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In 2011, David Falk donated $15 million under the pretense that the College of Human Ecology’s name would be changed to include the word “sport” alongside his name. Now, the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics will yet again be “reimagined.”

On Monday, Syracuse University sent out a release that the school will drop “Human Dynamics” from its name. The David B. Falk College of Sport will “capitalize on relevant marketplace trends” and be the “first standalone college on an R1 campus that specifically focuses on sport,” according to the release. But these achievements mean little to those who are negatively affected by the change.

Monday’s announcement follows a “months-long exercise” involving a Sports Management Task Force that identified new ways to enhance the sport-related programs at Falk. Created in March 2023, the “Sport” side of Falk College had plenty of time to think about its future. A Human Dynamics Task Force was created Monday, and newly-appointed Associate Dean for Human Dynamics Programs Rachel Razza said in a meeting earlier this week that she was brought into conversations about the change just a week ago.

Even as students learn their school is splitting, Vice Provost Gretchen Ritter still hasn’t given the new task force their official charge — something they’re set to receive by the end of the semester, according to the news release. Starting “in earnest” over the summer, the task force will submit its findings to Ritter by the end of October.

This change was also not brought to the University Senate, the academic governing board that includes administration, faculty, staff and students. And through bypassing it, more than 20 Senators felt compelled to support a special session to discuss the changes. Changes, especially ones this significant, should have been brought to the Senate months ago.

Faculty, who are among those most impacted by this change, are being left in the dark about further proceedings. Currently, faculty make up a diminished role on the Human Dynamics Task Force. Many of them were made aware of the restructuring Monday.

The university’s conduct throughout this process is indicative of a larger trend at SU. Within the past month, The Daily Orange has reported on faculty members feeling the university’s dwindling support for the African American Studies department. Students in the social sciences Ph.D. program were not told the program had stopped accepting new admits for two years.

Falk College is another recent example of the erosion of trust between those who work and study here and those who decide what’s studied. Students and faculty do not feel heard or valued by this administration.

The lack of student involvement in the original process is also cause for concern. While SU has done a commendable job trying to gain student input for initiatives like the Syracuse Statement and the Academic Strategic Plan, nothing was done for the students of Falk College. The university should not pick and choose when it values student input and involvement.

Falk College’s human dynamics sector holds the future of social workers, therapists, public health professionals and human services providers. These crucial fields have had a major impact on the campus and local community.

Throughout the pandemic, Falk College worked with an interdisciplinary team of scientists to implement the wastewater surveillance network to establish the baseline level of the coronavirus at SU. In 2021, Katie Weldon, a graduate of Falk College’s social work master’s program, directed a healthcare collective in central New York to improve health outcomes for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. Human dynamics is worth more than its reconstruction reflects.

The changes to Falk College are not inherently wrong, and they may potentially benefit the university in the long run, but both students and faculty deserve transparency and involvement with these types of decisions. The university can’t just talk about shared governance, it needs to act on it.

Decisions this big should never be this opaque.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board serves as the voice of the organization and aims to contribute the perspectives of students to discussions that concern Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse community. The editorial board’s stances are determined by a majority of its members. Are you interested in pitching a topic for the editorial board to discuss? Email opinion@dailyorange.com.

Published on April 18, 2024 at 3:28 am

Contact: opinion@dailyorange.com