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Lester Spence delivers Black History Month Talk on Ferguson, neoliberalism South Documents Nearly 4,000 Names” served as a significant resource for Spence’s explanation of racial inequality in the United States. Spence explained: “What you see is variance.” He could not divorce the past from his message about the present and future. “We talk about the Jim Crow era as the Jim Crow era,” said Spence, “but really we should call it the Terrorism era.” Shortly thereafter, he added, “Lynching was constitutive of capitalism in the South. The lynchings were made public, newspapers sold special editions, trains had discounts to get Lester K. Spence addresses audience in Watson Forum on matters of historic, racial inpeople there. That was equality. SAM CARAVANA/THE DEPAUW an industry.” In speaking about the Ronald Reagan era, he defined “neoliberalism” as “an ideolBY ALEX WEILHAMMER ogy that promotes the idea that every human institution should news@thedepauw.com be governed by the market.” He drew parallels to how a failing DePauw students found a warm haven in the Pulliam Center school might try to remedy its shortcomings by making “it run Thursday night when Lester K. Spence arrived in the Watson Fo- more like a business.” Cities are then expected to operate in the rum. Soft conversation and laughter floated about the packed same way: become “entrepreneurial in their revenue income.” Spence explained how cities result to a reliance on municipal room before professor Clarissa Peterson gave Spence’s introbonds and on the militarization of the police when given this duction. As Peterson explained, Spence is an Associate Professor of expectation. Said Spence, “One way to understand Ferguson is Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins Univer- to understand a long history of the relationship between cops sity. His lecture, entitled “The Right to Ferguson: Race, Rights, and black people.” Junior Amanda Buening appreciated Spence’s patient apand Power in the 21st Century,” was organized as a Black History Month Talk and was presented by the Black Studies department. proach to talking about Ferguson, as the issue is far from sim“What I want to talk about today is variance,” said Spence plistic. “What I really liked about it the most was how he talked early into the lecture. He let the word hang there, even repeated it a few times before continuing. A New York Times article titled “History of Lynchings in the Spence | cont’d on page 3
VOL. 163, ISSUE 31
Faculty speak out, discuss possibility of 3:2 course load BY LEXY BURTON news@thedepauw.com
Faculty led discussions continue as professors seek to shrink course load and incorporate more research and scholarship. At DePauw University, professors currently teach six courses a year which constitutes as a 3:3 course load. Although DePauw is a small liberal arts school where teaching is an important component of students’ success, many professors at DePauw still value their scholarship and desire to continue their research and development post doctorate. Professor Jeff Kenney, Faculty Development Coordinator, thinks scholarship is a key component to a successful academic experience for students and professors. “We don't want to become an IU,” said Kenney. “We want to be grounded in the class room with teaching but research is a important component for who we are as professors.” Kenney is not the only professor that has participated in conversations about the faculty course load. According to Kenney this discussion has been ongoing for the last five or six years, before Larry Stimpert was named vice president of academic affairs. “A few times you hear [the] administration and President Casey take it on and think it is something viable, but then nothing becomes concrete,” said Kenney. Several other professors as well as President Casey and Stimpert
have been a part of these ongoing conversations. Last summer during a Faculty Development Committee meeting, the faculty was upset after Stimpert announced changes in the faculty development funding. “We had a cut and faculty were worried that research wasn't taken seriously,” said Kenney, “So the 3:2 load discussion came up naturally.” With DePauw’s current 3:3 course load, professors find it difficult to devote enough time to their research or other scholarship pursuits. Kenney argues that with a 3:2 course load more time could be spent with students outside of the classroom, participating in research. “The whole point of Liberal Arts education is to merit interaction with faculty involved in their students academically,” said Kenney. “Once the semester starts with grading feedback with a 3:3 course load, weekends are spent grading and it is difficult to keep up with our research,” said Kenney. President Casey agrees and thinks the quality of student to faculty interaction is heightened. “I think when a faculty member has only two classes to teach their capacity to engage with students goes up,” said Casey. The meeting dismissed the old Faculty Development Fund model and changed how professors would receive funding for conferences and research oriented trips. With expressed concerns and pushback from faculty, the Faculty Development Funding program returned to
Course Load | cont’d on page 2