ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996 TAG: 9601110058
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANNE CHENEY
VIRGINIA Tech administrators are giving in too easily to our amiable, yet shortsighted governor. They should read Dylan Thomas' poem on the death of his father - ``Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'' We at Tech are facing the death of our fine university system.
The ultimate victims of our administrators' timidity in facing down Gov. George Allen are our students and ultimately the entire commonwealth. We must show courage until we can elect Lt. Gov. Don Beyer as governor in two years. He values education, not Disneyland.
Southwest Virginians were wise to elect to the General Assembly a fine group of ``education candidates'': Dick Cranwell, John Edwards, Madison Marye, Jim Shuler and Chip Woodrum. But the Tech administration is giving in, even before these statesmen begin to fight Allen's foolish budget objectives this month.
I came to Blacksburg in 1971 with a Ph.D., choosing Tech over four other schools. Up until two years ago, I enjoyed working with dedicated colleagues, most of whom put in 50 to 60 hours a week. We didn't go into our fields for money, but for the love of teaching, writing, research and service. We're ranked in the top 50 research universities in the nation. Yet the administration has made ill-advised decisions without consulting most of the faculty affected. It has been an insidious process.
The College of Business succumbed to Allen's dictum to cut eight hours for graduation. It cut Business Writing, which teaches students such vital skills as resume writing and group work.
The president axed the College of Education. N. Wayne Tripp's letter to the editor (Dec. 27, ``Broken promises threaten a college of proven value'') details Virginia's loss of teachers, guidance counselors, principals and doctoral students.
The dean of Arts and Sciences, in concert with the state's secretary of education, Beverly Sgro, mandated that the English Department move out of Williams Hall so that the Psychology Department, headed by Joe Sgro, can move in. (This will cost more than $1 million.) Classes, offices and the chair will be in separate buildings. This will be inconvenient for students, and will lower morale.
This same dean, who is a fine scholar and teacher, has cut the English Department budget by 10 to 15 percent, and dictated that English and Communications merge. While we respect each other, we have little in common. The rationale? Save money.
Tech administrators shouldn't capitulate to Allen's whims without at least giving our ``education candidates,'' headed by Cranwell, a chance to save our universities. They should ``rage, rage against the dying of the light.''
Anne Cheney, of Blacksburg, is an associate professor of English at Virginia Tech.
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