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MU faculty protest regionals proposal

Miami looking at giving branch campuses more academic independence.

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer Updated 9:19 PM Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Miami University faculty have sent a letter to the school’s leadership expressing concern over a plan to turn the regional campuses in Miami and Hamilton into independent academic units.

Nancy Solomon, a professor in the zoology department, said no Oxford faculty members were sought for their input even though a transition team had already been set up.

“So we were a little concerned about the presumptive changes,” Solomon said.

Solomon said the letter was drafted with input from the regional campuses “to make sure we said the right things.”

The letter, signed by 72 faculty from the main and regional campuses, was sent to Miami University President David Hodge and Provost Conrado Gempesaw.

The faculty object to:

• Putting new faculty in a different academic division without consideration of “the standards of a particular department... may dilute Miami’s ability to maintain our national standing and reputation.”

• Separating the regional campuses from the academic departments of the Oxford campus would attract a different level of candidates for future positions.

“The kind of people (at the regional campuses) now could have easily gotten jobs at the main campus or any other quality academic institution,” Solomon said. “We’re afraid that people wouldn’t want to apply for what may be seen by some as a community campus.”

• Putting a bureaucratic barrier between Oxford students and regional campus students would dilute the diversity of the Oxford population, which could have financial ramifications, as well as social ones.

“The regional campus students provide us with increased diversity in a number of different types, which is important for some types of federal funding,” Solomon said. “Having non-traditional students in Oxford increases the value of the education for some of the Oxford students.”

Gempesaw and Hodge were both traveling Wednesday and could not be reached for comment, but Miami spokesperson Claire Wagner said the committee created is not charged with implementation, but discovery.

“We’re still initially looking at how do we do this and how do we do it right,” she said, “so many details are yet to be determined.

“Everybody on campus wants to do this for the benefit of students and to make it a strong Miami experience, no matter where they’re studying,” she said.

The letter was signed by faculty from departments of botany, family studies and social work, geology, microbiology, physics, psychology and zoology, including some professors from the regional campuses, all together representing about 10 percent of Miami’s faculty, Solomon said.

“Our departments work really well across the campuses, and the regional faculty are treated as equals,” Solomon said. “We consider that a win-win for everyone because our (regional campus) colleagues are not only excellent teachers, but excellent scholars.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

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