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Vol. XXI, No. 1
CABRINI COLLEGE, ~ADNOR, PA.
October 14, 1974
Renovation of Grace Hall By Fran MacDonald Student protest at the announced change of Grace Hall into a theater and faculty offices has subsided only slightly after an official explanation was published by the Master Planning Committee. This past summer, the resident facilities of Grace Hall were renovated to include the faculty offices of the Education, Psychology, Special Education, Early Childhood, and Mathematics Departments. The reasons for this move, as outlined by the Master Planning Committee, are complex and far reaching. The
student reaction to this renovation, never- . theless, is one of indignation and protest. Using dormitories for other purposes is not new at Cabrini. Several faculty offices were located last year in Woodcrest. The Master Planning Committee, in deciding to use Grace Hall as more than a dorm did so for several reasons. The large central recreation room located in the left wing of the building was a main reason. This type room could be found nowhere else on campus, and had excellent possibilities as a combination theater, concert hall and lecture hall.
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Grace Hall's duplicated structure also made it extremely desirable as a combination faculty center and student residence, according to Dr. Frank Saul, Chairman of the Master Planning Committee. The faculty offices in Grace Hall could be easily separated from the resident facilities. When the faculty offices were located near students' rooms in Woodnest, the faculty was bothered by the student noise and the students were inhibited by faculty presence. The large individual rooms, well suited for offices, further influenced the choice of Grace Nall. The underutilization of dorm space also played a primary role in the final choice of Grace Hall as a combination resident hall and office building, according to Dr. Saul. Early la st semester the Master Planning Committee began to look for a suitable dorm for male students . After careful consideration , the left wing of Woodcrest was chosen. When a sufficient number of male students failed to reserve rooms in Woodnest, the Master Planning Committee decided to move female students onto the first floor of Woodcrest , thus freeing space in Grace Hall for other purposes. Grace Hall was already scheduled for renovation and improvements; therefore, it was an easy choice for faculty offices.
Student protest of the use of a portion of Grace Hall as faculty offices centered around two issues: the timing of the announcement of a final decision and the lack of consideration for the opinion of the students involved. Students were engaged in preparation for final exams and the selection of rooms for the up-coming semester had already been completed at the time of the announcement. This left the involved students with no time to fight the decision, little or no choice in rooms for the upcoming semester , and literally no say in this aspect of the governing of residential life, states a letter to the Master Planning Committee written by Lorraine Ostrowski, in an attempt to summarize student opinion . The Master Planning Committee, in a reply, blamed the timing of the announcement on the indeci ion of male residency . The deadline for room selection was repeatedl y extended in the hope of at tracting more male residents. Thus valuable time was wasted, says Dr. Saul. There was, he explained, no time for debate or e\"en a poll of student opinion . Students also felt that the transformation of part of Grace Hall into (Continued
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TENURE
A NewPolicy by Mary Beth Senkewicz
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American Studies Major Offered by Beth Schweitzer Few fields have grown more rapidly in the last twenty-five years than American Studies. Cabrini students now have the opportunity to study American Studies as a major or combined major . The major was proposed by Mrs . Sharon Schwarze of Cabrini College's Philosophy department . She said that the interdisciplinary American Studies major is designed to meet several different needs . It wil 1 provide a well-focused interdisciplinary major in the American experience. The major will also make possible for students with additional concentration in other areas a double major which will give them electives in several disciplines and yet provide some measure of expertise in American Studies.
All the courses necessary for comp leting a major in this field are offered at Cabrini College. The required courses for the American Studies include English, History, Social Science, Philosophy, and Religion courses. Some of the upper division courses are Survey of American Literature, American Intellectual Thought, the American Religious Experience and American National Government . This individualized major enables a student to design an individualized educational experience based on existing courses at Cabrini. In addition, an American Studies background would be pa1ticularly useful for students planning careers in teaching, law, government service or communications.
If a professor has a tenured contract, that means he /she cannot be fired except for several important reasons; they include serious financial exigencies such as a department being phased out, moral turpitude, and incompetence. On most college campuses, the granting of tenure to worthy professors is undertaken by a faculty committee designated for that purpose. Prior to this year tenure at Ca brini has been granted by the administration. As of this 1974-75 academic year, tenure will be handled by the Committee of Academic Freedom, Rank , and Tenure, a faculty composed committee. There are several ways in which this procedure differs from the old one. One of the main differences is that for the first time students' views concerning the tenure candidates will be taken into consideration. The student evaluations from several years back will be used by the subcommittees examining each candidate . Secondly, there will be substantial alumni input into this matter which was not present previously . A random sampling of the candidate's graduated majors and other alumni have been contacted and will reply via letter concerning the candidate. Lastly, it is different because the faculty
themselves handles the whole procedure. Ms. Kathleen Gavigan , a member of the committee, explained the reason for the change. She said that it was custom in the academic community for a faculty com- . mittee to handle tenure. Thus, Cabrini College joins itself more strongly with academic tradition in using a tenure evaluation procedure followed in a long line of creditable ins t itutions . The purpose of this committee is to insure academic freedom, encourage intellectual and professional growth among the faculty, and to supervise the granting of tenure and rank, according to the A.A.U.P . (American Association of University Professors) A professor becomes a candidate for tenure in the fall of his/her sixth full-time year. A subcommittee reviews the candidate's qualifications for tenure, judging on teaching performance, counseling and other contributions to students, academic achievement, promise of continued growth and excellence, and his/her value as a respected representative of the college and the community. Currently there are five candidates for tenure: Dr. Marice Bezdek, English Department; Mr. Robert McGee, and Mr. Gerald Satlow, both of the Math Department; Miss Jo-Ann Rondini, Chemistry Department; and Mr s. Irene Rachat, Language Department .
