Council Report Stresses Advising, Need For Diversity

After three weeks of surveys, meetings and discussion, the Undergraduate Council approved a report last night calling for a new dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) who will increase diversity in the curriculum, encourage professors to serve as better teachers and advisers and increase student space on campus.

Council President Sujean S. Lee ’03, Student Affairs Committee Chair Rohit Chopra ’04 and the seven members of the Undergraduate Advisory Committee on the Appointment of the New Dean of FAS will present the report to University President Lawrence H. Summers tomorrow.

Summers will appoint the new dean to replace current Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles, who plans to step down June 1.

The four-page long report, which the council adopted by a 19-5 vote, asks for a new dean who would increase variety in the Core Curriculum.

A section on “teaching quality” urges the new dean to create smaller sections and classes and to encourage professors to serve as mentors, teaching students outside the classroom.

The report also stresses the importance of improved advising and asks that the new dean improve the way the College’s Administrative Board deal with sexual assault cases.

In addition, the report addresses the issue of residential and social space on campus, calling for the creation of an “effective” student center.

The only section of the proposal that elicited debate in last night’s council meeting was a statement affirming the importance of hiring female and minority faculty members.

Some council members said they thought the clause implied the new dean should consider gender and racial diversity over academic excellence when hiring faculty.

“It puts a very high premium on gender and racial diversity of the faculty which I regard as the most shallow and skin-deep of all of the kinds of diversity out there,” said council member Brian C. Grech ’03, who is president of the Harvard Republican Club.

Some council members tried to introduce an amendment stating explicitly that quality should take precedence over diversity.

But amending the report would have meant amending a previous council bill that said the proposal could not be amended.

Concerned that amending the proposal would have postponed the council’s final vote until next week, after tomorrow’s scheduled meeting with Summers, those opposed to the bill resolved simply to vote against it.

Katherine B. Greer ’02, who chaired the advisory committee, said committee members did not intend to suggest -tance of hiring female and minority faculty members.

Some council members said they thought the clause implied the new dean should consider gender and racial diversity over academic excellence when hiring faculty.

“It puts a very high premium on gender and racial diversity of the faculty which I regard as the most shallow and skin-deep of all of the kinds of diversity out there,” said council member Brian C. Grech ’03, who is president of the Harvard Republican Club.

Some council members tried to introduce an amendment stating explicitly that quality should take precedence over diversity.

But amending the report would have meant amending a previous council bill that said the proposal could not be amended.

Concerned that amending the proposal would have postponed the council’s final vote until next week, after tomorrow’s scheduled meeting with Summers, those opposed to the bill resolved simply to vote against it.

Katherine B. Greer ’02, who chaired the advisory committee, said committee members did not intend to suggest diversity should be the top factor in hiring decisions.

But she said encouraging diversity would give students more faculty perspectives outside the classroom—which she said was one of the report’s main goals.

She said that the committee would have adopted the proposed amendment had there been more time.

She assured the council that she would stress the importance of overall faculty quality during tomorrow’s meeting with Summers.

Committee members said their proposal incorporated survey results from up to 160 students from each House and 300 surveys gathered in Annenberg Hall.

The committee had also established a hotmail e-mail account and held meetings open to all students to solicit input.

“A group of very diverse people predominantly not on the UC really produced a representative document,” Lee said.

In other business, the council approved by universal acclamation a resolution to support the overhaul of study-abroad policies that will be voted on by the Faculty tomorrow. The Faculty legislation would streamline the process of study-abroad approval and make it more accessible to students.

“The key part of the [council] legislation is that the Faculty should not only support [study abroad] but actively be involved in implementing it,” said Chopra, the bill’s sponsor.

Assistant Dean of the College David B. Fithian spoke before the council for about half an hour, explaining the role of resident tutors and Ad Board procedures.

In a meeting packed with business, the council also passed a bill allocating $2,500 in Harvard University Dining Services vouchers for a “Primal Feast” to accompany the traditional pre-exam “Primal Scream.”

—Staff writer Claire A. Pasternack can be reached at cpastern@fas.harvard.edu.