Students at GSD Ask Retention of Hartman

A group of students at the Graduate School of Design (GSD) have released a statement voicing their disapproval of the School's decision not to rehire Chester W. Hartman '57, assistant professor of City planning.

Hartman, the creator and director of the Urban Field Service (UFS), has been a controversial figure at the GSD. In originating UFS, Hartman faced departmental opposition to the granting of credit to a program that deals strictly with gaining actual field experience. Hartman set up the project so that studentswould be able to apply their classroom skills to some community group that would otherwise receive no such assistance.

Similar programs have been developed at Yale. Berkeley and M. I. T. in an attempt to reduce the gap between academic studies and on-the-job realities. The Harvard program not only involves GSD students but individuals from the Law and Business Schools.

The UFS. however, has received little financial backing during the two years of its existence, and the loss of Hartman would more than likely spell the end of the program. Peter Volimer, a GSD student. said yesterday that he thought "the faculty liked the image the program projects. But some members feel polities are too much a part of the program." he added.

Both Hartman and Francois C. D. Vigier. professor of City Planning and the chairman of the Department. were out of the country and unavailable for comment yesterday.