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Response of the Dean to Articles in the Flat Hat, the William & Mary Student Newspaper, Concerning the Department of Philosophy

The following statement is issued in response to recent articles that appeared in the Flat Hat, the student newspaper at William & Mary, on the external program review of the Philosophy department, which was carried out during the academic year 2006-07, and the subsequent decision by me in May, 2007, to replace the chair of the Philosophy department.

In carrying out the joint program review of the Departments of Classical Studies, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, the administration followed the rules on program review. The program review of the Philosophy department was part of a regularly scheduled, state-mandated review. It was not done in response to any event or decision on the part of the Philosophy department. A list of external reviewers was recommended by the departments under review—Classical Studies, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. None of the departments' nominees were excluded. The final four reviewers—Professors Christopher Faraone of the University of Chicago, Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina, Nicholas White of the University of California, Irvine, and Benjamin Wright of Lehigh University—all have strong scholarly and professional reputations. None of the external reviewers were chosen because of the Wren Cross controversy, which had not even occurred at the time the departments recommended the reviewers. In particular, Professor Magness had no prior acquaintance of any kind with President Gene Nichol before the review took place.

The report of the external reviewers was provided only to the departments under review. No faculty members were named in the report. I received comments, written and verbal, from all of the members of the Philosophy department except two, who were also the only tenured members of the department who declined to meet with the external reviewers. I did not respond to any of the comments of the department members individually. Their comments were taken into account in my decision to focus only on the issue of the treatment of junior faculty members as the most serious issue that had been raised by both the external reviewers and members of the department.

The treatment of junior faculty members in the Department of Philosophy, which had led, in part, to a number of department members resigning, is a serious issue for the department and the College. Protecting the future of the department was the sole reason why I asked the former chair to resign and appointed an interim chair for a two year term. Department chairs serve at the discretion of the Dean. Appointing a faculty member from one department to serve as the chair of another department is not common, but it is done as the Dean decides is necessary. Just last fall, I appointed a faculty member from another department to serve as the chair of a department. Previous deans have taken similar actions on several occasions.

I have told the Philosophy department that in two years, if the situation permits, I will consider having a new external review of the department done by a team of philosophers. Despite the recent issues in the department, the Philosophy department continues to be an excellent department in terms of teaching and scholarship.

Dean Carl Strikwerda, Arts & Sciences
September 22, 2007

Related Content: Dean's Response to June 9, 2007 editorial in the Daily Press