Friday's Verbum Ultimum addressed the restructuring of the Dean of the College's office. Do you find this complete revamping a step in the right direction or a cause for concern?
According to acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears, the restructuring will create an organization that is more effective and less expensive. This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. But before moving forward with the proposed changes, perhaps the College should engage in conversation with campus leaders in order to assure that no "gaping holes" will be left in the new structure.Blair Sullivan '10
In the midst of a budget crisis and the threat of police sting operations, this is not the time to remove administrators with invaluable experience in their field. Replacing them with officials who already have many other responsibilities is not a promising strategy.Julian Sarkar '13
Restructuring departments could be seen as an expected result of budget cuts. We can hope that these changes will create a more efficient administrative structure, while maintaining a high level of administrative support for students.Zachary Gottlieb '10
The restructuring of the Dean of the College's office is an excellent efficiency strategy: there are currently too many deans for such a small college. Lowering costs and increasing output without compromising on quality is in vogue in every sector of our economy; Dartmouth is only now catching up. Nonetheless, these Lean Six Sigma strategies should in no way jeopardize the already fragile residential life of our bubble.Nana Amoah '11
My concern regarding the restructuring of the administration is its impact on student organizations that worked closely with the deans and directors being cut. Essentially, it's vital that Dean of the College Sylvia Spears masters this new bureaucracy as quickly as possible so that the student experience isn't negatively affected by the changes.Ben Gonin '12The loss of Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman and of Assistant Dean of Residential Life and Director of Greek Letter Organizations and Societies Deborah Carney is bad news for Greek organizations. Along with the recently-departed associate director of Coed, Fraternities and Sororities Fouad Saleet, Redman and Carney were two of the Greek system's most reliable contacts at the Office of Residential Life. It's hard to say whether this restructuring was "necessary," but the Verbum is essentially right that it is a risky move. We can only wait and see where this is going to go.Leonard Lewis '10
Although it is unsettling that these decisions are being made by outside consultants and new administrators, some changes must occur. Dartmouth can rely on the force of its traditions, student body and alumni to carry it through these necessary cost-cutting measures.Brendan Woods '13
Spears' restructuring of the Dean of the College's office will hopefully generate savings by streamlining some of Dartmouth's convoluted bureaucracy. That being said, simply restructuring a bureaucracy does not guarantee better performance. Ultimately, how these new and old departments perform their new duties and responsibilities will speak to the effectiveness of Spears' plan.Jasper Hicks '12
The point that revamping the Dean of the Colleges office leads to a loss of institutional memory and therefore will prevent progress on certain issues is grossly overstated. On the important issues such as Greek life, the administration will still take into account lessons from policies of prior administrations before making any decisions. If anything, the lack of memory on certain issues will encourage the administration to complete more thorough research and analysis before crafting policies.Suril Kantaria '13
