The People v. Carolyn J. Stefanco

By KYLE PRATT
Staff Writer

With major debt and bad press bringing the Saint Rose campus to its knees; students and faculty are quick to point fingers at The College’s president, Dr. Carolyn Stefanco.
Saint Rose is facing a $9 million deficit, which led to the termination of 40 faculty and administration positions in May, 17 of which were filled. The College fired more employees Friday as they begin executing their plans to reallocate money from underperforming programs to those that are in higher demand. The timing of the firings aligns with the ending of the fall semester, which was likely intentional.
Professors have been fired, and without a doubt, the entire campus is on edge and riddled with anger and disappointment. Stefanco has taken the brunt of the unhappiness. However, it is important to note that our current president is not responsible for the financial state of The College. Saint Rose was running this deficit since well before Stefanco took office, and enrollment numbers have been dropping since 2008.
In times of unrest, it is easy to pick a scapegoat, and unfortunately, Stefanco has become that scapegoat. She is undeserving of the blame for the financial disaster we face as a College, but she is not entirely innocent.
As president of The College, it is her and her administration’s responsibility to communicate to her employees and students. Almost needless to say, the performance of Stefanco and her Public Relations people has been less than mediocre.
The occasional long-winded email or jam-packed office hour aside, students and faculty are largely left in the dark when it comes to the troubles the College is facing.
Stefanco appeared on “The Round Table,” a radio show on WAMC hosted by Joe Donahue, an adjunct professor in the communications department at Saint Rose. During her appearance on the show Stefanco made it well known that she thinks she has done the best she can to keep Saint Rose professors in the loop. But she left out major group on campus.
“I have worked very hard in my communication with faculty,” Stefanco said. “Where the communication was less robust was with groups that generally are not involved in these kinds of conversations about academic curriculum.”
In response, Donahue asked who she was referring to specifically, asking her, “Would that be students? Adjuncts?”
“Well not necessarily adjuncts,” Stefanco said, “but just the community at large.”
She specifically said she was not particularly referring to adjuncts, but said nothing about students, implying that she believes we should not be involved in the discussion, which is worrying.
Why the administration would suggest that students should not be involved in the conversation about academic curriculum is baffling. Even if the students do not have a say in the process, as is the case on many college campuses, why should they not be aware of major decisions being made that could have an impact on their experience, and their tens of thousands of dollars that they are investing in Saint Rose, its professors, and its future?
The reason given by Stefanco for the lack of communication with the student body was that when important financial decisions are being made, “negative press does not help.”
As we have seen very recently, the complete lack of communication is precisely the reason behind the bad press which has engulfed the school. If the situation were clearly laid out for both faculty and students early on, Saint Rose would likely not be the example of disappointment it is today. The negative press is a direct result of The College’s community being left in the dark. We want answers, and it is the media’s job to find those answers, as both local news outlets and The Chronicle have been attempting to do.
The financial crisis is not unique to our school. Colleges around the area have faced similar problems, without garnering media attention. Saint Rose has clearly not been as lucky. Lack of communication has led to a confrontational relationship between Stefanco and the students and faculty. It is the confrontation that attracts the media.
Communication has not been Stefanco’s only downfall. Our president is far less present on the Saint Rose campus than other presidents are on their campuses. At Springfield College, in Springfield, Massachusetts, President Mary Beth Cooper is often seen walking around campus. I have visited the college a handful of times, and have had great conversations with Cooper. I did not have to schedule a short meeting around dozens of other students during an office hour to do so.
Stefanco’s office hours are meant to create a line of communication between her and students, but one hour every once in a while is not sufficient time to meet with roughly 4,400 students, let alone establish a personal connection.
Similarly, I have seen the president of Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, as much in the limited times I have visited, as I have even seen Stefanco on our campus since arriving in 2014. Other college presidents are visible on their campuses. They have a presence. They walk by, say “Hello,” and “Have a nice day,” sometimes stopping to talk, just to see how their student’s lives are going. This is what we want at Saint Rose. We do not dislike our president. We simply do not know her. Many of us are starting to worry we never will.
I share this not to bash our president, who deserves much respect for the very difficult job she undertakes. However, one of the major groups on campus that is being completely forgotten is us, the students; the group that holds The College together, financially.
Students, faculty, and staff all have unique challenges as Saint Rose faces this difficult time. However, it is important that we all feel accepted. As of right now, there is a permanent tension that is easily felt all across the campus. Professors have been fired, and others are worried that they will face the same fate. However, the tension is not just in response to fear, it is a result of the toxic relationship that unfortunately exists between the president and her students.
In the case of the People v. Carolyn Stefanco, for the charge of bringing economic turmoil to Saint Rose, I find the defendant not guilty. Unfortunately, this is not the only charge; but it is the only charge for which she is innocent.