The Ramapo News 03.15.12
XLII NO. 17
A PUBLICATION BY THE STUDENTS FOR THE RAMAPO COLLEGE COMMUNITY the rundown
arts
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Randall Kennedy spoke in Friends Hall about race, law and politics. Page 3
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entertainment
sports
SPOKEN POETRY SLAM
WHERE SHOULD PEYTON GO?
Gabriela Garcia Media, a spoken word poet, performed as part of the College Programming Board’s Tuesday Night Live series. Page 8
Our writers analyze each of Manning’s possible destinations as a free agent. Page 15
Ramapo Mourns Beloved Chemistry Professor Brandolini By NICOLE ALLIEGRO News Editor
Assistant Professor of Analytical Chemistry Anita Brandolini is remembered for her enthusiasm for science and passion for helping others, even though she faced health issues. Outside of the College, Brandolini was very involved in the American Chemical Society and volunteered at the Liberty Science Center. Photo courtesy of Arthur Felix
Assistant Professor of Analytical Chemistry Anita Brandolini, 56, passed away in her home on Monday. “We were shocked to lose such a valuable collegue,” said Arthur Felix, associate professor of chemistry. “She was really an ideal colleague, always available with help and suggestions. She was there for everybody.” Brandolini, since joining the College’s School of Theoretical and Applied Sciences (TAS) in 2007, taught instrumental and analytical chemistry and worked with many upper level students as an honors research mentor. She had earned tenure just last year, according to Felix, and was set for a promotion in the fall. Brandolini, sometimes called “Brando” by her colleagues and students, was further recognized last year by the American Chemical Society (ACS) as an outstanding teacher, being awarded the prestigious Emmett Reid Award for her teaching and research. She is also the only Ramapo faculty member to be inducted a fellow of the ACS. “She was a spectacular teacher,” said Edward Saiff, dean of TAS. “Everybody liked her—I didn’t
know of one person who didn’t, and that includes the students and the faculty and the staff.” Some students became especially close with Brandolini through the TAS-Research Honors Program, and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Carberry reported that Brandolini “always had the most research students” of the other chemistry professors. Whereas Carberry said it is more common for professors to take on three or four students and have them work on similar research, Brandolini was working with five, each on a different project. “Every single one of her students had a unique project that was all their own, which is also kind of rare,” Carberry explained, adding that even with an hour and a half commute from Hillsborough, New Jersey, she made the effort to get to campus on her off days and even sometimes in the summer. “She was here a lot,” said fellow chemistry professor Carol Frishberg. “She didn’t just come, teach her classes, and leave.” In addition to her courses and mentoring, she was actively involved in the Chemistry & Biochemistry Club on campus. Chemistry convener Steve Anderson said that although Brandolini gave up the adviser see BRANDOLINI on page 2
Board of Trustees Abolishes Tenure Cap Years after State Does TENURE NOW TO BE GRANTED ON APPLICATION CRITERIA ALONE By RACHEL WINTERMUTE Staff Writer Ramapo College’s Board of Trustees decided to abolish the faculty tenure cap at the end of last month. The cap, as outlined in Board Policy #459, limited granting tenure to 75 percent of the faculty. After five years of teaching, a faculty member has the
opportunity to apply for tenure, which contractually guarantees that their position is secure from arbitrary termination. Without a cap on the number of tenured faculty, committees can now award tenure based on criteria alone. President Peter Mercer said that although New Jersey abolished regulated tenure cap ratios in the mid-1990s, they did not disappear at Ramapo.
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“When they were abolished, the public colleges were free to establish, by their own regulations, a similar cap if they wished,” Mercer said. “Ramapo, I believe, was the only college to do so. It undoubtedly had its own reasons at the time, but it meant we were in this unusual position of being the only college which had that sort of restraint.” Anthropology professor Susan
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Hangen, who chaired the AllColleges Tenure Committee last fall, said that the faculty assembly talked with Mercer about the cap and together realized that the power to abolish it rested with the Board of Trustees. “So, in order to preserve the ability of faculty to go through the tenure process normally, to be assessed normally without this artificial barrier, we asked the
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Board to repeal that portion of the bylaw,” Mercer said. The Board decided on the issue during its meeting on Monday, Feb. 27. Hangen said that while the cap did not impact any past tenure decisions, there was a definite threat that upcoming tenure applications would push against the 75 percent mark.
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see TENURE on page 5
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