pg. 3
pg. 7
pg. 4-5
Diversity
Opinion
pg. 8
Sports
Events
June 01, 2022
Vol. 122 NO. 9
By the students, for the students
President Wohlpart and Provost DenBeste expand on fall enrollment
Fewer sections of classes “does mean fewer NTTs”
Photo courtesy of the CWU website
By Katherine Camarata Scene Editor President A. James Wohlpart and Provost Michelle DenBeste said they expect approximately 1,700 first-year students enrolled for fall, about 100-200 students shy of the goals mentioned by President Wohlpart in a previous article by The Observer (see “Fall enrollment projections spark concerns over NTT faculty job security”).
According to Wohlpart, the schedules and budget are now “pretty well set,” but will continue to be refined throughout June and July as numbers are updated due to orientation. “Our hope is to get to 1,700 new students, and then about 900 transfer students,” DenBeste said. “If we do that, that will put us on the track to be in better shape for following years.”
According to DenBeste, enrollment numbers are less clear in terms of returning students. “We are a bit worried about retention, in that these students have been in COVID times, and so many of the things that are great about Central haven’t necessarily been part of their Central experience,” DenBeste said. “So far though, it seems to be going okay. We don’t have super negative numbers.” DenBeste said department chairs are “pretty clear” about what sections of classes they will need and based on what she said she can tell from a distance, there will likely be fewer Non Tenure Track (NTT) faculty members in some areas. “My sense from my office, which is not right in it, is that we do have fewer sections which does mean fewer NTTs, but that it’s not draconian,” DenBeste said. “I hesitate to talk about it this way because, it’s fine to say, ‘It’s less than x number who are not getting classes,’ but these are people with families and jobs so for them, even if it’s only one, it’s still a big deal for that person.” Despite these potential losses, DenBeste said the situation is better than originally predicted and seems to be causing less panic as
Photo courtesy of Michelle DenBeste
some faculty members have been informed of what classes will or won’t be offered. “We are hiring NTTs in some cases, depending on the discipline, maybe there were more students than we thought … We still will have many NTTs teaching for us,” DenBeste said. While enrollment has increased since the first The Observer article, students, staff and faculty have expressed uncertainty over the fate of their programs. The Observer reached out to four department chairs, the Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, two faculty senate members and two ADCO members for comment. Every source either declined to comment or did not reply before publication. Past concerns included the following: In the March 2 article “Fall enrollment numbers spark concerns over NTT faculty job security,” an anonymous department chair reported being “told to not hire back faculty next year.” Another anonymous department chair said, “I am telling faculty that I cannot guarantee them the same class schedules that they have had in the past.”
Full Story Online
Film students express concerns about changes in the program Petitions signed in response to contract non-renewal By Morgana Carroll with contributions from Katherine Camarata Staff Reporter & Scene Editor Professor and lecturer in film studies Justin Daering will be leaving the film program and CWU at the end of spring quarter. With this happening at the same time as the film program’s move from the College of Arts and Humanities to the College of Art and Design, film students have reported feelings of concern. Colby Mccan, a third year film major, said he learned that Daering was leaving his position one day after class when Daering made an announcement. “Immediately we wanted to know, why is this happening?” Mccan said. “He’s an incredible professor, he breathes life into the program.” Daering declined an interview with The Observer, stating that he was worried giving an interview might hurt his chances at future career prospects. In response, Mccan set up a petition on Change.org on May 12 called “Keep Professor Justin Daering at Central Washington University.” As of May 31, the petition had 413 signatures. The petition had been signed by 71 students out of 118 total students enrolled in the film program as of May 31, according to August Tibbits, a third year film major. Tibbits set up a petition in conjunction with the Change. org petition. Tibbits’ petition was a physical one signed by film students. Tibbits brought the petition, as well as the Change. org petition, to a meeting some film students had with the Provost’s Office on May 31. Seven students attended, representing at least 10 other students’
personal testimonies, which were read at the meeting, according to Tibbits. They met with Provost Michelle DenBeste and Associate Vice Provost Gail Mackin. Tibbits said that DenBeste was unfamiliar with what was happening to Daering, but seemed receptive to what the students had to say. “She didn’t seem to know that much about the film department or our faculty situation, she said she didn’t know there weren’t any tenured professors,” Tibbits said. “She said she would look into it. Overall, [the Provosts] seemed to be receptive to how the students feel about this.” According to Tibbits, DenBeste recommended that they meet with the Chair of Art and Design Gregg Schlanger since the program will be moving into his department and that might affect who is kept in the program. Tibbits said the current plan is to have a meeting with Schlanger and continue to gather signatures. Tibbits said they hope to have a follow up meeting with Denbeste, but are worried that there might not be enough time this year. According to Mccann, Daering is leaving because his contract was not renewed. As a Non-Tenure Track (NTT) professor, Daering is here on a yearly contract based system, while tenured professors have their contract renewed automatically every five years, according to Robinson. According to President A. James Wohlpart, there are many reasons a NTT faculty contract may not be renewed, and these reasons are usually only known by department chairs and deans.
Full Story Online
Multicultural education in and beyond the classroom Read Online