Faculty divided over plan

While the recently released report of the Commission on Strengthening the Community has been applauded by some University faculty members as a "remarkable" accomplishment, many say it has bitten off more than it had intended to chew. The report, which advocates taking faculty involvement in the community and campus life into account for "all salary and promotion decisions," sends a mixed message to faculty members, Faculty Senate Chairperson Gerald Porter said. "In the past, faculty members who have become involved in community related issues have been penalized in terms of raises," Porter said. "That sends the wrong signals to the University community." But, Porter added, while rewarding involvement in student advising and community issues is crucial to foster such behavior among faculty members, these activities should not detract from the importance of research and teaching. "Sometimes [faculty members'] priority is research, sometimes teaching and sometimes University service," he said. "We need to reward all of these." Arabic Professor Roger Allen said he believes the issue of faculty involvement in the community is historically complex and that many University changes need to be made in order to properly foster this behavior. "I believe that we already have a scenario whereby the adjudication of the worthiness of a faculty member?is a very complex process," Allen said. "To add a further criterium is going to be a nightmare." He added that while he believes in the goal of trying to foster a better sense of community, he does not believe such an ideal can be forced. "The University should not say [that an individual should become more a part of the community], the individual should want to do it," he said. The issue, Allen said, is deeply rooted in the "suburbanizing" of the faculty over the last ten years. During the administration of former University president Martin Meyerson, Allen said, faculty members were encouraged more strongly to live in West Philadelphia and to become a part of campus life. "When I first came to Philadelphia from England in 1968, there was a concerted program of the University to get new faculty to live around the University," Allen said. "If you don't vigorously encourage the faculty to reside close to campus, how on earth are you going to implement a program [of faculty involvement in the community]," he added. Allen said activities that go beyond the "nine to five" nature of the University will require faculty to be on campus past normal teaching and research hours. Both Allen and Porter stressed the importance of instituting a college house system to foster a sense of community throughout the University. The Commission report suggests a system of first-year college houses aimed at integrating Residential Living. It also recommends that fraternity and sorority rush be postponed until the first semester of sophomore year. "The [Faculty] Senate Committee on Students and Educational Policy will eventually recommend that we move to two-year residential units, and that fraternity and sorority rush be put off until the second semester of sophomore year," Porter said. He added that the two-year college residences would house "about 400" students and would have integrated dining facilities. "We need to move quickly and make plans," Porter said. "Raising [the necessary funds] will take time, but I think it is a priority." Until a viable college house system is available, Allen said, he sees the value of fraternities and sororities in fostering strong bonds between students. "Fraternities are the most effective bonding mechanism for smaller groups of students," Allen said.

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