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Faculty defends chancellor searchBy Joanna Massey, Standard-Times staff writer DARTMOUTH -- When UMass President
William M. Bulger recommended that Dr. Jean MacCormack be named permanent
chancellor of UMass Dartmouth, he did so with the blessing of many on the
school's faculty. Angered
by a column in The Boston Globe portraying a lack of faculty involvement
in the recent appointments of chancellors on both the Boston and Dartmouth
campuses, administrators and professors here argue that they played an
important role in the months-long search for a new leader. And
while a small minority on campus expressed interest in other candidates,
the overwhelming support lay with Dr. MacCormack, a longtime UMass Boston
administrator who has served as Dartmouth's interim chancellor since
September 1999. "There's
this idea being promoted that we're helpless victims of the president and
that's just not true," said economics Professor Daniel Georgianna,
president of the UMass Dartmouth Faculty Federation. "I know the faculty here and if
they didn't want Jean MacCormack as their chancellor, they wouldn't have
put her name on the list of finalists submitted to Bulger." President Bulger has been
criticized by some at UMass Boston for appointing David J. MacKenzie -- a
newcomer to academia and longtime ally of former state Senate President
Bulger -- to the position of interim chancellor. Faculty in Boston and in Amherst,
where President Bulger also will soon appoint a new chancellor, have
expressed concern that he is stacking the deck with members of his inner
circle. But on the
Dartmouth campus, faculty and staff say they resent the implication that
Dr. MacCormack was forced upon them. "There was definitely a complete
search done," said university spokeswoman Maeve D. Hickok, who stressed
that a search committee composed of students, faculty, staff, alumni and
community leaders interviewed candidates from across the country. The names of five finalists were
submitted to the president's office. "And although Jean MacCormack was
the best qualified candidate, she certainly wasn't the only qualified
candidate," Ms. Hickok said. "She was absolutely and
enthusiastically the choice of the faculty," said Bal Ram Singh, a
chemistry professor who served on the search committee. "I think most of us felt
comfortable with the search," said James R. Sears, a biology professor. "I
wouldn't have wanted to be a candidate running against her. She has made a
very positive impression here and that played out in the appointment
process." That's not to
say faculty don't have concerns about Dr. MacCormack's independence from
President Bulger. "We do
worry about academic decisions being made for us in Boston and about the
president's increasing control," said Gerard Koot, chairman of the History
Department. "I hope she can stand up to that sort of pressure." When Southeastern Massachusetts
University joined the UMass system, some Dartmouth faculty members worried
about maintaining decentralization and independent academic programs, Mr.
Koot said. "My fear is
that that's going to be a difficult thing to protect," he said. "Central
offices by nature want to control the individual campuses and (Dr.
MacCormack) will have to fight that." "I agree that there's some concern
that she may not be independent enough, but I think there'd be much more
concern if she didn't get along with the president at all," Mr. Georgianna
said. "We want someone
who will cooperate with the president, but at the same time represent our
ideas too." Others say
they worry that Dr. MacCormack, like President Bulger, may be more
concerned with campus finances than academics. Since arriving in Dartmouth, and
to the delight of many on campus, she has used skills honed during her
stint as vice chancellor of administration and finance at UMass Boston to
straighten out a budget some say was left in shambles by former Chancellor
Dr. Peter H. Cressy. But
after her permanent appointment last month, Dr. MacCormack pledged as many
academic initiatives as financial. She said she will devote herself
to building on the school's "tremendous liberal arts core" -- a move some
see as an attempt to placate faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences
who have felt largely ignored by ambitious development in other areas of
the university. "There
has been a significant erosion of support for liberal arts as the focus
has turned to the Engineering and Business schools," Mr. Koot said.
"That's been very discouraging for us." Regardless, faculty members say
they're excited about Dr. MacCormack's commitment to Dartmouth. By many
accounts, support for the 54-year-old lifelong educator continues to grow.
"I've seen her in
trustees meetings and she's very strong in putting forward the
institution's position," said Kenneth D. Langley, a professor in the
Textiles Science Department. "She's a very credible person who's tackling
some very difficult issues. And so far, she's doing a great job." "I know she'll be able to
withstand the pressure from the president's office," said Mr. Singh, of
the Chemistry Department. "She knows the UMass system very well and knows
how to get things done."
You can reach staff writer Joanna Massey at 979-4475 or by e-mail at jmassey@s-t.com |
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