President Ruth Simmons solicited input at yesterday's faculty meeting about the report released Sept. 7 by the committee tasked with reexamining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps' relationship with the University. This was the faculty's first opportunity to comment on the report.
Simmons also addressed last year's Athletics Review Committee report, and Provost Mark Schlissel P'15 discussed the search for a new director for the Watson Institute for International Studies.
Simmons told faculty members she hopes to make a recommendation to the Corporation at this month's meeting regarding ROTC.
Because the committee determined ROTC to be an extracurricular program, the faculty lacks authority over its status, but Simmons said the University is still interested in its recommendation.
Gregory Elliott, professor of sociology, suggested the ROTC committee release a "minority report" because the committee did not reach a consensus on each recommendation.
Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron, chair of the committee, said the committee's third recommendation, which suggested that Simmons discuss naval or air force options with the Department of Defense, was approved by a 6-4 margin.
Simmons said the option remains to establish cross-registration programs with other universities, similar to the University's current arrangement with Providence College.
Simmons called the matter of transgender discrimination a "very important issue" for the community.
ROTC's presence on a university campus is "not a litmus test for loyalty to the country," she added, and the University must not get caught up in trying to emulate its peers.
Simmons also discussed last spring's athletics report, which recommended cutting four varsity teams. Though membership in the Ivy League requires competitiveness in athletics, the league's guiding principles require subordination of athletics to academics, she said.
The baseline academic index — a rating based on a potential recruit's GPA and SAT score — should be increased, she said, and the University must reduce the number of spots reserved for athletes.
Simmons said she has not reached a decision on the proposed team cuts. But she plans to examine salaries for coaches and the possibility of matching athletes' financial aid offers with those offered by peer institutions.
Schlissel addressed the ongoing effort to recruit a new director for the Watson Institute, which is headed this year by Carolyn Dean, who previously served as senior associate dean of the faculty.
The search committee will be chaired by Susan Alcock, professor of anthropology and classics, and will consist of two other faculty members and two members of the institute's board of directors. A search firm will be hired to direct the process.
The committee will seek someone who works in the field of international policy — possibly from a non-governmental organization or economic council, Schlissel said. The director must also have academic experience, he said.
