The new dean of CHASS, Toby Parcel and the Pope Foundation engaged in discussions late last year over a possible grant to benefit the students enrolled in the college.
After numerous capricious comments from faculty members about the foundation hit newsstands in early December, all is quiet on the campus front.
Sheila McKoy, the director of diversity for CHASS, went as far as to relate the Pope Foundation to other entities such as the Ku Klux Klan in the local publication, the Independent Weekly.
It is unwise and downright irresponsible to make this correlation when CHASS is still collecting a grant via the Pope Foundation from a deal inked in 2004.
Perhaps this type of carelessness has yielded a gag order from the higher-ups.
No administrator or faculty member will speak in depth on the situation — not even people closest to the situation, which includes Parcel, who has held the reigns of CHASS since August.
The Pope Foundation is known for its conservative views — perhaps that is what is turning our faculty members off — but they won’t tell us, so we can’t know for sure.
Students have a right to know what is going on — particularly when means for improving our education and experience in college is under debate — in this case denounced.
Of course, students shouldn’t make the decision by themselves — but neither should administrators and faculty.
We don’t know if the University should accept money from the Pope Foundation or not — but how can anyone figure that out if all doors are shut?
Parcel has a semester under her belt and should be commended for igniting the discussion among her, the Pope Foundation and her faculty — but losing sight of who you work for, the students, by dodging questions from them like the plague is bad.
Simply put: you’re starting your career at N.C. State off on the wrong foot.
To do a good job, communication with both the faculty and the student body is essential.
Common sense should tell you that without students, universities would be glorified research centers — so why not include your most integral part, students, in the dialogue?
It is OK for the University to turn down a grant if it doesn’t support the views of a foundation willing to donate — but be consistent and include all members of the hierarchy.
An official decision from administrators on whether to pursue any more funding from the Pope Foundation has yet to be reached, which means there is plenty of time to see what students think — after all, the money is for us.
