Dear Karen,
I want to thank you for your recent letter apologizing for your previous e-mail which outlined the serious repercussions that would result from the English department’s vote to reject a reduction of hours for English composition courses.
Although the English department faculty and many others appreciate your apology and your attempt to clarify the administration’s position, there are still questions regarding the status of the English department’s composition courses and the department’s faculty.
You write that “the items listed in the email were hypothetical, and there are no plans to enact them.” This statement is unclear. Does it mean that the repercussions you outlined will not be enacted? If so, the faculty need an explicit retraction. If not, the climate of intimidation created by your first message will persist. Such a climate is untenable in a university and inconsistent with the productive relationship that QCC faculty and administration have enjoyed in the past, which has furthered the interests of faculty and students alike.
Although the administration’s offer of additional services and support to compensate for reduced contact hours is appreciated, our English Department faculty strongly believe that the quality of their composition courses will be seriously compromised if contact hours are reduced.
We appreciate your sensitivity to the impact of your first message and hope that the concerns outlined above will be carefully considered and addressed as we work to resolve them.
We look forward to your early reply.
Respectfully,
Judy Barbanel
PSC Chapter Chair
