Faculty Representative Adolphus Belk and Student Representative Brandon Jackson addressed the Board of Trustees at their April meeting with a report covering Winthrop community concerns. The faculty and student reports followed summaries from various Board committees and covered concerns and feedback on various events since the last report.
Belk opened his report by recognizing the passing of former and current Winthrop faculty members who had passed away since the last meeting, including former mass communications professor William Fisher, former music professor Bruce Thomson, and mathematics professor Danny Turner.
“Between them, they’ve made many wonderful contributions towards the university to help it advance it in the state and in the regions beyond it, and for their service we are grateful,” Belk said. “They have certainly made Winthrop a better place.”
Belk also spoke on some of the actions taken by the Academic Council, including decisions to push the deadline to withdraw from classes to April 23 and the elimination of the requirement for students to complete required writing classes within the first 75 hours of their undergraduate experience because of difficulty enforcing the rule.
Belk announced that counseling professor Jennifer Jordan will replace him as faculty chair and faculty representative for the Board of Trustees beginning next academic year.
Belk brought forth faculty concerns on issues relating to the state ordered back-to-work protocol that requires all faculty members to return to campus. He said that some members of faculty are hesitant to return to campus due to the still-lurking presence of the pandemic, and asked that the Board and Hynd assure the Winthrop community that safety is still the university’s top priority.
Belk also spoke on the surge of anti-Asian and Pacific Islander hate crimes and sentiment in the past year, and brought up recent experiences from faculty and staff members, including an incident where a professor was verbally harassed by a student and told to “go back to China.”
“Words matter. The tone that we set matters. And it’s important right now that Asian American and Pacific Islander faculty and staff be supported by their institution. A lot of conversation has already taken place by campus police and members of the Asian-American Pacific Islander faculty affinity group, and for my own part I will be introducing a resolution at the next faculty conference to express our support for them,” Belk said.
Jackson’s report on Council of Student Leaders decisions and student feedback followed.
Jackson began by addressing student feedback on advising and how it can be improved. He said that many students said they enjoyed connecting with their advisors on a more personal level, but felt they didn’t have enough time during the advising appointment to speak to them. He
also said some students had issues where they asked academic questions that advisors couldn’t immediately answer, and suggested that advising could be improved by having professors direct students to other sources for important information.
Another issue Jackson addressed was student concerns over recent information regarding Title IX and sexual assaults on campus. Jackson said that there have been “tensions brought up on campus” and “feelings of unrest” that culminated in an unorganized group of students peacefully protesting on Campus Green earlier last week.
He said that the CSL has submitted a letter to university leadership and President George Hynd that summarizes the concerns of students as more students come into the school next academic year.
Finally, Jackson spoke on student concerns regarding the elimination of Common Time, which was previously
allotted to students on Tuesday and Thursday late mornings to participate in culture events and experience
extracurricular activities. Jackson said that many students wish to see it return in the future, and personally expressed support for it’s return though he won’t be at the school to experience it.
