In
1969, in response to student and community demands, the
Africana Studies and Research Center (AS&RC) was established
at Cornell University. Now, over 40 years later, Provost
Kent Fuchs has recently announced that the Africana Studies
and Research Center will no longer exist as a Center, but
will be reduced to department status and subsumed under
the structure of the College of Arts and Sciences. Provost
Fuchs made this unilateral decision without discussion or
consultation with the Africana faculty, and faculty members
have issued a statement in opposition to this dictatorial
action. The current Director of the Africana Center, Professor
Robert L. Harris, Jr., has resigned in protest. Africana
alumni and students are also opposing this action, and are
now asking for your help and assistance.
Below is a petition drafted by Cornell University and AS&RC
alumni, please read it and demonstrate your support by adding
your signature and circulating this widely. You do not need
to be a graduate of Cornell University in order to sign
the petition. You can access and sign the petition at the
following website:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveafricana/
As supporters of the Africana Studies and Research Center
(AS&RC) at Cornell University, we stand resolute in
our solidarity with the Africana Studies faculty in opposition
to Provost Kent Fuchs' brazen and appalling attempts to
undermine the Africana Center with a hasty and unilateral
decision to reposition this institution relegating it to
the status of a "unit" within the College of Arts
and Sciences. We are particularly troubled by the news that
this action was taken without consultation with the Africana
Studies faculty or an extensive internal or external review
that would normally accompany a change of this magnitude.
We believe there is simply no justification for such an
undemocratic decision; this action reflects a deep disrespect
and contempt for the Africana Center and its faculty, students,
and staff. The fact that Africana faculty have demonstrated
their opposition, and the fact that the Center's Director,
Professor Robert L. Harris, Jr., has resigned in protest,
should serve as testimony to this ill-advised course of
action.
We contend that the quality and effectiveness of the AS&RC
as a center of knowledge and the principle force for faculty
diversity is rooted in a distinctive relationship to the
university, beyond the jurisdiction of the College of Arts
and Sciences. The Africana Studies and Research Center was
founded as a Center for specific intellectual and pedagogical
reasons. Those reasons remain as relevant today as they
were more than 40 years ago when the Center was first established.
Furthermore, we regard the Provost's contention that his
decision is motivated by a desire to increase the Center's
faculty and resources toward the establishment of a Ph.D.
Program, as hollow and counterintuitive. Those of us who
are well-versed in university systems and structures understand
that this organizational shift is deeply tied to issues
of power, control and financial resources. We understand
that although the Africana Center is not fully autonomous,
there are significant consequences that will arise from
being reduced to department status ("a unit")
within the College of Arts and Sciences. In particular,
allocation of resources and faculty lines, as well as tenure
decisions and other important matters will be subjected
to a different process, one that is not likely to benefit
Africana Studies in the long-run. Moreover, despite the
claims of university administrators, we know that it is
not necessary to change Africana's status in order to establish
a Ph.D. program. Following the external review in 2006,
there was widespread agreement to create a doctoral program
in Africana Studies with no discussion of a relationship
to the College of Arts and Sciences. It was clear then as
it is now that resources and faculty lines are the main
requirements for the establishment of a Ph.D. program, and
there is no reason to deny those resources to Africana as
a "Center". We stand firm in our opposition to
this assault on the status and institutional integrity of
the AS&RC, and we strongly urge Provost Fuchs to reverse
course and avoid what will surely be detrimental to the
quality of educational life and public image of Cornell
University.
Leslie M. Alexander, Ph.D., Associate Professor, The Ohio
State University
Scot Brown, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of California,
Los Angeles
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