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The following message was sent to the fw-alumni listserv today by Rebekah Weinstein (assistant to Glass) on behalf of Valentine Titus, who is the clerk of the Council of Coverseers. I'll post the message itself in this post, and add some thoughts in the next post. Here it is:
From the Clerk/Chair of the Council of Overseers
Dear Friends,
Many of you receiving this letter, by list serve or mail, are aware that the LIU administration has asked the Council of Overseers to support a name change, as recommended by a consultant group which evaluated our recruitment program.
The Council of Overseers was asked to agree to this recommendation and to submit a list of suggested names to the University. At our November 11, 2006 meeting, we did that and submitted a list of 6 names to LIU. The final choice will be made by the LIU administration.
Some historical background may make it easier to accept (or even support) this action, and to appreciate the serious consideration given it by Dean Robert Glass and the members of the Council.
The Council of Overseers was established in 1991, when Friends World College merged with LIU. Upon becoming a Program of LIU, the Board of Trustees of FWC was dissolved and the LIU Board of Trustees became the responsible party.
The Council has 25 members (volunteers); members of the Board of Trustees of the former Friends World College, alumnae/i, business people, Quakers, and citizens interested in international education; whose purpose is to preserve and promote the mission of the Program.
The Council offers financial support and works with the Dean, on request, on matters of recruitment, curriculum, and the general well-being of the Program. The Council meets 4 times a year, with Executive Committee meetings more frequently. One of the meetings takes place on Senior Recognition Day—May 11, 2007, on the Brooklyn campus. All are welcome.
The circumstances leading up to the Council’s actions on November 11 were initiated at the September 16, 2006 Council meeting. Dr. Jeffrey Kane, LIU Vice President of Academic Affairs, attended the meeting. He expressed strong and unequivocal support for the Friends World Program from the LIU administration, including President David Steinberg. This support was extended in the face of a disheartening decline in enrollment, and the projection of a $150,000 budget deficit for each of the next 2 years.
The promised support includes developing and providing promotional help from the LIU Development Office, working with the Council and the FW staff; it includes a commitment from LIU to work with Dean Robert Glass and the admissions staff to develop a recruitment plan; and it includes the promise to absorb the Program’s projected deficits for the next several years--- as LIU has been doing almost every year since 1991, totaling almost $2,000,000.
The plan to move forward, as stated by Jeffrey Kane at the September 16 meeting, emphasized LIU’s willingness to not only cover budget deficits for the next two year, but to offer expertise to work with all aspects of the Program---fund raising, recruitment, and marketing.
Also at this meeting, the Council of Overseers was asked to lend support to the move forward by accepting 3 challenges:
1) Support a name change, as recommended by a consultant group which evaluated our recruitment program
2) Support creation of an Overseers alumnae/i committee, to take advantage of our outstanding alumns, in hosting events, contacting prospective students, and raising our public profile
3) Assume responsibility, working with the LIU Development Office, to raise $50,000 a year, over the 5 year period of the strategic plan
This is a very brief overview of the background for our actions at the November 11 Council meeting. After far-reaching, soul-searching, and intense discussion, the Council submitted a list of 6 names to VPAA Dr. Jeffrey Kane. The final choice rests with the LIU administration.
As Clerk/President of the Council of Overseers, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the Council and our actions. Please call me at my home, 631-692-4471, snail mail to me at FWP, 9 Hanover Place 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, or email to me c/o Rebekah at Rebekah.Weinstein@liu.edu
For those of you who would like to make a contribution now, before the phonathon of annual appeal are underway, please make your check out to Friends World Program/LIU, and mail it to Dean Robert Glass, FWP, 9 Hanover Place 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Council members have expressed renewed commitment to helping Friends World prosper and grow. Stay with us.
In friendship,
Valentine Titus
Clerk/President, Council of Overseers
Rebekah Weinstein
Assistant to the Dean of International Education
Friends World Program
Long Island University
9 Hanover Place, 4th floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-780-4312
718-780-4325 (fax)
Rebekah.Weinstein@liu.edu
From the Clerk/Chair of the Council of Overseers
Dear Friends,
Many of you receiving this letter, by list serve or mail, are aware that the LIU administration has asked the Council of Overseers to support a name change, as recommended by a consultant group which evaluated our recruitment program.
The Council of Overseers was asked to agree to this recommendation and to submit a list of suggested names to the University. At our November 11, 2006 meeting, we did that and submitted a list of 6 names to LIU. The final choice will be made by the LIU administration.
Some historical background may make it easier to accept (or even support) this action, and to appreciate the serious consideration given it by Dean Robert Glass and the members of the Council.
The Council of Overseers was established in 1991, when Friends World College merged with LIU. Upon becoming a Program of LIU, the Board of Trustees of FWC was dissolved and the LIU Board of Trustees became the responsible party.
The Council has 25 members (volunteers); members of the Board of Trustees of the former Friends World College, alumnae/i, business people, Quakers, and citizens interested in international education; whose purpose is to preserve and promote the mission of the Program.
The Council offers financial support and works with the Dean, on request, on matters of recruitment, curriculum, and the general well-being of the Program. The Council meets 4 times a year, with Executive Committee meetings more frequently. One of the meetings takes place on Senior Recognition Day—May 11, 2007, on the Brooklyn campus. All are welcome.
The circumstances leading up to the Council’s actions on November 11 were initiated at the September 16, 2006 Council meeting. Dr. Jeffrey Kane, LIU Vice President of Academic Affairs, attended the meeting. He expressed strong and unequivocal support for the Friends World Program from the LIU administration, including President David Steinberg. This support was extended in the face of a disheartening decline in enrollment, and the projection of a $150,000 budget deficit for each of the next 2 years.
The promised support includes developing and providing promotional help from the LIU Development Office, working with the Council and the FW staff; it includes a commitment from LIU to work with Dean Robert Glass and the admissions staff to develop a recruitment plan; and it includes the promise to absorb the Program’s projected deficits for the next several years--- as LIU has been doing almost every year since 1991, totaling almost $2,000,000.
The plan to move forward, as stated by Jeffrey Kane at the September 16 meeting, emphasized LIU’s willingness to not only cover budget deficits for the next two year, but to offer expertise to work with all aspects of the Program---fund raising, recruitment, and marketing.
Also at this meeting, the Council of Overseers was asked to lend support to the move forward by accepting 3 challenges:
1) Support a name change, as recommended by a consultant group which evaluated our recruitment program
2) Support creation of an Overseers alumnae/i committee, to take advantage of our outstanding alumns, in hosting events, contacting prospective students, and raising our public profile
3) Assume responsibility, working with the LIU Development Office, to raise $50,000 a year, over the 5 year period of the strategic plan
This is a very brief overview of the background for our actions at the November 11 Council meeting. After far-reaching, soul-searching, and intense discussion, the Council submitted a list of 6 names to VPAA Dr. Jeffrey Kane. The final choice rests with the LIU administration.
As Clerk/President of the Council of Overseers, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the Council and our actions. Please call me at my home, 631-692-4471, snail mail to me at FWP, 9 Hanover Place 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, or email to me c/o Rebekah at Rebekah.Weinstein@liu.edu
For those of you who would like to make a contribution now, before the phonathon of annual appeal are underway, please make your check out to Friends World Program/LIU, and mail it to Dean Robert Glass, FWP, 9 Hanover Place 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Council members have expressed renewed commitment to helping Friends World prosper and grow. Stay with us.
In friendship,
Valentine Titus
Clerk/President, Council of Overseers
Rebekah Weinstein
Assistant to the Dean of International Education
Friends World Program
Long Island University
9 Hanover Place, 4th floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-780-4312
718-780-4325 (fax)
Rebekah.Weinstein@liu.edu
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Re: Name change: letter from Council of Overseers
Thu, November 30, 2006 - 3:26 PMSeveral observations I'd like to make:
First, for those who may not be so familiar with them, the Council of Overseers is an advisory board that was instituted as part of the merger of Friends World with LIU. When we were Friends World College, we had a Board of Trustees who were utimately legally responsible for the school and for the integrity of its mission, etc. When we merged, the people on the FWC Board became the FWP Council of Overseers. Over the years, they've added members (by internal nomination), mostly Long Island Quakers and interested educators and businessfolks, as well as a few alumni (at least there were a few in the mid 1990's). The Council of Overseers has always been an advisory body, without any actual power or means of forcing their views on anyone; their purpose is to "is to preserve and promote the mission of the Program," as Valentine states.
Second, while this letter doesn't actually tell us what those 6 suggested names were (I've sent a message asking for those names), it does tell us a little bit about the process that gave rise to the name change. With a minimum of interpretation, we can surmise that events went something like:
1) Enrollment is very low (more than usual), exacerbating the ongoing financial crisis.
2) LIU (possibly in conjunction with the FW dean, but maybe not?) hires some consulting firm to evaluate "what to do about enrollment"
3) The consulting firm makes the recommendation for a name change (presumably among other suggestions for recruitment and other areas)
4) The LIU administration asks the Council of Overseers to come up with 6 suggested names to change to.
Third, it implies something that we've fearing all along -- that the motivation for the decision is coming mainly from outside FW, and that the decision will be made outside of FW. That's not proven, of course; it just seems likely (based on this letter's information). It also means that the important decisions in the process (plan of action, final name decision) are in the hands of people who are not in tune with FW's "way" even to the debatable extent that the dean is.
Fourth, it's the first real communication with any real appearance of honesty and dialogue I've seen yet in this process. Unfortunately, it opens up a dialogue between us and someone without any power of action -- only verbal power. But maybe that's a start. I've already emailed Rebekah (asking for the 6 names) and she immediately replied to the effect that she was already collecting a number of letters to Valentine. The more of those she gets, the more certain the Council will be of how we feel. So please ask Rebekah to let Valentine know how you feel at Rebekah.Weinstein@liu.edu .
Jonathan -
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Re: Name change: letter from Council of Overseers
Thu, November 30, 2006 - 6:40 PMThe letter from the Council of Overseers has been the most direct piece of information that I feel the FW community has received about the changes being made to our program over this past semester (this is my first year so I cannot account for previous semesters). I thought it would be an interesting juxtaposition to paste the email that Robert Glass sent out to the Listserv four days prior to the meeting from which the 6 possible names came. It seems to me that this, as other emails have been, an attempt to encourage the idea that these curricular changes are coming from within the Friends World community. But as the letter from the Council of Overseers shows, these changes are clearly a product of outside pressure. Personally, I preferred the none sugar-coated response.
Paz, Tina
To: Friends World Community
From: Robert Glass, Dean
Re: an update on the program name change
Date: November 7, 2006
For the last two years there have been formal and informal discussions
within the Friends World community regarding the possibility of
changing
the name of the Program. This topic has been brought up at community
meetings at some centers (the Japan and China Centers), or over student
lunches at other centers. More recently, it has become an item of
concern in marketing studies of how best to increase enrollment in the
Friends World Program. As such it has been discussed at a number of
meetings of both World Council and the Council of Overseers. As the
Director of one overseas center put it to me this past spring after a
community meeting:
"the majority of our students seem to feel strongly . . . [that] the
name Friends World on their transcript might lead a potential employer
or graduate admission committee to question if ours is a theological
program, which we are not, or perhaps if unfamiliar with Quaker
terminology, assume we are a "hippy school" that does not take academic
standards seriously, which in my estimation we are not. As familiar and
fond as many of us must be of our present name, new students appear to
have strong (and negative) first reactions to the name, and often talk
about it in jest. This concerns me especially because of our falling
enrolment, and if we are to increase our attraction to prospective
students I feel we need to further reconsider our name."
The Friends World Program is almost totally supported by the funds it
receives from student tuition. Friends World has neither an endowment
nor a large group of wealthy alumni who support the program with large
annual gifts. (As our alumni often seek out careers of service to
others
rather than careers in the business world, annual alumni support totals
less than the tuition from one student.)
As the name of the program is now seen as a contributing factor to low
enrollment, and enrollment is at a ten year low, the decision has been
taken to seriously entertain proposals to change the name of the
program
before the next marketing and admissions cycle. The new name would
better reflect the mission of global engagement to those external to
the
program.
I write now to give the community a short update on the change of name
-- prominent on the agenda of the next meeting of the Council of
Overseers this Saturday November 11th at 10 am. The Council of
Overseers
will sort through the various suggestions and forward a few final
choices to Long Island University.
There are three parts to the discussion on the name change:
First, there is a discussion of the title of the academic unit itself
--
program, center, college, institute etc. It seems that it will not be
possible to use the term "college" instead of "program," which likely
leaves us with either center or institute (though other suggestions are
welcomed). Retaining the term program seems to have less support.
Second, the next part of the name seems likely to be global,
comparative
or international.
The third part of the name will likely be either studies or education,
with a fourth consideration being whether or not to include the term
"experiential."
Two of many examples: Institute of Global Studies; Center for Global
Experiential Education
As we need to have the final name to LIU Marketing Services in the
first
week of December in order to make the deadline for revisions for next
year's marketing and admissions cycle, the Council of Overseers will
make a decision at the meeting this Saturday.
Please do give this some thought, or weigh in with your comments even
now, by sending suggestions to the student executive, Paul Cox at
paulcox72@gmail.com . Paul will collect the responses and forward them
to the Council of Overseers.
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Re: Name change: letter from Council of Overseers
Wed, December 13, 2006 - 10:50 AMThis was posted by Rebekah to the fw-alumni and fw-community lists today:
Council of Overseers
Friends World Program
Library Learning Center Room 515
Minutes
November 11, 2006
Present: Robert Glass, Michael Rey, Jennifer Dryer, Tami Farber, Chuck Hitchcock, Dan Rodas, Ken Komoski, Yazmin A. Glass, Anna Welton, Spencer Ross, Cat Greenleaf, Valentine Titus, Jane Ross, Helen Boxwill,
Meeting convened with a moment of silence at 10:25. Minutes were approved from last meeting of September 16, 2006, which Jeff Kane, Vice President for Academic Affairs attended. Jeff Kane expressed strong support for the Friends world Program, from the Long Island University administration. He also recommended a number of actions which will help us move forward.
In addition, the Council of Overseers was given and approved a challenge of 3 items. Considering the willingness of Long Island University to keep supporting a deficient budget for a period of 3-5 years, we agreed to propose and support a name change, raise $50,000 additional funds each year and agreed to help with recruitment.
The World Council met on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 and recommended that the present student body and alumni be notified of a possible name change so that they would have an opportunity for input. This information was sent out to the email list to all students and faculty on the list and all alumni who choose to be on the list. They were asked to forward suggestions to Paul Cox and Paul was asked to put together a summary page which he did. Robert Glass worked with the thesaurus and 2 dictionaries to study appropriate words that could be considered for a new name. The Council members that were present read numerous email responses from students and alumni as well as Paul Cox’s summary.
After lengthy and shared discussion the council agreed to nominate at least 4 names and with no weighted priorities and have the final decision made by the university. The 6 names to be forwarded are:
1) Friends World College for Global Studies of Long Island University
2) The College/School for Global Learning/Studies of Long Island University
3) College /School of Global Studies of Long Island University
4) Morris Mitchell College or/School for Global Studies/ Learning of Long Island University
5) Global College for Experiential Learning
6) The Global College of Long Island University
