Student opinion on dean selection is worthwhile, but uninformed

We had initially intended to endorse a Dean of the College candidate in this space. But while our writers have attended the open interviews, talked to students and faculty, and covered related recent events, we realized that beneath the cacophony of issues, there are important underlying nuances that we aren’t prepared to address.

Seeing how the candidates respond to student concerns at the open interview is an important aspect of the hiring process, and student opinion is important, but how big of a role can we, a disparate group of 3000, be expected to play? Only about sixty students attended the Weitzer interview and about thirty sat in for Cruz-Saco. Should the whole student body be encouraged to vote on the dean when so few were motivated to learn about them?

While the process of selecting the new dean is imperfect and can use some real changes, we are wary of opening the decision to the entire student body. The new WSA poll can result in important opinions from students, but only a handful of students could reasonably be expected to know enough to make an informed decision.

For now, our time may be better spent examining other flaws in the system. For example, why must students, faculty and administration who are part of the Search Committee refrain from giving their direct endorsement of a candidate to Bennet? They are the ones who are doing the research; their decisions should be acknowledged. Also, the three students in the Search Committee are handpicked by the Administration. This makes sense in that these students are highly involved with the Administration and can be trusted to research and compile information about candidates. But the Administration should consider including at least one student-voted member to be part of the committee to balance out any perceived bias.

In light of the call to open up the decision to the student body, students must acknowledge that we, for the most part, do not have enough information or interest to make this decision. We rely on those who represent us in the Search Committee to provide Bennet with the appropriate feedback. We encourage students with appropriate knowledge to contact Bennet, and for Bennet to consider making some alterations to the current decision-making process.