The University of Mary Washington’s Independent Student Newspaper Serving the community since 1922
The
Ringer
Weekly
VOLUME 97 | ISSUE 17
February 23, 2024
UMW administration proposes academic reorganization plan, faculty petition for proper governance procedures
Callie harkins Associate Editor As of Feb. 21, 67 UMW faculty members have signed a petition to urge University administration to submit the proposed Academic Reorganization plan—which currently calls for the consolidation of multiple academic departments—to the Curriculum Committee to “respect the principle of faculty governance” and follow the guidelines in UMW’s Faculty Handbook. The petition has garnered support from faculty in all three colleges—the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education and College of Business—and 16 of the 23 academic departments. The plan was co-authored by three faculty members associated with UMW’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors: Eric Bonds, president of the AAUP of UMW Chapter and associate professor of sociology and anthropology; Jason Davidson, vice president
of the chapter and professor of political science and international affairs; and Catie Finlayson, associate professor of geography who is a chapter member. “The petition indicates a very high level of concern among tenured faculty for your failure to respect the Faculty Handbook and faculty governance,” said Bonds in an email addressed to University President Troy Paino and Provost Tim O’Donnell, on behalf of the signatories. “Faculty petitions like this rarely occur at the University of Mary Washington. This level of public dissent is extraordinary and if it is ignored, it is likely to permanently erode trust that our faculty has bestowed on President Paino to this point.” The petition follows the release of the proposed Academic Reorganization plan created by members of the Academic Organization Working Group. This group was composed of six faculty members and
SEE PETITON, PAGE 2
The Academic Affairs Organization Final Model outlines the University’s proposed plans, which led to the faculty petition. UMW Board of Visitors
UMW Debate discontinues following director’s departure
Rachel bliss Staff Writer Barring their lack of exposure on campus, the UMW Debate Team was good. They traveled to and won competitions and tournaments, and this extracurricular activity helped its members develop critical thinking and communication skills whose effects stretched beyond the classroom. However, at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year, Director of Debate Adrienne Brovero left UMW to become the associate director of debate at the University of Kentucky. This left the team without a director and sufficient monetary funds, which ultimately resulted in the team’s discontinuation. Debate was housed at 1201 William St. where the team practiced policy debate in the basement of the building. Undergraduates were able to join the team as a way to develop their liberal arts education in service of their career as well as their citizenship. As a whole, debate has been a pillar in liberal learning for more than 2,500 years. Furthermore, according to the
News | 2 INSIDE UMW Debate
THE
RINGER
discontinues in search of new professor for program
UMW Debate Program website, the history of the debate team “can be traced to the literary societies that appeared after the College’s founding in 1908.” Literary societies were a way in which women could communally engage with and discuss literature in light of being excluded from educational institutions and clubs.
“We’ve fought for a while to continue to hire another director of the program, but we were told that it’s both not in the interest of the university—as well as the budget—to appoint a new director at the time.” - Avery Dover “For a university that historically represents critical thinking and political science and the ability to speak out, cutting a program like debate—which I think has some kind of like benefits for students—this is pretty disap-
Opinion | 3
Oversharing hits its limit: Lines blur between media and reality
pointing,” said Avery Dover, a junior political science and communication and digital studies major. Dover was recruited to the debate team by Brovero when she was director. He said that Brovero notified the team and university of her departure, but the process of finding another to fill the role has been difficult. Furthermore, with the university funding the team’s travel and expenses, once the director left, the university did not seem to see it fit to keep the program. “We’ve fought for a while to continue to hire another director of the program, but we were told that it’s both not in the interest of the university—as well as the budget—to appoint a new director at the time,” said Dover. Anand Rao, the chair and a professor of communication and digital studies, supervised the director of debate. He said that there was not a decision to cut the team, but when Brovero left Mary Washington in May 2023 to go to the University of Kentucky, the team’s late search for a director during the summer was unsuccessful. He said they are still working on a plan to find a new director.
Life | 4
UMW’s “True West” reins in audience with humor and comedy
SEE DEBATE, PAGE 2
Sports | 8
Coast-toCoast polls place UMW tennis teams on top