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G luiilfor dian Volume LXV, No.Wj News feature Diversity or tenure? By Jim Shields Diversity. Everyone wants the variety and flexibility. No body wants the hassles. Guilford faced this dilemma last spring as it considered the request for tenure by Admini stration of Justice Professor Charles P. McDowell. Nick McDowell was denied tenure in accordance with the recommendation of the Faculty Affairs Committee. According to Provost Bruce Stewart, the main concern of the committee was McDowell's lack of "col legiality." "Many felt that Nick was difficult to work with and difficult to communicate with," continued Stewart. Trustee Paul Reynolds cited McDowell's unwillingness to accept administrators as the primary worry the Trustee's Teachers and Officers Com mittee, which heard McDow ell's appeal this summer. "In awarding tenure, we feel it is important to consider the wil lingness of an individual to be a conformist in the institution." "I probably don't fit the place," responded McDowell. Hni Homecoming 1980 - see pgs. 6-7 for more! "My values are not compatible with the way this place is run . . . The attitude at Guil ford is 'if you cooperate, we will take care of you'. I was not willing to compromise on issues of curriculum and prerequisites, which were motivated by self interest rather than out of concern for the students." Was McDowell "diverse" or just "cantankerous?" Stewart admitted that Mc- Dowell "had trouble finding acceptance. The community was not as it should have been to Nick." Much of this was attributed by Stewart to pro fessional differences with other faculty members. At issue was the role of what some consider to be pre-professional programs at a liberal arts college. In the face of what McDowell considered to be "hostility," Stewart continued, he withdrew and would not compromise and accommodate differences in the community. McDowell's response was that in such an environment, he was not able to contribute see "McDowell," page Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C. 27410 fact, he felt that his role was not to participate as a contributor but to be dictated to by the rest of the committee. "It is peculiar," McDowell continued, "that the ability to get along is not among the stated criteria for tenure." Bruce Stewart defended this consideration as falling under the category of "service to the college community." The FAC interpreted the criteria (teach ing excellence, growth as a scholar, effective advising, and service to the community) with respect to the Statement of Purpose adopted by the Trus tees in 1974. Stewart explained that the particular part of the Statement that the committee considered to be relevant in McDowell's case had to do with the es tablishment of a self-conscious community. Participation in community life through com mittees and governing boards was felt to be part of service to the community. Failure to participate in this way poses a threat to the morale of the college, according to Stewart. In a time when Guil ford, like so many other small schools, is facing external pres sures of inflation and shrinking student populations, the in ternal pressure of a dissonant member is not looked on favor- Guilford Gatefold In last week's Guilfordian, a headline incorrectly asserted that John Stoneburner had be come the new dean of faculty. Though no one else caught it or minded, we would like to apol ogize for the errant report. Mr. Stoneburner is the interim dean, and will serve as such until a permanent dean is selected. Fire lit in new gym Early Saturday morning, there was a small fire in a basement utility room of the new Ragan-Brown Field House. Housekeeprs and finishing crews working round the clock discovered the fire about 3:00 a m., less than 12 hours before Presidential debate By Allen Krusenstjerna Considering the number of age lines the last four years have embedded in Jmmy Car ter's face, I cannot understand why he, or anyone else, wishes to be President of the United States. Nonetheless, he, Ronald Reagan, and John Anderson are all candidates for the office or, should I say, heart attacks. The three men were sup posedly to meet in a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters on September 21, but J imbo decided to take a raincheck. He refused to debate two Republicans at once - rather a feeble excuse since Anderson and Reagan agreed on only one issue the entire night. As for the debate itself, I am, of course, unable to recount the whole sequence of questions and answers for those of you who did not see it, so I will recall a few highlights. Also, in the "Guilfordian Gatefold", credit for the photo graph of the Frisbee players was incorrectly given to Jack Mohr. Anne Satterthwaite de served credit for the picture. The Guilfordian apologizes for the goof-up. Late nights make all mistakes possible. September 30 ( 1980 the opening dedication cere monies. The fire, according to Huge Stohler, was contained and soon extinguished and was probably caused by a stray cigarette. Damage was only to surplus building materials. The first five questions dealt with subjects such as defense, inflation, and the economy. I feel that both Reagan and Anderson handled themselves as typical politicians. They talked forever and rarely ad dressed questions with specific answers. Specific answers are not much good to the average American who can't differen tiate between brains and bull, and who don't see much rela tionship between what's said and done, anyway. The sixth and final question brought about an interesting response from the two candi dates because it allowed them to be slightly more personal. The question was, "Do you approve of the church's actions last week in Boston and should a president be guided by or ganized religion on issues such as abortion, equal rights, and defense spending." In answering this question, Anderson perhaps had his best moment of the evening Ad dressing abortion he said, "Now Gov. Reagan is running on a platform that calls for a constitutional amendment ban ning abortion. I think that is a moral issue that ought to be left to the freedom of conscience of the individual ..." Then in regard to the separation of church and state he remarked, "I think mother ought to whis per to Johnny and Suzy as they see "Delete" page
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