Even as Vassar saw the 40th anniversaries of both co-education and the Africana Studies department, the biggest milestones of 2008-09 were the changes set in motion by the financial crisis, which touched all aspects of the College. Although the economic climate put some projects on hold, such as the move of the Bookstore, it also opened up opportunities for the College to be a much stronger institution.
2008-09 became a year of fresh starts and as well as some forced adjustments. In addition to welcoming back its beloved Benjamin Franklin statue and the Maria Mitchell Observatory after months of renovation, Vassar also welcomed new Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette and new Dean of the College Christopher Roellke, who took on the position after serving as Acting Dean of the College. The two took on roles as senior officers in a challenging year as the College grappled with the effects of a weakened economy and began to consider future changes in the aftermath of the downturn.
Although the economic crisis has obliged the College to make severe and rapid changes, many, including new Vassar Student Association President Caitlin Ly ’10 as stated in her Spring Convocation speech, believe that the restructuring to come will ultimately make the College stronger.
Response to the Financial Crisis
As it did at most colleges and universities, the economic crisis dominated many discussions and decisions over the course of the year, and in other issues it remained on the periphery of discourse. Vassar has committed to cutting its budget by about 15 percent by 2011-12, and virtually no area of the College will be left out of cuts. Next year the workforce is expected to be reduced by about three percent.
By the end of the fiscal year at the end of June the endowment is predicted to be valued at between $550 and $650 million—down from $800 million at the fiscal year’s start. Peer institutions expect proportionally similar losses to their endowments. As the crisis unfolded and gradually settled, the College assessed the damage to the endowment and tried to adjust budgeting decisions accordingly. While changes began to go into effect in 2008-2009, the majority of restructuring as a result of the crisis will take place in the years to come.
While a sustainable draw on the endowment is about 5 percent or less annually, the College will draw closer to nine percent —about $51 million—of the endowment for next year’s operating budget. “We recognize that this level of support from the endowment is unsustainable in future years,” wrote Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Eismeier in an all-campus e-mail on March 30, “but it provides time and opportunity for careful planning to gain efficiency as we decrease spending from the endowment in subsequent years.”
By the end of the fall semester it the endowment had already lost $195 million. This loss created the need to cut $750,000 in overall faculty salaries for 2009-10, which means the reduction of the curriculum by 60-80 courses in the fall.
One of the first departments to feel the pain of cuts was the English department—particularly creative writing—where two professors, Associate Professor of English M. Mark and Adjunct Assistant Professor of English Julia Rose, were informed in December that their contracts would not be renewed at the end of the year. Although the conflict between certain faculty members and students and the administration was tentatively resolved when one other professor volunteered to go on unpaid leave and another volunteered to drop one course—these concessions added up to the dollar value that would allow Mark and Rose to be rehired for 2009-10—faculty and staff reductions will continue in most departments. So far, the College has attempted to make the vast majority of staffing cuts through natural attrition—not renewing contracts when they expire—rather than through layoffs.
The College established a special committee, the Advisory Group for the Allocation of Faculty Resources (AGAFR), to lend guidance as Vassar makes both quick and significant financial decisions. In an all-campus e-mail on March 27, President Catharine Bond Hill wrote, “I am struck by the acceleration of the economic challenges that have a direct impact on Vassar’s budget.” The speed that the global financial downturn took and the subsequent fast decision-making that had to happen came as a shock to all levels of the Vassar community.
At the open forum with the Board of Trustees on May 21, Professor of Art Harry Roseman expressed his own concern with current decision-making processes, which, he felt, left out the voices expressed through the usual outlet of faculty governance. “The Faculty Governance is fine when there’s not a crisis. When there’s a crisis, it goes out the window,” he said. “The other way to think about this is from my standpoint—that certain, more draconian aspects of decision-making are being held over our heads.”
Despite the speed and the depth of cuts, the Board of Trustees made it clear at the forum that the changes were both permanent and in fact have been less severe than what they had originally suggested. According to Chair of the Board of Trustees Bill Plapinger ’77, “If there is any dissonance between the Board and the senior officers, it is that the administration has counseled going more slowly, making less severe cuts than many on the Board would have initially preferred,” he said. “Senior officers have been strong advocates to the Board on behalf of the on-campus community throughout this process, but it is the Board’s strategy and the Board’s views that are being executed.”
According to the Board, some of the changes that will be made as a result of the economic downturn were actually in the works regardless of finances. The crisis simply accelerated the process. The results, the Trustees said, will be a stronger, more streamlined institution.
Even with all of the cuts and restructuring to come, the College remains committed to keeping its need-blind financial aid policy that it adopted in 2007. However, the Trustees also suggested that it, too, may be on the chopping block if the financial situation becomes too dire. While the College is increasing its financial aid budget for 2008-2009 to about $44 million, it became need-sensitive for the Class of 2013 waitlist. In its first action, the 2009-10 VSA Council passed a resolution supporting the College’s need-blind policy in light of the financial crisis.
Vassar Student Association Council
The Vassar Student Association (VSA) wrestled with several issues this year that led to lengthy discussions and debates, the scopes of which often went beyond the practical results of the decisions. As an example, in November the Council even debated the very purpose of passing resolutions at all, discussing whether they had any effect on administrative decisions and if it was more effective to pass many resolutions to make student voices heard or to pass just a few very strong resolutions. Over the course of the year, the Council made several amendments to both the VSA Bylaws and Constitution and passed a number of resolutions on to the administration.
At its very first meeting on Sept. 8, the VSA Council began discussing issues with the new meal plan. Concerns ranged from the price of meals after the elimination of a la carte dining in the All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) to the more cultural issue of the loss of ACDC as a social hub because of the need to purchase a meal to sit down. By the next meeting the Committee on Student Life had already drafted a resolution demanding that the administration make changes to the meal plan. The Council discussion went back and forth between whether they were asking for too much too quickly or not enough. Some felt that students had not yet given the new plan a fair chance. The resolution passed 21-1, although minimal changes to the plan were actually made during the year. The Council continued to discuss the meal plan with administrators at several points throughout the year.
In the next month, a group of students advocated a different sort of change to campus dining—more responsible purchasing by removing Coca-Cola products from campus. The group, made up of representatives from several student organizations, presented a resolution for banning Coca-Cola products due to Coca-Cola’s alleged abuse of human rights in the communities surrounding its bottling plants. After representatives gauged the opinions of their constituents, the campus seemed to be split on the decision. The resulting discussion in Council hinged on whether representatives should vote based on the feelings of the students they represent or should vote according to their own moral leanings.
Although the Council voted to kick Coke in a close 14 to eight vote—two votes shy of missing the required majority—the Committee on College Life, a joint committee which had the final say in the matter, ultimately voted to keep Coca-Cola products on campus due to the fact that it was not clear that a majority of the community supported the ban. During the campus debate, a vigorous Keep Coke campaign, spearheaded by the Moderate, Independent, and Conservative Alliance (MICA), sprang up to defend the presence of Coca-Cola beverages.
While the Kick vs. Keep Coke debate had seemed to grip the whole campus, the Council faced its own bit of drama just after Spring Break. President of Noyes House Sean Koerner ’11 resigned his position in the aftermath of disciplinary actions as a result of his involvement in organizing an unauthorized party in which College property was damaged just before the break. Koerner resigned at the urging of VSA President Jimmy Kelly ’09, who felt that his actions did not demonstrate the appropriate behavior of a student leader.
Although Koerner resigned voluntarily, his resignation brought to light the limited grounds on which the Council may impeach its members. As a result, Vice President for Student Life Nate Silver ’10 introduced an amendment to the VSA Constitution whereby the Council may impeach its members for generally egregious violations of College Regulations in addition to gross neglect or miscarriage of their duties.
Some issues became recurring themes in Council discussions over the year. As the year went on, several new organizations came before Council to be certified. Certified organizations are eligible to receive VSA funding, which is supported by the student activities fee that every student pays, and to reserve spaces on campus for events.
Because the VSA does not have the means to give every organization all of the funding it requests, whether in the capital budgeting process or in supplemental funding requests during the year, some Council members worried that certifying more organization might stretch the VSA’s resources too thin. Vice President for Finance Marcelo Buitron ’09 went so far as to vow to vote against certifying any new organization, whether he personally supported the club or not, because, he said, the VSA’s finances simply cannot support it. Vice President for Activities Alexandria Dempsey ’09 periodically updated the Council on her tally of how many organizations had been certified and decertified, hoping that there would be a net reduction in organizations by the end of the year.
Proposed solutions to this problem included putting a temporary freeze on organization certifications, certifying some organizations on the condition that they not apply for funding and adopting a policy wherein organizations may be either recognized or certified. Recognized organizations would be able to reserve spaces, but would not be eligible to receive funding, and certified organizations would have the full range of privileges.
Finally, on March 29 Buitron introduced a bylaw change that revises the certification process. Sort of a hybrid of previous suggestions, newly certified organizations will now have to wait one full semester after certification before being able to request capital or supplemental funding. They will, however be able to secure spaces for events and to apply to the newly-established New Organization Fund.
Another continuing theme for the 2008-09 Council was fostering a good relationship with the community outside of campus. On October 10, after weeks of effort at organizing it, students participated in Meet Me in Poughkeepsie—a day of free outings to various locales in the Hudson River Valley. Students signed up with organizations to go on trips, such as to historic landmarks, a haunted house or the movies.
To keep up the spirit of community outreach, the Council instituted Tasty Tuesdays every Tuesday afternoon in the College Center. Sort of mimicking the farmer’s market on Raymond Ave. that lasts through October, students can purchase an assortment of food from local vendors and restaurants. Tasty Tuesdays did not only add spice to students’ weekly schedule. They also bolstered many restaurants’ business in an otherwise trying time financially.
As elections approached, the Council added one more amendment to the VSA’s Constitution that allows students to not only vote on their representatives but also on important decisions and issues facing the student body by adding referenda to the ballot. The option of adding a referendum will prove useful for issues similar to Kick Coke, where the decision will affect the whole student body and where the campus might be split such that the VSA Council cannot make a clear decision on its own.
At the end of the year the student body elected the VSA Council for 2009-2010. For the first time in five years the Council will be headed by a woman. Kelly passed the presidential gavel onto the incoming VSA President Caitlin Ly ’10, who had served as the Vice President for Operation in 2008-09, at Spring Convocation on April 29. The rest of the Executive Board for 2009-2010 will include Vice President (VP) for Student Life Elizabeth Anderson '11, VP for Operations Brian Farkas '10, VP for Academics Stephanie Damon-Moore '11, VP for Activities Aaron Grober '11 and VP for Finance Scott Pascal '10.
To learn more about the 2009-10 VSA Executive Board, see “Hear from the six members of your Vassar Student Association Executive Board” in The Miscellany News.
Open Forums
In an effort to maintain transparency between the administration and the campus community, Senior Officers as well as other faculty and staff members held open forums in VSA Council, residential houses and other venues. Early in the semester, the VSA Council hosted a series of three such forums on the meal plan, security and sustainability.
Although the new meal plan had been a source of concern for students since the fall when it was introduced, on Feb. 8 the Council invited Senior Director of Campus Dining Maureen King, Senior Associate Dean of the College Raymond Parker and Assistant Vice President for Budget and Planning David English to discuss the meal plan.
Points from this forum included the delay in the construction of the C-Store, a convenience store which was to be built in the lobby of the All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) and whose construction was postponed due to the discovery of asbestos in the space. The panelists also discussed the “growing pains” experienced with the new meal plan, particularly with the switch from a la carte dining in ACDC to block meals, which cost an average of around $10 for students on a meal plan. Finally, the discussion came to the elimination of point driving for 2009-2010 because organizations point driving violates the meal plan’s non-taxed status. According to Vice President for Activities Alexandria Dempsey ’09, this would be a major loss to student organizations that might now struggle to provide food at their events.
One of the most heated forums was the security and student wellness forum, which took place on Feb. 15. Dean of the College Christopher Roellke, Director of Security Don Marsala, Associate Director of Security Kim Squillace, Associate Director of Residential Life Rich Horowitz, Director of Health Education Renee Pabst, Associate Director Dean and Director of Psychological Counseling Sylvia Balderrama, Director of Health Services Irena Balawajder, Assistant Director of Counseling Wendy Freedman and Dean of Students D.B. Brown served as panelists to answer questions and hear students’ concerns.
The discussion focused on the appropriate role of security on campus—whether it should be patrolling the hallways or the sidewalks of campus—particularly in light of the armed robbery that occurred outside of Chicago Hall on Nov. 15. Several Council members suggested that security should not spend so much time cracking down on student drinking and parties and rather spend that time protecting campus. They also suggested that the regular weekend patrols actually increased binge drinking because students try to drink more before security comes around. The panelists countered that their hands are tied by the law—they are required to act in cases of underage drinking—and that they only enter rooms when other students enter a noise complaint. The forum also addressed the effectiveness of underage drinking prevention programs such as AlcoholEdu and the rules of hosting parties in senior housing.
Director of Marketing and Sustainability Ken Oldehoff, Director of Facility Operations and Gardens Kiki Williams and Professor of Earth Science Jeff Walker, all members of the College Committee on Sustainability, visited Council on Feb. 22 (STAR) to discuss sustainability initiatives at the College. Several efforts that the committee is working on are maintaining the Library Lawn organically and reviewing the effects of road salt use during the winter. The committee has also been charged by President Hill to review the American University and College Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which would oblige the College to be climate neutral by a certain date.
However, composting dominated the discussion at this forum. The committee hosted a waste audit in the Retreat on Feb. 18 that provided very helpful and very encouraging information for bringing composting to the Retreat. According to Oldehoff, in two days 2,853 people ate at the Retreat, and yet the audit only collected 23 pounds of non-compostable or recyclable trash. Still, composting does create extra waste removal costs—a definite obstacle. In one of its last decisions, the VSA Council granted the College Committee on Sustainability $16,000 from the Great Works Fund to bring composting to the Retreat beginning in the fall 2009.
On April 5, several faculty and administrators visited VSA Council to discuss academic issues with Council members and students. Council was joined by Dean of Faculty Jonathan Chenette, Dean of Planning and Academic Affairs Rachel Kitzinger, Chair of the Faculty Policy and Conference Committee Professor of Political Science Steve Rock and Chair of the Faculty Appointments and Salary Committee Professor of History Miriam Cohen.
Major discussion topics at this forum included the advising system, the effectiveness of Course Evaluation Questionnaires (CEQ), freshmen writing seminars and how the College is making decisions regarding academic cuts. Some Council members raised concern about advising at Vassar because, they claimed, students’ experiences with advisors vary greatly. Chenette responded that he is committed to improving the advising system and possibly giving professors who choose to be advisors some training for the role. At the end of every semester, each students is supposed to fill out a CEQ for every class she attended. The role and effectiveness of the CEQ form was questioned at this forum, particularly the issue of the blank page, where students may comment freely on professors, and how to get students to take the form seriously so that their voices might be heard.
At several points throughout the year, administrators gave updates to Council on the financial state of the College and offered students the opportunity to ask questions. During their visit in the spring, five members of the Board of Trustees also hosted an open forum for the community to discuss their financial decision-making. In the fall Kitzinger and Eismeier visited Council to update it on the financial crisis, on Feb. 24 senior officers held an open meeting to inform students about the continuing changes that the College was making, and on March 24 Hill visited Council to once again update them and answer questions.
Despite the fact that all forums and all-campus meetings were entirely open to the entire student body, as is every VSA Council Meeting, the forums were often poorly attended by students outside of Council. This became a point of some frustration as senior officers felt that they were making the effort to be available to student questions, while students might complain of a lack of transparency. According to Kitzinger in a May 21 article in The Miscellany News, the administration is open to continue communicating with students next year.
“What is uncertain is how to do it in an effective way,” she said. “People have many things they’re doing, but if you don’t catch people at the right time, those very people may later on feel as if they weren’t communicated with.”
SEIU Negotiations
Given the financial constraints of the College and the changes that those restraints have called for, the relations between the administration and the College’s staff, particularly members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200, to which about 250 College employees belong, have shown some strain.
On Oct. 16 roughly 200 employees, students and faculty members held a demonstration for the employees’ post-retirement health benefits. The demonstration came as a result of negotiations during the union contract renewal process, which began in July. The demonstration and issues were not unlike those that had been negotiated at the previous contract renewal in 2005.
After eight months of negotiations, the College and the union came to a settlement. The union achieved pension increases for retiring workers and managed a wage increase for part-time workers. However, the College was not able to give employees post-retirement health benefits.
In the spring, as it became apparent that many of the originally scheduled summer programs at the College would be either dramatically scaled back or cancelled entirely, the College was forced to reduce the amount of summer employment that it usually offered. Though the jobs are seasonal, they had come to be expected by many employees, so the reduction in employment came as an unwelcome shock.
In the last weeks of school, students and employees protested the reductions in employment. A small group of five students engaged President Catharine Bond Hill in discussions. The five students began to hunger strike after feeling that their demands were not being met and that the administration was not communicating with them.
However, senior officers contended that they continued to be open to dialogue throughout the process, and the only pause in the conversations came when Hill was called away from campus for several days due to a personal matter.
The strike ended after two afternoons of negotiations with senior officers. As a result of the negotiations the College established a Hardship Fund, to which employees who face financial difficulties due to an unforeseen lack of summer employment may apply. The fund is supported entirely by donations from the Vassar community.
Greater Vassar Community
As Vassar coped with the financial downturn, the greater community was also not immune to the effects of the recession. Restaurants in the Arlington Business District struggled to maintain regular customers, and local non-profit organizations faced the double-edged sword of increased need and decreased donations.
Several of the businesses closest to Vassar—renting Vassar-owned property—struggled with the recession and construction work on the Juliet building that lasted for months. While Vassar students bolster businesses significantly while classes are in session and despite a 10 percent decrease in rent for four months, the area still struggled to keep up regular business, particularly in the usually busy Christmas season.
Still, many business owners remain hopeful, and a few new businesses are even moving into the area. Twisted Soul restaurant, which maintains a popular table every Tasty Tuesday in the College Center, has opened up in the former Griff’s bar location. The Wrapsody Grill is also set to open in space formerly occupied by Delforno’s Deli.
Local non-profits also took a hit with the financial crisis as they also struggled to meet the increasing needs of the community. Although several non-profits, such as the local YMCA, where Vassar students often did fieldwork have closed, the recession may provide new opportunities for Vassar students to volunteer.
Self-assessment
Although many changes to come will be a result of the College’s continuing response to the weak economy, some will also be the result of introspection. In 2008-09, Vassar was reaccredited by the Middle States Commision on Higher Education, and while the College underwent a very thorough self-study during the reaccreditation process, the self-review is not likely to end there.
The College has already begun reviewing academic areas such as Freshmen Writing Seminars, the foreign language requirement and the quantitative analysis requirement. The CEQ form has taken some criticism, and the faculty review process as a whole has come under scrutiny.
Before making their way to Council, the Kick Coke group had spent a few years winding their way through and floundering in Vassar’s committee structure as they attempted to lend traction to their cause. In addition to the virtues of decreasing the presence of Coca-Cola, the College began to consider the benefits that streamlining its committee structure might bring. “I think the real issue with our structure is that committees don’t know who reports to who,” said Farkas at the VSA Executive Board debates. He pointed to gender-neutral housing—an initiative which had essentially unanimous support from most groups on campus, but took several years to pass—as an example of committees failing to efficiently create policy and put it into effect.
Other areas that have evolved into somewhat overgrown bureaucratic structures may also be streamlined in the future. These include administrative offices and the structure of student services, such as the Career Development Office (CDO). Streamlining offices may have the effect of both saving the College money and creating a more efficient working environment.
For more information on the upcoming changes at the College, see The Miscellany News article on the big issues to watch for in 2009-10.
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