ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601290076
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Guest Column
SOURCE: ROBERT SMITH
President Paul Torgersen has directed that Virginia Tech's College of Education be dismantled and the pieces shipped to the College of Human Resources. Many people have expressed bewilderment at this action and the manner in which it took place. People have questioned whether the president has an accurate picture of the College of Education's achievements. Here are a few facts:
Forty percent of the state's school superintendents are graduates of the Virginia Tech College of Education.
The college is the top producer of elementary school counselors in Virginia.
More than 100 courses are offered off campus annually by the college.
Since the college's founding 25 years ago, education faculty have received 10 Wine Awards for Excellence in Teaching, one Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, and a Riggs Teaching Scholar Award, a record that surpasses all other colleges at Virginia Tech during those 25 years.
It offers the only doctoral programs in the state for vocational technical education and special education administration.
The college during the past eight years has invested $50,000 to support a minority teacher education recruitment program with the Roanoke Schools and community. This program has resulted in the appointment of 20 Tomorrow's Teachers Scholars.
In 1995, 63.9 percent of black students who graduated with master's or doctoral degrees from Virginia Tech came from the college. The college had the second highest percentage (63.3 percent) of female graduates in the university.
The College of Education's Virginia View is the second largest career information system in the nation.
Eight of the college's faculty members have been presidents of their respective national professional organizations, and seven have been editors of national scholarly journals. Four professional education journals are produced at Virginia Tech.
This is a faculty that on average is paid less than their colleagues in most other professional colleges and has never been housed together on campus.
Given a history of productivity and stature in the profession, and a unique dedication to the school and to others, what would prompt Torgersen to decree that the College of Education will be disassembled and merged with another college?
Cost savings is a possible reason. Education is among the financially poorest colleges of the university, has minimal expenditures for equipment, is able to support many of its activities through external grants, doesn't have a large administrative group either at the college or departmental levels, and is generally a frugal group. Torgersen has committed the university to continue employment of the dean's staff. It is hard to imagine that much money will be saved by destroying the college as it now exists.
Maybe there is a pedagogical reason. That also is hard to believe in light of the substantial honors that the faculty has received for their teaching.
Merging with another unit on campus by administrative dictum is destined to fail. Alliances at any level of life just don't work well when one member is pushed into a relationship.
The dismantling of the College of Education could eventually sound the death knell for professional education at Virginia Tech. It is foolish and naive to think that there are no destructive consequences from losing an independent identity. An independently structured College of Education is an essential ingredient in a comprehensive academic environment.
Is this what we want to happen to productive and socially sensitive education programs at Virginia Tech? Shouldn't we consider preparing excellent young people to teach as important as preparing bright young people for Wall Street? Virginia Tech is a land grant institution, and that means, among other things, that we have committed ourselves to "providing for the sons and daughters of the working class." This cannot be done effectively if the College of Education is dismantled, shipped off to another college, and left to perish. President Torgersen's unilateral decree should be rescinded.
Robert Smith is a professor of education and was dean of Virginia Tech's College of Education from 1978 to 1989.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 linesby CNB