Delegates and the SGAs of Mac*
and Atlanta called for Godsey s
resignation expressing a lack of .
confidence in His ability to lead the
university
