By Michele Richinick
Several members of the Northeastern community are questioning the circumstances under which Jim Stellar resigned from his position as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Friday, including the role of recently appointed Provost Stephen Director.
Director entered his position in July.
George Gottschalk IV, a former Student Government Association (SGA) president and current chairperson of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Council, said in an e-mail to The News that he had recently spoken to Stellar about the dean’s “huge plans” for this semester.
“Not for a second could I have imagined that he wouldn’t be around to complete them,” Gottschalk said.
As of press time, Stellar did not respond to several requests for comment.
“When a team gets a new manager, he or she is not only allowed, but almost expected to make a few lineup changes,” Gottschalk said. “I find out on Thursday that for no clearly identifiable reason, Jim just up and decided to resign as Dean effective immediately and return to his position as professor of psychology.”
Director, however, said that Stellar set the time frame for his resignation. It was not unexpected because he had held deanship for 10 years, Director said.
“Most university deans serve five to 10 years so it’s not a surprise for somebody to say, ‘Look I’ve done it for 10 years,'” Director said. “Being dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is very demanding. It takes a lot of time and effort. It’s unusual for someone to stay in that position for that long. It’s not a surprise people want to move on to other things.”
A faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the provost has the right to select his leadership team.
However, the source said the most disturbing aspect of the resignation is its abrupt timing: shortly before the start of the fall semester.
Joey Fiore, former SGA president, said the unexpected situation is unfortunate because Stellar is one of the university’s greatest assets.
“It is a tremendous loss to this university. To replace a man like Dean Stellar is going to be virtually impossible, so good luck to whoever’s job it is to do that,” Fiore said. “It is almost certainly going to be a downgrade from Jim Stellar.”
It is not clear that anything positive is gained by having an interim dean, the faculty source said. For instance, he said Stellar was working on many development projects and fundraising. Having a sudden shift in dean leadership leaves little opportunity to sustain those projects, he said.
“I don’t think Stellar wanted to resign,” the source said. “Stellar wanted to be dean and just had an evaluation from the faculty senate that would renew his contract for three years.”
When a search committee was looking for a new provost last year, they set out to find someone who would lead the university in a decentralized direction in which colleges would have more internal power, as reported by the Northeastern News in November 2007.
The source said Director is holding a meeting on Friday for the chairs of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“I would imagine he has to [address the situation] because the chairs are pretty unanimous in feeling shocked, in feeling that the timing is such that it is an insult to Jim and the college,” the source said. “So I expect the first item of business will be some sort of explanation on [the Provost’s] part, and I think if he tries to paint this as entirely Jim’s doing and decision, I think there are no chairs that will believe that.”
Emily Staupe, a research assistant for the psychology department and in Stellar’s lab, said she is questioning his sudden departure. She said Northeastern students know Stellar as someone who would always keep them informed about his plans.
“It is the way that things work. It simply does not make sense that the provost sent out a letter stating this was Stellar’s decision. I can’t buy that,” Staupe said. “If Jim himself told me I wouldn’t buy that. I would be like, ‘What in the world are you talking about?'”
Staupe said that two weeks ago Stellar was telling her about his plans for the fall semester at Northeastern.
Staupe said the change in leadership will adversely affect the atmosphere for the College of Arts and Sciences.
“Regardless of how extraordinary the person is that fills his shoes, it will be a rocky transition because of how poorly it was handled. The communication wasn’t there at all with the students,” Staupe said. “Every student I have talked to says they’re shocked, they’re outraged.”
Director said Northeastern was fortunate to have somebody as capable as Bruce Ronkin, interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, who was willing to take this on and go through the position. By appointing Ronkin as interim dean, the university is essentially keeping the administrative leadership that Stellar had intact, Director said.
Ronkin said that during his time as dean, he will strive to achieve many goals, including being a strong advocate for experiential education.
“Stellar accomplished many great things for the College during his 10 years as Dean. It’s an honor and challenge to step into the position,” Ronkin said in an e-mail to The News.
Stellar came to the university in 1986 and was an associate professor of psychology until 1992, when he became a professor of psychology. In 1993 he became the associate dean for undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences until 1995 when he became chairperson for the department of psychology. In 1998, Stellar became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Stellar will go on sabbatical for 12 months, Director said, a suggestion which he said he gave to Stellar. On sabbatical, Stellar will receive a salary and have time to reenergize and think about how he is going to build up his research program and reengage teaching, Director said. Stellar is going to return to full-time teaching in psychology, but he will take this year to decide how that will happen, Director said.
“He’s been a tremendous dean. He’s done a lot for the college,” Director said. “I wish him all the best as he figures out what he wants to do and I hope he continues to be an outstanding member of the Northeastern faculty.”
