The Undergraduate Council of Students introduced a resolution to increase next year's student activities fee by $10 last night. The council also spoke with Provost Mark Schlissel P'15 and Lauren Kolodny '08, former UCS vice president and current member of the Corporation.
The resolution, sponsored by Student Activities Chair Mae Cadao '13, a Herald senior finance associate, cited the expected increase in student activities costs of more than $66,000 as the reason for raising the fee. Cadao said the $10 increase will fall short of meeting this amount by more than $3,000, but she chose to err on the conservative side.
Deliberation and voting on the resolution was tabled for next week's meeting, and Cadao said the specific amount of the increase could be changed.
In his address, Schlissel spoke extensively about the University's tenure process. He explained that the current tenure ratio — the percentage of regular faculty on campus who have tenure — is around 75 percent, significantly higher than the ratios of peer institutions. Meanwhile, the cohort tenure ratio, the percentage of tenure-track faculty hired who eventually receive tenure, is approaching 80 percent.
After Schlissel left the meeting, Evan Schwartz '13, who sits on the University Resources Committee, told the council these figures could be misleading because lecturers, senior lecturers and adjunct and visiting faculty members are not counted.
Schlissel also spoke about his current search for a new director for the Watson Institute for International Studies, who he said should have experience in academia and should also have done something significant on the world stage to bring a new perspective to the institute. He said he is also searching for a replacement for the institutional diversity officer, who also serves as associate provost.
Kolodny spoke after Schlissel, focusing on her work with CareerLAB. She said she wants to fill the gap in career guidance that she experienced during her time at Brown and provide opportunities for students planning nontraditional career paths.
The January Career Laboratory, scheduled for the last few days of winter break, will concentrate on networking opportunities with alums — both recent and older — and provide a number of informal settings, such as young alum panels and a speed-networking event, for students to interact with them.
It will be open to all students, she said, but with only 150 spots available this year, the focus will be on upperclassmen. "I hope we have a ton of enthusiasm" to push CareerLAB to broaden the program next year, she said. Though there will be a small fee, she said financial aid will be available, and the majority of the program will be funded through donations. Alums will fund their own visits.
Later in the meeting, Michael Lin '14, chair of the Admissions and Student Services Committee, told the council about the postponement of plans to replace laundry machines until the end of this year so the change can coincide with the complete overhaul of the University's Card Value Center system, which is currently under discussion.
Todd Harris '14, chair of the Academic and Administrative Affairs Committee, sought feedback on the planned improvements for the Advising Sidekick software. He said this software has an advantage over the University's other online resources because it is the only one completely created and controlled by the University, so the changes can be catered entirely to student needs.
