The Future of Watkins

I was given a letter today in my Student Mailbox. It was an announcement made yesterday copied off so every student could have one. In it was what appears to be the conclusion to the ordeal of the past few months as well as a compromise.

Here's how it stands.

Terry Glispin is being replaced. The new head of the Fine Arts department is going to be another Terry, Terry Thacker. Before now, he was the painting teacher for the department, and a damn good one from what I understand.

However, Glispin will not be leaving the school. There has been a "fund expansion" that will let him stay on staff full time. Apparently, it got through to the people in charge that we need Glispin. Without him, no one will be able to run the metal shop or teach 3-D Design. On top of that, no one will be able to operate the foundry.

In addition, each department will need to review their mission stations as far as their academic programs are concerned to insure that Watkins pops out top quality students. Thacker, however, will have the job of overseeing the issue of course enrollment and assignments so that the department can differ payment more efficiently to adjunct (non-full-time) instructors. I have no idea what this means, but I bet it has something to do with the fact that only one person signed up for Clay II this semester.

Furthermore, every year starting with the 2005-06 year, each department will be evaluated and reviewed by outside members of a committee constructed by the Board of Trustees. This committee is responsible for making sure that every department is meeting the minimum standards of what is considered high-quality for their field. From what I gathered, this is suppose to be a non-partisan group, and each year a different department will get checked. This means that each department will be checked out and visited once every six years. The first department this will be placed upon is none other than the Fine Arts department.

Finally, to resolve any future controversial issues, an improvement in communications will be made with the construction of a Faculty Forum made up of both full- and part-time teachers. This group will meet with the members of the Student Forum and the Administrators of the school. In other words, the school has created an internal government system similar to the one at Washington, D.C.

The last two items I have some slight reservations on if it would work out for the better or for the worst. I'm more worried about the outside committee than I am about the Faculty Forum. Public taste, be you an expert in the field or not, can be damaging and ultimately destroy everything that I was taught and have learned. If that does happen, that would mean I'd have to start my education all over again just to get up to par with whatever is lacking in my technical skill. That is, if they don't kick me out because I suck at drawing the human figure.

The only sure things now is that this issue is officially over for the most part. The students got what they wanted, which was Glispin to stay on staff because he is a good teacher. The dean got what he wanted which was a new head of the Fine Arts department and the redirection of the Fine Arts program as well as all the other programs offered at the school. The cost for this compromise is an outside committee made to judge student work.

And everyone couldn't be happier.