Each candidate met with Hampshire faculty, staff and students to answer questions and become acquainted with the campus. The presidential search committee, which consists of members of the Board of Trustees, faculty and students will soon make a recommendation to all of the members of the Board of Trustees, who will make the final decision.
The candidates met with the search committee followed by four large meetings, one each for staff, faculty, students and community members. Candidates also toured the campus and met with the presidents of the other four colleges in the Five College Consortium.
Hampshire senior Colin Richardson, the elected student member of the search committee, is pleased with the positive student involvement with the presidential search. "Students have been very interested in the search. I think we all welcome the opportunity to have someone with a fresh perspective at Hampshire, someone who can help the college evaluate itself and address any issues that had been overlooked in the past," he said.
Four main issues were discussed with the candidates: union-neutrality, race and racism on campus, academic policy and financial resources. According to Stacy Hayashi, ajunior at Hampshire, co-editor-in-chief of The Climax, the Hampshire student newspaper, candidates' stances on independent study along with union-neutrality emerged as the crucial issues.
Richardson said that the issues that emerged during the search process provided new motivation and opportunities for campus groups. "The process proved to be a catalyst for groups of students organized around race and racism on campus, one concerned with issues of union-neutrality and union-busting and a group concerned with academic policy," he said. "While these groups had been active before, I think the search, and especially candidate visits to campus, helped them to bring their concerns to the whole community, including some trustees."
The Re-Radicalization of Hampshire College Group is concerned with academic policy at the College, particularly independent work, which is a main feature of Hampshire's curriculum. The group formed last spring. "It is a student organization meant to assure that Hampshire is not straying too far from its original mission of independent work, student involvement, self-designed education and close student-faculty and student-administration relationships," said Hampshire sophomore Theresa Anderson, a member of the group.
The group is also concerned with increasing student involvement in the search process. The search process, according to Anderson, has thus far afforded little opportunity for student input other than the two students on the search committee and student evaluation forms for each candidate. These forms were provided at candidate speeches which many students were unable to attend. "The Trustees were scheduled to make the final decision without any student input beyond the evaluation forms filled out by the few that were able to attend these meetings," she said.
Concerned that students should be more involved in the decision of the College's president, the group polled student opinion on which candidate was most qualified for the position. "[O]ur purpose was to provide an opportunity for students to express their opinions on this matter," said Anderson.
The poll will be submitted to the Board of Trustees to be taken into consideration for the final decision. "We hope that this vote helps the trustees make a decision that is in the best interest of the students of Hampshire," said Anderson. "We take great pride in our school and would like a president that will lead Hampshire in a positive direction in the years to come."
The Students for the Freedom to Unionize student group focuses on promoting union neutrality at the college. "Our group was formed last semester in response to Hampshire's search for a new president and the college's notorious history of anti-unionism," said Conor Clarke, a senior at Hampshire and a member of the group.
The group is running a campaign to promote union neutrality at Hampshire. "Our goal is to get a president who will commit to union neutrality, which means s/he will not take a position verbally or in writing as to whether or not staff and faculty can form a union," said Clarke. "The group's position is that past efforts to form unions have been repressed and that this is not an acceptable stance for a progressive college like Hampshire to take."
Richardson expressed appreciation for student involvement with the search. "I was amazed that so many students had such a strong sense of how challenging and important the role of president at a college is," he said. "I was most impressed that students seemed to be primarily interested in finding a candidate who will work well for the whole college, not just someone to satisfy any individual's personal interests."