FREE | Take one Week of February 15, 2012 | Vol. 37, Iss 7
The
Mirror fairfieldmirror.com
The Independent Student Newspaper of Fairfield University The Reflection of Fairfield
Fairfield Faculty Challenges Administration By Mikaela Tierney Editor-in-chief
Eight Fairfield faculty members raised concern for the current fiscal situation and downward trend in oversight at Fairfield University in a highly contested Jan. 27 memo cosigned by at least 50 other faculty members. The memo was “designed to start a conversation,” not spark controversy or expand beyond the campus, explained Dr. Phil Lane, co-writer of the memo and a professor with 30 years’ experience at Fairfield. However, despite intentions, controversy has definitely been ignited across campus, creating a debate between the faculty and the administration. The Mirror was able to obtain a copy of the memo from a source uninvolved with the creation of the document. “We believe that the current financial crisis was both foreseeable and avoidable,” the memo notes. Although “the signers of this memo are deeply committed to Fairfield University,” they are still “deeply concerned about recent trends.” The document outlines a few key indicators that have caused such concern among its faculty authors, most notably the student acceptance process, the education budget, and the increasing numbers and salaries of administrators.
Changing Acceptance Rates Leave Room for Concern The memo explains that “it is very desirable to have a low admit rate and a high yield,” meaning it is best to accept fewer students, but have the majority of those accepted students decide to study at Fairfield instead of other schools they were accepted into. However, the memo explains, “both of these rates have consistently been trending in the wrong direction.” In fact, “in 2002, our yield rate was nearly 25 percent – one of the best rates Fairfield has had in the last 20 years. But that has declined steadily, and last year’s yield rate of 15.31 percent is the worst in 40 years,” the memo noted. However, this year marks “the highest number of applications ever in Fairfield’s history,” according to President Jeffrey von Arx, S.J. in a campus-wide email sent out on Monday. This optimism seems to be bright spot in an otherwise challenging past few years of admissions. Different years provide different interest levels in certain universities across the country and different numbers of applications to each institution. “In 2000, prospective college students, on average applied to about five universities. Today they apply to 10,” a recent Connecticut Post article summarized Senior Vice President for
Academic Affairs Paul J. Fitzgerald as saying.
Illustration by Tebben Lopez/The Mirror
The faculty and administration have been indirectly duking it out over the budget.
Administrative Positions Increase as Other Jobs Are Cut The memo also
included information about administration positions and salaries. In the wake of last semester’s layoffs, many students and faculty members expressed frustration that no employment reductions had been made for the growing administration staff. The memo highlighted this concern, noting that while other staffers were being laid off as the result of a six million dollar budget gap, there was actually a “net
gain of two to three additional vice president positions.” The memo notes that the administrative side of the institution has consistently been the “fastest growing segment of our community,” explaining that “administration positions have increased by nearly 25 [percent] in the last six years, while faculty posi-
tions have increased by 10 [percent] and all other positions have decreased.” In addition to this increase in staff size for the administration, the memo notes that the “salary for senior administrators has grown at a substantially higher rate than that of the rest of the campus community.” Illustrated through a chart in
Memo| page 6
Senior Year Will Be A Blast! Despite Rumors, Beach Living Granted To All Who Applied
By Mary Kate McCormick Staff Writer Lantern Point. Powderpuff. The Grape. High Tide. Oktoberfest. The Nauts. For years, these iconic landmarks and events have persuaded Fairfield seniors to apply to be “released” as off-campus residents. Until last week, juniors feared the end of an era. Thanks to the work of Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Thomas Pellegrino, and the Of-
Contributed Photo Beach living is in the future for many juniors.
fice of Residence Life, Fairfield is not getting rid of beach housing. Instead, they are accommodating everyone. After months of listening to propaganda for new upperclassmen housing on campus, junior students were shocked to find out that Fairfield had pulled through and granted off-campus permission to everyone who applied. According to a University wide email sent by Pellegrino, this was the smallest release in Fairfield history, but this time, the choice was made by the students rather than the University. “A major selling point at Fairfield U is the beach and there’s no denying that,” said Joe Del Prete ‘13, an argument that most prospective students consider when applying to Fairfield. However, the fear of limited off-campus boarder spots was the only pitfall. Until this year. Students like junior Elizabeth Cortez feared the worst, saying, ”Whether they were rumors or facts, hearing that Fairfield might be getting strict and not going to be letting a lot of juniors off really bummed people out.” After much doubt that they would be released, Del Prete, Cortez and their peers were
overjoyed at the University’s decision, stressing the importance of upperclassmen independence and the right to choose housing by senior year. Similarly, junior Daniella Scopino and her roommate Samantha MacPhail were “pleasantly surprised that everyone was released.” Additionally, they were also shocked that such a small amount of students applied to live off-campus. Pellegrino attributed the low number of applicants to housing surveys conducted this past fall which indicated stronger preference to live in new on-campus housing. Like other Fairfield students, beach living is something that Scopino has been looking forward to since she arrived at Fairfield. “Beach life sets Fairfield apart from other similar level schools,” she said. For rising juniors, living at the beach is not just about living within walking distance of The Seagrape Bar or having the ability to lay on the beach in their backyard (though who can argue that these are nice perks). Although there is a great deal
Beach | page 3
Contributed Photo
UCONN Stamford’s current main building, site of the proposed development
Rival on the Horizon By John Tessitore Assistant Sports Editor
The recent announcement of the potential expansion for UConn Stamford may pose some legitimate competition to the Dolan School of Business when it comes to prospective business school students, especially in the New York and Stamford area. Is the administration worried? “Fairfield is always interested in changes in educational options in our area,” said Judith Dubai, the Vice President for Enrollment Management. Dubai adds, “We also know that a Fairfield educa-
tion is unique and more individually focused than what might be the typical UConn experience.” The proposed UConn expansion was disclosed by Jud Suviskas, the director of undergraduate and graduate programs for the UConn School of Business, at a Stamford meeting of the Fairfield County Public Relations Association. This “expansion” in the making, with no set start date, will likely effect prospective graduate school students rather than potential undergraduates looking at Fairfield.
UCONN| page 3