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m GUILFORDIAN *
Vol. 73 No. 18
Affirmative Action Forum Questions Effectiveness of Policy
by Susan Nelson
Foregoing the snow and sleet, a
group of approximately sixty people
gathered Thursday in the Gallery to
discuss affirmative action plans at
Guilford. According to the forum
panelists, Guilford is not actively
addressing of discrimination in the
college community.
During the panel discussion, which
included presentations from admin
istrators, faculty and students, ques
tions arose as to Guilford's dedica
tion to the Quaker ideal of diversity.
Some panelists contended that al
though Guilford professes to be an
equal-opportunity institution, in fact
Do We Ha
Diverse F
by David Simpson
According to a listing of full-time
professors in the Guiford College
handbook, Guilford's faculty con
sists of about 30 percent women and
four percent blacks.
These figures have prompted much
debate on whether women and blacks
comprise an adequate cross-section
of the faculty.
According to professor Carol
Stonebumer, there have been signifi
cant efforts on the part of the admini
stration to equal the ratios, but an
adequate goal has not been reached.
She said that Guilford's percentage
of women faculty is higher than the
norm at many co-ed schools across
the country but that the ideal situ
ation is fifty-fifty.
Full-time professors have three
differentranks at Guilford. There are
full professors, associate professors,
and assistant professors. According
to the ratios in the handbook, 17
percent of full professors are women
arid 4.percent are black. 25 percent of
associate professors are women and
none are black. 47 percent of assis
tant professors are women and seven
percent are black. Of these profes
sors, there are one woman and one
black who are chairs of departments.
S toneburner says that there are
several single-sex departments on
campus and she feels that each de
partment should represent a di versi ty
of sex and race. For example, the
education deprtment is all female
while the management, philosophy.
Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C.
it is discriminatory in its hiring and
recruiting policies.
"As an institution, we are in fact
committed to a diverse community,"
said Dr. Sam Schuman, Academic
Dean.
However, he said that as a college,
Guilford does not have a "concrete,
measurable, demonstrative plan" to
address the concerns of minorities.
Betty Crutcher, Assistant to the
President for Community Relations
and organizer of the forum, said that
affirmative action in no way means
that Guilford is interested in "modi
fying job requirements [for minori
ties] as that would be condescend
chemistry, and political science de
partments, among others, are all male.
Stonebumer said she thought that
some people still try to take classes
with the particular gender which they
think will give them the best educa
tion. However, diversity in faculty is
important, said Stonebumer, because
it is "one of the ways you learn."
She said that when Guilford Col
lege was a boarding school, faculty
representation between men and
women was equal, but this changed
in 1888 upon the shift to a college.
The reason for this, she said, was that
only about two women in education
had PhDs at that time.
The college has done better in its
representation of women, said
Stonebumer, but it can do better still.
She said this is something that cannot
be allowed to happen naturally but
something that takes extra effort to
achieve.
The college hasn't done well with
minority hiring, she said, and it must
do better. "We are deficient in our
search for minority candidates," she
said.
Academic Dean Sam Schuman,
who is in charge of hiring faculty,
says that the college does not have a
specifically designed affirmative
action program but that it does have
a statement inthe handbook which
says tht the college does not dis
criminate against applicants in any
way.
He said that the college has a
commitment to diversity and that it is
important to achieve that.
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Choir Tour
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ing." But, she said, the college needs
to implement a decisive course of
action to encourage non-discrimina
tory hiring and recruiting practices.
As this time, Guilford has a"denia
tive action plan," Schuman said, "We
deny discrimination racially, sexu
ally, by gender, religion, etc..."
However, he said it is time for us to
compare "where we are to where we
should be."
Of the 89 full-time faculty mem
bers at Guilford, three are black and
35 are women. One panelist pointed
out that the former number means
that less than one percent of our full
time faculty positions are minorities.
Quaker Held by Legal Problems
by Jay Underwood
The release of the I9SI-BSQuaker
has beenfurther delayed by thepros
pect of legal complications and will
be released as soon as possible, say
Publications Board Officials.
"There are legal matters that we
are reviewing in reference to the
Quaker," said Publications Board
Chairperson Joanna Iwata on Thurs
day. "We'd like to be in a position to
release the Quaker before the end of
Vera Waddel receives plaque on behalf of Housekeeping staff
on Housekeeper Appreciation Day
photo by Fric Buck
Alan Piatt to Leave
p. 8
Another panelist, Lorynn Cone, an
associate professor at UNC-G, cau
tioned against establishing quotas.
Quotas, she said, are limiting be
cause once filled, the active recruit
ing of minorites ceases. As well.
Cone says she does not advocate
"blind hiring." She said that the
particular qualifications of thecandi
date and the available position must
be taken into account.
James Johnson, a professor from
A & T University, in noting
Guilford's Quaker heritage, called
on the college to lead the Greensboro
community in racial relations. As
"pace-setters" for justice, peace, and
the semester certainly we'd like
to get it out in another month or so."
Iwata said the nature of the issue
prevents her from commenting on
what the legal matters could possibly
entail. "I can't go into the specifics
of the matters because I think they
are complicated due to the sensitivity
... of the issues involved," she said.
College General Counsel John
Hardy, who is being consulted on the
legal complexities of the issue, also
February 27, 1989
equality, he said the college founders
set a precedent with their involve
ment in the Underground Railroad.
But, Johnson said, it is time for
modern-day Quaker institutions to
examine where they fit into the tradi
tional beliefs.
"Quakers often feel it is impos
sible for them to be prejudiced be
cause they have 'seen the light,'"
said Johnson.
He said that this attitude often leads
to a lack of awareness about dis
criminatory practices and inevitably
a lack of aggressive affirmative ac
tion plans.
continued on page 5
declined comment on Thursday.
Iwata said that despite the lengthy
delay of the Quaker's release, 95%
of the book has already been printed
and is in its final format ready for
publication.
The yearbook was ready for pub
lication at the end of the past sum
mer until further complications were
brought to light by a student last
month, said Iwata. "Apparently,
there was an understanding that the
matter had been resolved. It was
brought to our attention three weeks
ago that the matter was unresolved,"
she said.
Dick Dyer, advisor to the 1987-
88 Quaker, declined comment "until
the final decisions about what to do
are made by the Publications
Board."
The matter is under investigation
by the Publications Board, which is
composedof thecurrentstudentedi
tors of the Guilfordian, Quaker , and
Piper and their respective faculty
advisors.
"We are working towards the
resolution of the matter and we hope
that it will be done in a timely and
effective way so that people will get
their yearbooks soon," said Iwata.
"We want to move it out quickly
and get people what they've been
waiting for."