Tensions linger as new academic year begins at George Mason University

A SIMMERING CONFLICT BETWEEN the faculty and the governing board over the fate of an intramural liberal arts school boiled over at George Mason University in June after the two groups came into conflict over course credit for GMU's ROTC program. The disputes call into question the faculty's role in deciding academic matters at the Virginia institution and the deference usually enjoyed by advisories of the faculty senate. According to members of the faculty, both incidents reflect a heavyhanded management style among board members and administrators.

"It's a crisis in the sense of who will disburse academic credit," says Don Boileau, professor of communication at GMU and chair of the fifty-member faculty senate. "Conferring credit has traditionally been the prerogative of the faculty." In May the board of visitors shrugged off a faculty advisory and increased the credits awarded to students who complete the university's ROTC program from ten to twenty, later retreating to twelve. According to Boileau, other institutions give equivalent coursework as little as half that total.

Then in June, amid distrust over the ROTC matter, the board reversed a recommendation by the faculty senate and mandated the abolition of an interdisciplinary liberal-arts school, New Century College. The board characterized the college as wasteful. But other critics concede that it has provided valuable apprenticeship in innovative educational techniques, such as team teaching. The shutdown notice from the board comes as faculty in the college, set up in the early 1990s as a model of integrative learning, saw the graduation of its first class of students.

For many faculty, both the board's ROTC credit decision and its college closing undermine faculty governance. "If you look at the common features in both disputes, the senate has been bypassed both times," says Boileau.

With the start of the new academic year, faculty are awaiting signals from new members of the board of visitors, appointed by Governor James Gilmore during the summer. These newcomers, according to several observers, will help determine whether the board's future relations with faculty will be confrontational or conciliatory. Still, says Boileau, some professors may prod the faculty senate this fall for a resolution of censure or no confidence.