“We Do Journalism”
the Quadrangle
Visit Our Website mcquad.org
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume CIX, Issue 7
NEW YORK, MARCH 5, 2024
FREE
Manhattan College Merges Departments Across its Three Schools Manhattan College Celebrates Annual Manhattys Day Students at DKE celebrating annual Manhattys Day event. ELIZABTEH KALAJ/ THE QUADRANGLE
American Historical Association Responds to MC Tenured Faculty The American Historical Association (AHA) addressed President Milo Riverso, Ph.D., and Manhattan College administrators in a letter regarding the termination of tenured history faculty members. The letter was released in January in concurrence with the largest round of faculty layoffs at the college. Particularly, it addresses the downsizing of the history department at MC from six to three remaining faculty members. The letter itself was a collaborative statement created by two faculty members, the head of the governing board
and signed by the AHA’s executive director, James Grossman. The AHA pointed to the financial struggles currently facing the college and called into question whether the elimination of tenured faculty would promote a solution or rather sacrifice the liberal arts core at the college. “Our experience with comparable institutions is that these kinds of consolidations usually sacrifice academic quality to financial efficiencies, especially at institutions with the high standards that characterize the reputation of Manhattan College,” the letter read. According to the AHA website, several letters addressing the downsizing of history programs have been written to various institutions including
IN NEWS:
IN FEATURES:
Angelina Persaud
Managing Editor/Asst. News Editor
SHPE And DFI Host Conversation on pg. 4
Feminine Product Drive on pg. 8
SUNY Potsdam and West Virginia University. Grossman told The Quadrangle that many other institutions across the U.S. are facing a similar financial crisis and often have to target specific programs to cut costs. “We write the kind of letter that you see here, and then we watch and see what happens,” Grossman said. “The issue here is that the administration has identified a problem which obviously they know more about than we do, which has to do with budgets and priorities and they see a problem that needs to be solved.” Grossman outlined the main ways the AHA exercises its influence in terms of providing __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Angelina Persaud & Brooke DellaRocco
Managing Editor/Asst. News Editor & News Editor Manhattan College’s administration recently approved the merging of several departments in an effort to reduce costs and allow more faculty to teach a wider variety of classes. Possibilities regarding how to approach the ever-growing financial problems facing the college were discussed in December of 2023 between faculty and administration. A follow-up email was sent out on Nov. 2 announcing the split of MC’s six schools into three, and then another on Jan. 16 briefly confirming the rationale behind the decision. No further comment was provided behind the decision from interim provost Rani Roy except that the consolidation was an effort to reduce administrative overhead costs. The new department list is as follows: The Department of History, Political Science and International Studies, The Department of Behavioral Sciences, The Department of Mathematics and Physics, The Department of Religion and Philosophy, The Department of Communication and Creative Media, The Department of Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Department
IN A&E:
Check, Please! on pg. 9
of English, World Languages and Literatures. Many previous School of Liberal Arts (SoLA) faculty members were outraged about the merger but due to privacy reasons have declined to comment. Rostislav Konoplich Ph.D., department chairperson of physics, which will be merged with mathematics, declined an interview but instead provided a comment to summarize his attitude toward the matter. “My response in this case is very short,” Konoplich wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “Mathematics and Physics departments merge is a very bad idea.” Paul Droubie, Ph.D., director of the international studies program, spoke to The Quadrangle about how faculty are aiming to make a seamless transition for students in the process. “How will we make this work?” Droubie said. “And mostly, because we all really care about the students, how do we make this the best for the students? We need to adjust for the things happening to the faculty.” Droubie also explained that the most significant change to the departments will be in terms of how administrative tasks are handled such as filling out forms and signing documents from specific __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
IN SPORTS:
Senior Night on pg. 12