Flat Hat 10-09-12

Page 1

SPORTS >> PAGE 8

VARIETY >> PAGE 5

The College withstood a late push by the Quakers to hold on for a 34-28 win in Philadelphia.

Members of different religious organizations anticipate Dalai Lama’s visit.

Football drops UPenn on road

Vol. 102, Iss. 13 | Tuesday, October 9, 2012

A universal message of peace

The Flat Hat The Twice-Weekly Student Newspaper

of The College of William and Mary

Administration

academics

Salaries stagnate

Average professor salary at

College in 14th percentile of peer group

Notre Dame

Darmouth

Clemson

$78,000

By the numbers, the College of William and Mary is the most efficient university in the country, but this adaptation to economic realities has left its mark on faculty paychecks. “The latest [U.S. News and World Report] ranked William and Mary as 33rd among all national universities but 112th in the category of resources, a gap that is unmatched by any school in the country,” College Provost Michael Halleran

said. “They’ve worked very hard for this; they recognize how important it is for the university because any university’s reputation is pretty much dependent on the quality of faculty.” The difficulty is determining where this money will come from. Over the past five years, the state has reduced the College’s funding to 13 percent of its overall budget. Even though tuition increases could help, they are largely unpopular among faculty and students alike, Gressard said.

Colleges’ increasing reliance on e-learning has caught the attention of College of William and Mary leaders. At a recent meeting, the Board of Visitors’ Committee on Strategic Initiatives discussed the possibility of placing a greater emphasis on e-learning at the College. E-learning is a broad field that ranges from entirely online degree programs to Blackboard, which can be used to post a syllabus. E-learning has also proven itself a contentious issue in higher education. Support to oust University of Virginia’s Theresa Sullivan as President last spring was rooted in the thought that Sullivan was not doing enough to promote e-learning at U. Va. Dr. Eugene Roche, the director of academic information services at the College, defines e-learning as electronically enhanced learning, and he is quick to point out that exploring e-learning can be problematic, as many people do not have a solid definition of what it is. “Others use the term as [a] synonym for distance learning,” Roche said. Distance learning, it turns out, is not one of the College’s main focuses when it comes to e-learning. “We have done less work at William and Mary in the distance learning space, but we continue to track developments in that area and we are interested in opportunities that might emerge as that landscape continues to evolve,” Dr. James Golden, vice president for strategic initiatives, said. The College’s method with regard to e-learning programs involves much observation and experimentation, often in

See Salaries page 3

See e-learning page 2

$90,000 UNC-Chapel Hill

The peer group, as determined by the State Council for Higher Education, compares the College to similar schools for faculty pay.

$105,000

said in an email. This gap means the College has had to tighten its belt, raising tuition and cutting expenses. One group hit particularly hard has been faculty members, who have not seen a salary increase since 2007. College administration has taken notice, setting aside $5.725 million next year to provide a modest raise for approximately one third of faculty. “It is a high priority for the Board [of Visitors]; they’ve been consistent in saying that, I believe them,” Faculty Assembly President Rick Gressard

Administrators discuss integration of technology

Syracuse

average faculty salaries for full-time professors in fall 2010

$105,000

by chris mckenna Flat hat chief staff writer

$96,000

$86,000

College talks e-learning by zachary frank the flat hat

Wake Forest

$108,000

Flathatnews.com | Follow us:

construction

student assembly

SA launches Tribe Sadler Center renovations to increase capacity Changes will expand footage, provide additional menu variety for students Hosts program Plan supports cultural exchange by katelyn pryor the flat hat

Some international students will find a home away from home during fall break with a new Student Assembly program called Tribe Hosts. International and in-state students alike signed up to take part in the program. SA Vice President Melanie Levine ’13 drew from her own experience as an out-of state student in creating this program. “I just thought back to the kind of struggles that I had moving cross-country and how it was hard for me to get involved with the community here, and one of the struggles that I faced was where to go over the initial breaks,” Levine said. “If I had problems finding places to go over the fall break and Thanksgiving break, what are international students facing?” The program aims to strengthen the Tribe’s role as a diverse, close-knit family. “I think it’s a great opportunity for the Tribe Hosts to have this relationship and cultural exchange over a short amount of time that allows both sides to get something out of it and really increase the bond of the Tribe family,” SA Secretary of Student Diversity Initiatives Neal Chhabra ’14 said. Levine sees the window into students’s home lives that the program provides as a key piece of American culture missing from campus. “When they come here, you know, they’re living in dorms. They’re experiencing college culture, but really such a valuable part of American culture is what goes on in the home,” Levine said. Ze Fu ’16, an international student from China, expressed her desire to experience the everyday life of an American family to compare it to her own culture. See international page 3

Index

News Insight News Opinions Variety Variety Sports Sports

by bailey kirkpatrick flat hat assoc. news editor

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Today’s Weather

Cloudy High 62, Low 52

The renovations proposed for the Sadler Center will begin in December of this school year. The $8 million project, which includes the addition of a new room that will house 300 new seats, more space next to the dish line, and rearrangement of serving stations, will be completed by, or near, the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. “The administration was really responding to the most urgent complaint of the students,” Anna Martin, vice president for administration, said. “They told us there aren’t enough seats and that the serving areas are very congested, so we are trying to improve that.” The layout of the new interior will remain mostly the same except for extension of the patio almost to the service road by the lodges, with an exterior design identical to the Cohen Career Center. Open windows and new terraced landscaping will give a clear view of the Daily Grind and will provide steps leading down to a new walkway that will lead toward the Student Health Center. “I’m glad to be getting more seating. If these renovations are going to help eliminate some of the lines during rush hours, then it should be really helpful. I hope that they do,” Emily Parrish ’15 said. Serving lines, complete with new menu items, will also be moved around the center of the dining hall in order to combat crowding. The dining hall will buck tradition by serving madeto-order or a la carte meals instead of cooking

Jung Hyun Lee / THE FLAT HAT

The Sadler Center will undergo major renovations to increase the dining hall’s capacity beginning in December.

them in bulk batches. “We are really excited about this project,” Wayne Boy, director of planning, design and construction, said. “It will be a huge improvement to the dining experience. This building really is the center of our campus.” There will also be administrative changes to the variety of food offered as a new area designated for late night snacking that will be open as late as the Sadler itself. The renovation will be funded by the administration’s recent mandate that any student living on campus will have to pay for a meal plan.

Inside opinions

Perspectives on the first presidential debate

Right-leaning columnist Andrea Aron-Schiavone and left-leaning columnist Alex Cooper analyze the first presidential debate and what college students should take from it. page 4

Because Sadler generates its own revenue, it is not classified as an educational building, but rather an auxiliary building and therefore cannot use funds from Maintenance Reserve. As such, it is easiest to generate revenue from the people that use it. “I think that it is absolutely ridiculous that I am currently paying for something, because of a lack of choice, for the renovation of a building I will hardly use next year once I move offcampus,” Melanie Gilbert ’15 said. Planning started a year ago after an influx of See dining page 3

Inside VARIETY

Losing their religion

A historian, a scientist and a minister discuss the problems with the evangelical tradition and why they chose to forego it. page 6


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