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I am writing to tell you of changes that you
will find in the Ada Comstock Scholars Office when you return to campus. As you know,
the college faces financial constraints because of the decline in the value of the
endowment, increases in the financial aid budget, and increased health insurance
costs for employees. In order to meet these budgetary challenges, and to protect
the priority that campus groups have urged us to give to the academic program and
to financial aid, we have embarked on a process of examining each administrative
department of the college carefully to ensure that services are provided in the most
efficient way. These considerations have led us to reorganize the Ada Comstock Scholars
Office.
Erika Laquer will join the Class Deans' Office in College
Hall 23. Her title will be Dean of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program; she will advise
Ada Comstock Scholars, and she will continue to direct the program.
We will move the admission function of the Ada program
to our Admission Office on College Lane. Sid Dalby will oversee the process from
there, reporting to Audrey Smith, Director of Admission. We have decided to make
this change in part because of the legal climate surrounding admission policy and
practice. It is more important than ever to ensure consistent oversight in all of
our admission operations and careful coordination of programs within our broad admission
mandate.
The staff in the Class Deans’ Office and in the
Admission Office, respectively, will provide support for the activities of the Ada
Comstock Scholars Program now located in those offices. The positions of assistant
director and administrative assistant in the current Ada Comstock office will be
eliminated. We appreciate the very important role that the people in these positions
have played in the lives of current Ada Comstock Scholars and of the Program's alumnae.
We value their contribution, and we realize the loss that many of you may feel both
of their friendship and support and the sense of place that they created.
I want to assure you of my support for the Ada Comstock
Scholars Program. I know that all parts of the college community—from traditional
undergraduates, to faculty, staff, alumnae, and the Board of Trustees—share
that regard and appreciate the contribution that the Program makes to the excellence
of the College. The Ada Program has an illustrious history as the largest and most
prestigious program of its kind; I would do nothing to diminish its luster. Our goal
is to preserve the qualities of the program that have made it special, while meeting
some pressing institutional imperatives, and we are firmly committed to that goal.
I look forward to greeting you at convocation and to
seeing you on campus when classes resume.
Sincerely,
Carol T. Christ |
