Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the appointment of the new associate dean of curriculum and instruction for SMFA.
Professors of the practice at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts were notified throughout March and April of several changes to the school’s administrative structure. According to an open letter from the union, these changes include revising the structure of deans at the school and consolidating SMFA’s four studio departments into two. The two new department chairs would not be eligible for union membership.
On May 12, the Service Employees International Union Local 509, which represents the PoPs, filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Tufts over the removal of the department chairs from the bargaining unit without proper notice or an opportunity for faculty to vote on the changes. The PoPs at the SMFA remain engaged in contract negotiations with the university, which began in April 2024.
Consolidated departments and unfair labor practice complaint against Tufts
SMFA’s existing four studio departments are staffed by PoPs and part-time lecturers. In a statement to the Daily, SMFA Dean Scheri Fultineer wrote that the administration does not plan to reduce course offerings or interdisciplinary opportunities.
The unfair labor practice charge states that the removal of the studio department chairs from the bargaining unit violates agreements made between SEIU Local 509 and Tufts during the ongoing bargaining process, wherein studio department chairs were allowed to remain in the unit.
“During bargaining for a collective bargaining agreement, the University repeatedly affirmed that chairs are in the unit and would not be removed unless agreed to by the Union,” the complaint reads.
The complaint also claims that Tufts failed to give PoPs sufficient notice to bargain over the changes and has refused to negotiate them during the collective bargaining process.
“While the Union raised these concerns at the bargaining table and filed an ‘unfair labor charge’ against SMFA in connection to these changes, SMFA has met, and will continue to meet, any attendant bargaining obligations in good faith. SMFA continues to welcome feedback from all members of our community, including the faculty,” Fultineer wrote in a statement to the Daily.
Fultineer stated that merging the departments will better align SMFA with Tufts’ School of Arts and Sciences. She added that the size of the entire faculty at SMFA is roughly equivalent to one department on the Medford/Somerville campus.
“SMFA offers one major - Studio Art – for all BFA students, so the Departments in SMFA were not like the ones within A&S, which are organized by major, and SMFA department chairs did not have the same agency throughout the University,” Fultineer wrote.
Fultineer added that the administration does not expect the new department structure to place any strain on the chairs.
“As a result of these efforts and the longstanding success this model has had across A&S, the administration does not anticipate any strain on the SMFA studio department chairs and will work with them to ensure a smooth transition,” Fultineer wrote.
Sean Glover, a PoP and SEIU member, said that the initial agreement to keep studio department chairs in the unit had allowed for fuller dialogue around curriculum development.
“By eliminating two chairs, it’s reducing our ability to have some more nuanced conversation — not only about what’s going on right now, but also thinking about forward, about how to evolve the curriculum,” he said.
Glover expressed concern that the consolidations will affect both faculty and students as artists.
“To make art, there’s a lot of things that need to go into place that involve being vulnerable and taking risks,” he said. “By making these [kinds] of reductions, it really disenfranchises faculty from being able to address those needs, and thereby, it really makes it more difficult for students to understand what it means to become an artist.”
Two new dean positions
Nate Harrison, current SMFA dean of academic affairs, will step down from the role beginning July 1. Bárbara Brizuela, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, alongside Fultineer, announced on April 10 that a full-time dean of academic affairs for arts and humanities will replace Harrison’s role.
Brizuela announced on June 11 that Tasha Oren, associate professor in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies and director of the Film and Media Studies Program, has been appointed to this new deanship. Oren will oversee faculty affairs for arts and humanities departments and programs across A&S and SMFA. According to the announcement, Oren will begin overseeing SMFA affairs on July 1 and the rest of the A&S affairs on Sept. 1.
Brizuela and Fultineer added that there will be a part-time associate dean of SMFA curriculum and instruction. In their email, the deans wrote that the associate dean will manage and implement SMFA’s curriculum through working with the SMFA Curricula Committee and supervising SMFA’s assistant director of academic and curriculum administration.
The deans announced on Friday that Chantal Zakari, professor of the practice in graphic arts, has been appointed to be the inaugural associate dean of SMFA curriculum and instruction, effective July 1.
The PoPs say they have historically had independence in their curriculum process and that the new associate dean position dilutes the agency they have traditionally held.
“We’re unsure as to how we’re supposed to develop curriculum in partnership with the chairs and to some extent, the dean of curriculum,” Glover said. “Our voices might not be as resonant as they [have been] in the past in developing this curriculum.”
These changes will be part of a three-year pilot. According to the email, feedback came from discussions with chairs and directors of the School of Arts and Sciences. The PoPs say they were not properly consulted about the changes to the dean positions.
