[943] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
FW: A Letter from President Vest
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Josiah D. Seale)
Tue Oct 9 23:05:54 2001
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Message-ID: <BLEJJJDGNEIJGAGOJNHNMEEHDFAA.siah@media.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 21:58:48 -0400
Reply-To: "Documentation at http://web.mit.edu/beland/talk/talk.html"
<MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU>, "Josiah D. Seale" <siah@MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
From: "Josiah D. Seale" <siah@MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
In the DormCon meeting last week we discussed administrative transparency.
At the end, in that interest, I requested that Pres. Vest make public the
letter that he sent to Larry Benedict and Chancellor Phillip Clay about the
outcome of the meeting. He actually did. Here it is:
-----Original Message-----
October 9, 2001
Mr. Larry G. Benedict
Dean for Student Life
Room 4-110
Professor Phillip L. Clay
Chancellor
Room 10-200
Dear Larry and Phil,
I am writing to share a few thoughts with you following a
discussion I had last week with DormCon at East Campus. By agreement
with the students who were present, I am also making this letter
available to Matt Cain, the head of DormCon, to share with others as
he sees fit.
I appreciate all the good work that the two of you are doing
on behalf of our students. It was clear from this meeting, however,
that there are some areas where we all could be doing better. Making
no attempt to be comprehensive, I would characterize the bulk of the
conversation as calling for the establishment of greater trust
between students and administrators - with greater involvement and
improved communications as the necessary vehicles to accomplish this.
Much of the discussion centered on the evolving dining plan.
One student stated that the Task Force on Student Life and
Learning had been in good touch with the community and had produced
an excellent report. However, the widely held view was that as we
have worked to implement its recommendation to enhance community at
MIT, we have not been appropriately in touch with, or understanding
of, existing communities. Indeed, one student said that resentment
by existing micro communities could negate attempts to build macro
community on the campus.
In the meeting, there was a generally, but not unanimously,
held view that one office - presumably the Office of the Dean for
Student Life - should be more strongly centralized and designated as
the clear point of contact, information flow, and student input -
perhaps with the establishment of a clearinghouse for minor
problems.
Others felt that there are too many changes occurring
simultaneously and indicated a desire to be better informed. They
also called for greater accountability on the part of administrators
for doing their jobs well and serving students needs appropriately.
Suggestions for better communication and information included
finding more meaningful ways for students to have contact with those
offices directly relevant to student life; opening up more meetings,
at least to the extent of publishing agendas and/or minutes; and
using the Internet as a medium for greater student input, discussion,
and feedback.
In summary, there was a strong desire for greater
transparency in the decision-making process and for more student
input on matters affecting them.
I believe that we can and should make progress in this
direction. Phil, the process that you have initiated for development
of an improved dining plan is a good step, and I know, Larry, that
you are interested in establishing a council on student life that
would include heads of major student organizations and key staff in
your office. The ideas about using the web and other means to
improve information flow should be seriously and expeditiously
considered. The issue of centralization is complicated, but I think
we can work toward the goals of clarity and timeliness that it
implies, even though MIT is a large and complex system.
My meeting with DormCon gives me confidence that we can
improve MIT by working in even greater communication with students.
In all of this, it is incumbent upon administration and students
alike to listen to each other and discuss even difficult issues in a
civil and respectful manner.
I look forward to your continuing efforts and to the
successful development of a good and sustainable dining system
through the process initiated by you, Phil.
Sincerely yours,
Charles M. Vest
