Former Vice President of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Mel Bernstein left a conspicuous void in Tufts' administrative structure when he took a position at Brandeis last June. As President Larry Bacow approaches an October deadline for deciding whether to eliminate the post, students and faculty are considering the implications of Bernstein's departure and the future of the projects he oversaw.
According to Susan Ernst, dean of natural and social sciences and part of a five-member committee that is temporarily carrying out the former vice president's duties, many of the projects that Bernstein began were coordinated by subcommittees. As a result, Ernst said, the initiatives have not been the impeded by his departure. "[The committees] have always been there," Ernst said. "We continue to work together, just without the vice president."
Bernstein's diversity fund - aimed at diversifying Tufts' student body - is one of the projects that is plodding along in the vice president's absence, according to Margery Davies, director of diversity education for arts and sciences. The fund, one of Bernstein's major initiatives during his ten-year tenure, will eventually reach $500,000 a year.
Yesterday, Provost Sol Gittleman said student groups would not be affected if Bernstein's position were never filled. "I don't think [student groups] would notice it," he said.
"Deans will be at their beck and call," Gittleman said. "They're not going to have to worry about access to the administration."
But some students are expressing concern. Alice Bajana, an executive board member of the Association of Latin American Students, said the students are losing an administrative advocate.
"It worries me a lot," Bajana said. "The vice president dealt with the students. Where are people going to go?"
Under Bacow's administrative reorganization, various offices could carry out the former vice president's "responsibility and authority" for the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering.
And even Bernstein, who has said that the current system proved itself effective, said his functions could be accomplished in another manner. "I think the model worked well," he said. "But that's not to say it's the only model that will work."
Gittleman said that the administration should have the "most effective, most economical structure" possible. Significant factors in deciding whether to eliminate the position include saving money and reducing administrative bureaucracy.
"We would have $400,000 saved in money," he said. "Faculty is always complaining that there are too many administrators."
But associate professor Jeanne Penvenne cautioned against spreading Bernstein's former responsibilities among too many people. "Tufts has consistently given two half-jobs to people," she said. "No one does two half-jobs as well as they do with one job." Penvenne said she was also concerned about the elimination of too many administrative positions. Too often, she said, faculty performs tasks that the administration and staff should undertake.
"We can't combine jobs without running the risk of diminishing returns," she said. "We're going to burn out good people."
Though Penvenne said she and Bernstein disagreed on certain issues, they had a respectful working relationship. Other campus groups had similarly positive experiences.
Judith Brown, coordinator of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgendered Center, said she valued the access to the administration that the vice president provided.
"He will be really missed by the students," she said. "It was good to have a high powered door to knock on."
Mike Lambert, the former co-coordinator of Tufts Transgendered Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Collective, agreed. "He's shown a great deal of caring," he said. "A willingness to listen, which can be rare in the administration."
Not everyone, however, supports keeping the position. In an e-mail to the Daily, Professor Mauricio Gutierrez said that "nothing happened" during the Bernstein tenure and that he was insensitive to the faculty. "The post of the vice president should be abolished," Gutierrez said.
Budgetary issues, especially faculty salaries, were the most contentious subjects that Bernstein dealt with. To fund one priority, Bernstein often had to deny another.
"If we got something, that means someone else doesn't," Bajana said. "That causes friction."
Though he acknowledged that some disagreed with his priorities, Bernstein said he worked with faculty extensively. "I worked hard to maintain good relations; to share governance," he said. "I never felt distant or isolated. By and large, we were on the same wavelength."
