Hello friends and supporters,
Yesterday afternoon, faculty and staff at Columbia College received the following via email from Louise Love, Provost:
To the faculty and staff: I have been paying close attention to the messages that were sent at last week’s Listening Forum, in conversations, in e-mail messages, and in a meeting with members of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. I understand that the campus community is concerned that steps are being taken towards implementation before decisions are made through the prioritization process. I want to affirm, therefore, that nothing has been decided and that any initiatives on my part that appear to be implementing prematurely have been called off.
In a related matter, I have asked Randy Albers and Ken Daley to remain as chairs of their respective departments for the year ahead; and they have both graciously agreed. They will provide trusted leadership and continuity regardless of the decisions coming out of the Blueprint:Prioritization process; and they will help us make decisions about how best to go forward.I hope that these measures will reassure the community that the process is proceeding according to plan, that nothing will be decided until the end of June, and that discussions about implementation will begin in the fall.
What does this mean? Well, it means that your voices have been heard. It means that there will be continuity of leadership in the Fiction Writing Department as we all move forward towards the changes likely to come. The administration has listened, and has reversed decisions made prior to the completion of the Blueprint:Prioritization process. We are thrilled, and we appreciate that Louise Love has given these important issues reconsideration.
We must note that the effort that has been put forth here on AlbersForChair.org, and the support that has come as a result, happened because of the working environment in the Fiction Writing Department. As adjunct faculty members, we feel that we are an integral part of the job of teaching students and their learning process.
Our work is not done, however. We look forward to the possibilities that a newly-formed Creative Writing Department might create for our departments and faculty members, the College and, most importantly, our students. We maintain that Randy Albers is the ideal candidate to help shepherd in the Creative Writing Department he has been a proponent of for many years, and we believe that our unique and acclaimed core curriculum should be celebrated and allowed to flourish in this new department. The Fiction Writing major–with its striking diversity of teaching approaches and its Story Workshop core–is one of Columbia’s crown jewels.
We remain vigilant and will do whatever we can to ensure that the changes that are proposed out of this Blueprint:Prioritization process are best for all concerned–faculty, staff, and most importantly, the students of Columbia College.
Thank you for your support, and please continue to visit the site for news regarding recommendations to come.