To Hampshire College Faculty

February 11, 2019

Dear Hampshire Colleagues,

We, the undersigned faculty members of Mount Holyoke College, wish to express our concern about recent events at Hampshire College, as well as our support for Hampshire College and its faculty and staff. We are particularly concerned about: (1) the failure of the President and the Board of Trustees to consult with faculty prior to the January 15, 2019 announcement of the financial crisis and the plans to seek a partner; and (2) the need to consult openly with faculty  now and in the future about any plans that might involve a reduction (temporary or permanent)  in the size of the faculty. Our understanding is that the Hampshire Board of Trustee’s decision to admit only a very small incoming class means that the College will need to reduce its size by  30% or more.

We join with the Faculties of Amherst and Smith Colleges in urging Hampshire’s President and Board of Trustees to abide by the principles of the American Association of University Professors’ guidelines in such cases: “The faculty—with substantial representation from its nontenured as well as its tenured members, since it is the former who are likely to bear the  brunt of any reduction—should participate at the department, college or professional school, and institutionwide levels in key decisions as to the future of the institution and of specific academic programs within the institution.”

For almost fifty years, Hampshire College has played an invaluable and irreplaceable role in the life and careers of the faculty of Mount Holyoke. Its vibrant curriculum, brilliant faculty, and innovative programming enrich all of us. We admire and respect our Hampshire colleagues, and we offer them our support during this time.

We know that the path forward is not clear, and the issues at play are complex. But the situation at Hampshire is too important to allow decisions to be made in secret. Hampshire’s faculty, staff, and students must be included in an open discussion of the choices that the College faces. As Mount Holyoke faculty, we stand with our Hampshire faculty colleagues in demanding openness and consultation with all Hampshire faculty before decisions are made affecting the future of the academic program.

We want in this letter to express solidarity with the faculty and staff at Hampshire and to make sure they know that they are not alone.

This letter was signed by 107 members of the Mount Holyoke faculty:

Nigel Alderman, English
David Allen, Physical Education & Athletics
Douglas J. Amy, Politics (Emeritus)
Ali Aslam, Politics
Elif  Babül,  Anthropology Valerie Barr, Computer Science
Debbora Battaglia, Anthropology (Emerita)
Mara Benjamin, Religion and Jewish Studies (HC 90F)
Bettina Bergmann, Art History
Katie Berry, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Katherine Binder, Psychology & Education
Robin Blaetz, Film Studies
Ligia Bouton, Art Studio
Lee Bowie, Philosophy (Emeritus)
Mara Breen, Psychology & Education
Renae Brodie, Biological Sciences
Amy Camp, Biological Sciences and Biochemistry
Jens Christiansen, Economics (Emeritus)
Joan Cocks, Politics (Emerita)
Joseph Cohen, Psychology & Education (Emeritus)
Carolyn Collette, English (Emerita)
Kenneth Colodner, Neuroscience & Behavior
Naomi Darling, Architectural Studies
Iyko Day, English and Critical Social Thought
Christine DeLucia, History
Corinne Demas, English
Steven Dunn, Geology and Geography
Darby Dyar, Astronomy
Nina Emery, Philosophy
Rick Feldman, Economics and Entrepreneurship, Organizations, and Society
Cora Fernandez Anderson, Politics
Vincent Ferraro, Politics and International Relations (Emeritus)
Rose Flachs, Dance
Corey Flanders, Psychology & Education
Amy  Frary,  Biological  Sciences
Ombretta Frau, Italian
Ted Gilliland, Economics
William Girard, Anthropology (HC F95)
Hannah Goodwin, Film Studies
Rie Hachiyanagi, Art Studio and Asian Studies
Holly Hanson, History
James Harold, Philosophy
Jim Hartley, Economics
KC Haydon, Psychology & Education
Lori Hendricks, Physical Education & Athletics
Eugenia Herbert, History (Emerita)
Robert Herbert, History of Art (Emeritus)
Karen Hollis, Psychology & Education (Emerita)
Gail Hornstein, Psychology & Education (Emerita)
Serin Houston, Geography and International Relations
Stephen Jones, Russian and International Relations
Girma Kebbede, Geology and Geography
Kavita Khory, Politics and International Relations
Peter F. Klemperer, Computer Science
Andrea Lawlor, English
Anthony Lee, Art History
Jessica Maier, Art History
Michelle Markley, Geology and Geography
Elizabeth Markovits, Politics
Jen Matos, Psychology & Education
Kathryn McMenimen, Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Neuroscience & Behavior
Mark McMenamin, Geology and Geography
Bernadine Mellis, Film Studies
Eitan Mendelowitz, Computer Science Lynda Morgan, History and Africana Studies
Lynn Morgan, Anthropology
Elise Morse-Gagne, English
Adeline Mueller, Music
Susanna Nazarova, Russian and Eurasian Studies
Kelley O’Carroll, Psychology & Education
Bode Omojola, Music and Africana Studies
Eva Paus, Economics
Heather Pon-Barry, Computer Science
Christopher H. Pyle, Politics
Karen Remmler, German and Gender Studies
Jacob Rhoads, Art Studio
Margaret Robinson, Mathematics and Statistics
Amy Rodgers, English, Theatre, and Film Studies
Nieves Romero-Díaz, Spanish, Latina/o and Latin American Studies
Joshua Roth, Anthropology
Erika Rundle, Theatre and Gender Studies
Vanessa Rosa, Spanish, Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Aldo Santiago, Physical Education & Athletics
Lauret Savoy, Environmental Studies
Robert Shilkret, Psychology (Emeritus)
Steven Schmeiser, Economics
Jared Schwartzer, Psychology & Education
Peter Scotto, Russian and Eurasian Studies
Mark Shea, English
Gina Siepel, Art Studio
Ajay Sinha, Art History
Kate Singer, English and the Critical Social Thought Program
Preston Smith, Politics and Africana Studies
John Tawa, Psychology and Education
Sabra Thorner, Anthropology
Eleanor Townsley, Sociology
Ken Tucker, Sociology
Donna Van Handle, German Studies
Katia Vavova, Philosophy
Thomas Wartenberg, Philosophy and Film Studies (Emeritus)
Matthew Watson, Anthropology
Al Werner, Geology and Geography
Andy Whitcomb, Physical Education & Athletics
Thomas White, Philosophy
Lucas Wilson, Economics and Africana Studies
Craig Woodard, Biological Sciences
Elizabeth Young, English and Film Studies