10/26/2015
Mills College Mail - Faculty response to proposed cuts
Emily Mibach <emibach@mills.edu>
Faculty response to proposed cuts 1 message Sabrina Zirkel <szirkel@mills.edu> Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 10:03 PM To: Letters Division Faculty <deptsletfac@mills.edu>, Fine Arts Faculty <deptsfa@mills.edu>, Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division Faculty and Staff <deptsnsm@mills.edu>, Social Sciences Division Faculty <depts soscfac@mills.edu>, Education Faculty <educationfac@mills.edu>, Mills First Years <millsfirstyears@mills.edu>, Mills Sophomores <millssophomores@mills.edu>, Mills Juniors <millsjuniors@mills.edu>, Mills Seniors <mills seniors@mills.edu> Cc: Alecia DeCoudreaux <adecoudreaux@mills.edu>, Sharon Washington <swashington@mills.edu>, kathleen Burke <kburke@mills.edu>
To: Students, Staff, Alumnae(i), Trustees, and Interested Others From: Mills College Faculty Re: Proposed Curricular Changes Date: October 26, 2015 The faculty of Mills College met today in a special session. Despite being called a week ago, attendance was as high as we have ever seen a faculty meeting.
During this meeting, the faculty voted unanimously to stand in solidarity with Mills students, alumnae, and staff. We are deeply disturbed by the proposed cuts to the Mills College academic affairs budget that were announced by memo from the President’s Office last Monday. We would like to correct any misperception that the faculty were involved in developing these proposals, which were first viewed by faculty at the faculty meeting that afternoon. Based on the principle of shared governance, any changes in curriculum are the purview of the faculty and must be voted on by the faculty. In actuality, the faculty believe that the proposed cuts will not achieve the stated aims. We do share the Board of Trustees’ concern about being good stewards of the https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/?ui=2&ik=2795b087ad&view=pt&search=inbox&th=150a7aebdb6c91eb&siml=150a7aebdb6c91eb
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10/26/2015
Mills College Mail - Faculty response to proposed cuts
financial wellbeing of the College and ensuring its continued success for generations to come. The faculty are proposing an alternative path to a balanced budget for FY2017 that will advance our academic programs and the core of our liberal arts tradition. Our approach incorporates innovative new programming as well as the judicious streamlining of our current offerings. ____________________________________________________________ ______________________ Sabrina Zirkel, PhD Associate Dean Quigley Fellow Abbie Valley Professor of Education School of Education Mills College Oakland, CA 94613 szirkel@mills.edu (510) 4303380 www.educationandidentity.com
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