The students and faculty in the law, policy and society PhD program want answers. Earlier this year, it was announced that Leonard and Suzann Buckles, who had dedicated 18 years to directing the program, were out, and an interim director was in.
Associate Professor and Associate Director for the Center for Urban and Regional Policy Joan Fitzgerald was approached by Dean of Arts and Sciences James Stellar and offered the job. Not realizing the circumstances in which she was being hired and how it might upset the members of the program, she accepted.
“It’s unfortunate in some ways because I think their frustration gets directed at me. I really can’t speak to whatever the decision process is, I can just speak, here’s my assignment and let’s take the program forward,” Fitzgerald said.
Not only are students and faculty concerned about the changes that might be brought to the program under a new director, but they are upset that they were not part of the decision process.
Professor of Law Dick Daynard said, “I think normally there’s some consultation with faculty and there wasn’t here.
“I think sort of everybody in the process agrees, including James Stellar, that the process was just not very well done and one of the weaknesses in the process was that the faculty of the program were not consulted on the if or the when or the who of this process,” Daynard said.
“Basically, we just chose her. We talked about it and asked her if she’d be interested and she said yes,” Dean Stellar said. “We could have gone to the LPS faculty but we chose not to do that I guess. The LPS faculty have met Joan Fitzgerald now and my take on that is they approve of her as the interim director.”
Daynard, however, said he is worried that the process left too many questions up in the air.
“There’s a lot of work to be done just to get back to restore people’s confidence that the integrity of the program will be protected and so forth,” Daynard said. “It’s the kind of process that tends to leave people suspicious and perhaps unduly suspicious.”
With the interim director set to take office July 1, students still do not know what to think.
“There are just so many questions that seem not to be answered,” said Molly Purdue, a doctoral student.
Jeff Bachman, a first year candidate, said, “This has something to do with all of our futures that are in the program and we can’t seem to get anyone to tell us anything.”
“I’m definitely worried about requirement changes,” Bachman said, “because we haven’t really gotten any answers from anyone.”
Upon learning of the change, students contacted Provost Ahmed Abdelal in an attempt to find out what was going on. They met with him April 17, at which time he promised that he would get back to them in writing with some definitive answers within 30 days. So far, according to Jill Weiss, a doctoral student, they have received no response.
Though students and faculty are extremely worried about their current situation, some are afraid to speak out in fear for their student status or their positions.
“I guess that students who are concerned about the change, they worry that if they stage a sit-in or protest then they will not get their Ph.D.,” said Judith Boarman, a third-year student. “It’s a thin line that we walk. You want to be involved in change but if you speak out too much, perhaps the remaining time at the school will be made more difficult for you.”
While students realize that not much can be done about their current situation, they would still like to get involved.
“I think the administration needs to ensure that there’s going to be a partnership, a collaboration, and that that’s real, not just pretend,” said Bruce Spector, a doctoral student starting his dissertation. “Our concerns certainly are that the program continue as an LPS program, that changes not be made without faculty and students being listened to and that the incredible work of Len and Suzy Buckles be recognized and continued and that a really good process be followed if there are going to be any changes.”
Purdue said she feels it is important to allow the students to be involved now so that they will stay involved after they graduate.
“We are the people that the development office is going to start calling as soon as we graduate,” Purdue said. “We are the people that, down the road, they’re going to want to be involved in the university.”
While the interim director said that she has already started meeting with students and faculty individually to answer any questions they might have, the students are still not satisfied.
“We’re trying to get our PhDs and our master’s degrees, we’re not trying to manage the school, but basically we’re being ignored,” Weiss said.
The students are also concerned about the way that the Buckles were removed from their positions and want to ensure that they remain involved in the program.
“I think Len and Suzy Buckle are incredible people and they’ve just worked so hard and put so much dedication into the program,” Perdue said. “It’s a little disheartening to see faculty treated in any way that seems disrespectful.”
Dean Stellar said that the decision to shift directors was not as sudden as it may have seemed.
“We had them over and discussed with them the fact that they’d been in the position for so many years and we thought that it would be wise if they returned to the faculty and after a couple weeks of conversations with them, they agreed,” Stellar said.
With their worry over the change in direction in their minds, students and faculty also realize how much they will miss the Buckles.
“It was a pleasure to work with them and they were very devoted to the program and much of the success its achieved is directly attributable to their efforts,” Daynard said.
Doctoral student Lysbeth Noyes said, “The Buckles are the most extraordinary professionals that I have ever encountered. They are truly remarkable and passionately committed. NU has been phenomenally fortunate to know them. Much of what they’ve done goes unnoticed. They’re tenacious in their commitment to their professional lives and their students are the beneficiaries of that. I’ve been extremely fortunate to be in the LPS program under their leadership”
Despite their other concerns, however, the students are above all worried about the future of their program and their roll in it.
“What we all want is the strongest program possible but that only happens by honest and real and deep collaboration between all the stakeholders,” Spector said. “You’re going to get a lot more than the sum of its parts if the students and the faculty and the administration truly are partners on this, but that’s up to the administration to make that happen. I think they see an awful lot of students out there that want to help and want to do that, they need to be welcomed into a process.”
