Prompting a standing ovation from the alumni attending, Student Assembly President Jim Rich '96 denounced the Social Sciences Council's recommendation to abolish the education department at the Alumni Council's semi-annual banquet Saturday night.
"Instead of presenting education as a viable and fulfilling career, the College acts in a way that demeans the teaching profession by substantially reducing the education department's status," Rich said.
Citing administrative problems and a lack of high quality programs, the Social Sciences Council has recommended that the department be eliminated or reduced to a program.
Associate Dean of the Faculty George Wolford previously told The Dartmouth, "the reasons for considering changes to the department are complex, and not all of them are appropriate for public discussion."
Rich called on the Alumni Council to support the preservation of the department. In an interview with The Dartmouth after the banquet, Rich said he hoped the Alumni Council members would communicate the situation to their classmates.
The Alumni Council serves as a liaison between the College's administration and 45,000 alumni. While the Alumni Council has no direct influence on College policy, Rich said it interacts with the Board of Trustees, administration and faculty frequently.
The Alumni Council meets twice a year, but various subcommittees meet more frequently, Alumni Council President Otho Kerr '79 said.
After the banquet, many alumni said they would tell their classmates about the issue, but none said they knew enough to have a definite opinion.
"I don't know the facts surrounding this issue enough to provide informed advice," Kerr said.
Kerr said abolition of the department is an issue the council "would not proactively pursue, unless students and faculty wanted to discuss it with us."
In his speech, Rich said the College is in danger of losing the resources that allow Dartmouth students to become teachers, because other departments look down on the education department.
Resources "are being stifled by institutional questions which, in my mind, stink of pedagogical elitism," he said.
Rich discounted the claim that the education department lacks high quality programs, citing the popularity of education classes and faculty.
"The teaching of the professors in the department is as top-notch as the courses that are offered," Rich said.
The College should solve the administrative problems rather than scrapping the department altogether, Rich said.
"If the economics department or the chemistry department or the history department were suffering from infighting, it is doubtful that the College would take steps to eliminate or downsize them," he continued.
The College's downsizing the education department tacitly encourages graduates to enter the private sector, Rich said.
"In light of the present problems that confront our nation, Dartmouth should show its unrelenting commitment to those individuals who wish to spend their lives in the most worthy social cause I can think of -- teaching," he said.
"In a country marred by an ever-expanding income gap and in cities burdened by a burgeoning urban underclass who is disturbingly under-educated ... we need now, more than ever, a generation of youths committed to teach," he said.
At the banquet, Rich read an excerpt from a speech given by College President James Freedman at the Colby-Sawyer College commencement ceremony.
Rich said Freedman told the graduates "too many College graduates who are qualified for such careers in education choose instead to work in the private sector simply because the financial rewards are significantly greater there."
Rich said he met with Freedman last week to ask the President to declare his support for the ailing department. But he said Freedman has made no such statement.
Rich said students are not about to abandon the cause of saving the department.
In a previous interview with The Dartmouth, Wolford said abolition of the department would not be an obstacle to becoming certified to teach in public schools.
He said students could seek certification at many colleges or universities during a leave term or transfer term. The College might award scholarships to students pursuing a teaching certificate or a masters degree after graduation.
Wolford said Dartmouth lacks the resources to provide many important classes other colleges already offer, such as classes in special education, early childhood education, early education, language teaching and science teaching.
In an interview after the banquet, Jack Russell '38 said he would be "sympathetic to reviewing the education department." He said he may notify his classmates of the recommendation to abolish the department.
