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As The Daily Orange reported, the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics has been reorganized into Falk College of Sport and four human dynamics units – the School of Social Work, Public Health, Marriage and Family Therapy and Human Development and Family Science – will no longer be a part of the college.

I am not surprised by, or even necessarily opposed to the decision to highlight “Sport” as an important Syracuse University college because the Department of Sport Management is successful and valued by the university.

However, as a faculty member with 25 years of service to SU and the School of Social Work, I am hugely disappointed with the “heavy-handed,” disrespectful and disruptive manner by which reorganization decisions were made and communicated. Little, arguably no, input was sought from faculty, staff, or students, especially those connected to the displaced human dynamics units.

At best, the decision is an unintended consequence of a flawed planning and implementation process. At worst, it is intended to devalue and starve these units, as first steps in their termination. I believe the truth lies somewhere in between. But intended or not, it is an indication of disregard, perhaps disrespect, of the educational, research and professional missions of these units and of the many contributions our students, alumni, faculty and staff make to the university and larger community.

The changes are generating discomfort, concern, anger and a pervasive sense of uncertainty in many quarters. Many faculty, even some with tenure, are very cautious, even fearful of speaking out. Assistant professors worry whether these changes will affect their application for promotion and tenure. Some students worry that the value of their degrees may be diminished. Some faculty and staff are concerned they may lose their jobs and, with this loss, the educational benefits they have earned for their children. The parent of an incoming human dynamics student called inquiring about whether their child should reconsider attending SU.

The announced changes highlight and will widen gender, racial and economic disparities within the university. The large majority of students and faculty in the newly elevated and well-resourced Falk College of Sport are men. The large majority of students in the displaced units are women and the faculty are significantly more racially and ethnically diverse.

The displaced units have proportionally more first-generation students and more with substantial financial need. Ironically, it appears that these units are being reorganized without regard for the investments (financial and collegial) they have made to the development and growth of Falk College’s Sport Management program. And without clarity regarding the resources, if any, that will remain with the displaced units.

Many local human service agencies, health care and behavioral health care systems as well as governmental organizations have articulated the importance of the human dynamics units to this community and are concerned about how these changes will impact human services, the behavioral health workforce and service delivery systems. These agencies and organizations rely upon these SU programs for educating their workforces, for recruiting new staff and strengthening services for central New York communities.

Assurances that every effort will be made to strengthen these “displaced” units are difficult to accept, as are promises of transparency. The facts belie such assertions. Two examples:

The recent search for the new Falk College dean during the Spring 2023 semester does not support the proposition that the new process will be transparent. An inappropriate and problematic departure from academic norms, no effort was made to seek meaningful faculty input. Faculty were instructed by Provost Gretchen Ritter that we could not provide feedback, meet independently with candidates, meet to discuss and evaluate candidate CVs or presentations, or state a preference. According to a university spokesperson, faculty, staff and students were on the search committee and there was an online survey administered, however, overall the process was devoid of respect for faculty governance. (Having said this, I want to acknowledge that the college welcomed a new dean at the beginning of the fall semester, who many think, myself included, is an able leader.)

It is also difficult to accept the assertion that decisions leading to the removal of the four human dynamics units from Falk College were made after careful thought, in a collegial manner or with respect for the faculty, staff, students and for the mission of the soon-to-be separated units. Rather the decisions, first announced to Falk faculty and staff by Ritter on April 15, appear to have been made with little or no regard for transparency, faculty governance or respect for professions that are disproportionately composed of women. Moreover, in the past year decisions have consistently been made that are not at all in the interest of these four units. For example, annual undergraduate admissions have been capped at 10 each for Social Work, Public Health and Human Development and Family Sciences. According to a university spokesperson, there is a comprehensive task force currently being created and much of the work will be done in the coming months.

In short, while many of us anticipated a major change in Falk College, none expected that it would be done in a stealth-like manner and with such disrespect of the work of the Human Dynamics faculty, staff, students, alumni and those in the community who value the very necessary services our graduates provide.

It is time for the university to acknowledge that serious mistakes have been made and to address their harmful consequences.

Eric Kingson is a Professor at Syracuse University’s School of Social work. He can be reached at erkingso@syr.edu.

Published on April 30, 2024 at 1:19 am