President Catharine Bond Hill and Dean of the College Christopher Roellke are holding a Town Hall meeting in the Davison Multi Purpose Room. They will be answering questions posed to them by residents of the two dorms. Live blogging will begin at 9:00 p.m., the scheduled beginning time for the event.
9:00 p.m.| Residents of the two dorm are arriving at the MPR. Hill and Roellke are present.
9:05| Roellke and Hill are waiting for students to finish dinner provided by the Dean of the College Division.
9:08| Hill introduces herself and Roellke. Hill: “It seems remarkably normal this year.” Roellke apologizes for missing the cancellation of a previously-scheduled Town Hall meeting. Roellke introduces his and Hill’s student interns.
9:10| Roellke “opens up the conversation for questions.”
9:11| Hill answers a question posed by Joesselyn House President Daniel Flynn ’13 about her summer. Hill mentioned that she travelled across the country meeting alumnae/i and other friends of the College. Roellke joked that he “did no work for the College.” He continued to talk about visiting sports games and spending time with his family.
9:15| Cory Epstein’13 asks Roellke about the banning of a high-alcohol-beverage “Four Loko.” Roellke said that the banning of a substance must go through the College’s joint-governance system. The ban, if one were to be placed, would come through students as well as the administration; more specifically, the item has been placed on the agenda of the Committee on College Life.
9:18| Roellke and Hill discuss the College’s plans for creating a space for “alternative” programming, one in which students who do not want to participate in activities that involve the consumption of alcohol can spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Roellke says that he is looking for ways to attract students to such a space.
9:22| Sophomore Paul Weinger asks Roellke about keeping Baldwin medical services open during the weekends. Roellke says that such plans are not going to be addressed in the near future. He qualifies that by saying that he prefers that students spend time at a professional hospital if they are in need of care.
9:24| Louise Dufresne ’13 asks Hill what she thinks about the budget cuts that the College has carried out, and “where [she] sees Vassar 5 years from now.” Hill said that there is a lot of uncertainty in the future, and that an upwards trend in the College’s finances is contingent on the improving health of the economy. “We are fairly hopeful that we’ll get it right, economically,” Hill commented. Roellke said that, at least in the Dean of the College Division, the “economic downturn was an opportunity” for the Division to rethink its structure and streamline to create certain natural efficiencies that would not have been realized under normal economic conditions.
9:31| Roellke and Hill are asked about the “future of campus dining,” and the lack of “quality and quantity” thereof. Roellke says that “we are still working out the kinks” in Campus Dining. Roellke stresses his commitment to improving the quality of Campus Dining along with the Food Committee. “We’re on it,” concluded Roellke. Roellke also commented that the College is most likely going to renew its five-year contract with Aramark, Vassar’s catering partner.
9:40| Epstein asks Hill what the one thing she would like people on tours at Vassar to know about the institution. Hill said that “talking about the quality of the intellectual activity at Vassar” is a very important element of the Vassar experience to share with those on tour.
9:42| Davison House President Michael Thottam ’12 asks Roellke about certain unused spaces on campus. Roellke said that there will be intermittent use of such spaces as programming allows. He continued to say that a number of options are being revisited, but most changes are dependent on the economic climate the College will find itself in the future.
9:46| Flynn asks Roellke and Hill how the students will be impacted by the College’s Sesquicentennial. Hill said the College has tried to structure the “sesquibrations” around the already-existing programming. Co-Chair of the Sesquicentennial Student Advisory Committee and Vassar Student Association Vice President for Activities Tanay Tatum ’12 informs the gathering about the events that are planned for the upcoming calendar year. For more details, see the Miscellany News article on the topic.
9:55| An audience member commented on the fact that Vassar’s Career Development Office (CDO) “is lagging.” To this, Hill informed the gathering that the College is in conversation with alumnae/i about increasing their bond with current students. Roellke commended the CDO and said that, during his time at Vassar, he has seen the CDO carry out some “impressive” programming. “I hear you, and I think that there is potential [for improvement],” said Roellke, optimistic about the future of the Office based on current efforts.
10:01| As there were no more questions, Hill thanked everyone for attending and participating in the meeting.
