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"It is important for students to live and work together in small groups. A university should provide a basis for friendships that continue past
graduation."
do to have a senior faculty that has
established a separate, independent
cadre of research professors and
graduate students, and here at
Rochester we do not have any such
separation. The value of a graduate
program comes as much from the
contribution made to undergraduates
as from the national reputation its
research brings to an institution. The
whole vital force of an operation
comes from interaction. We intend to
make every effort to keep a lively
graduate program.
What are you doing to ensure an
atmosphere of quality in the classroom?
The ferment and challenge
necessary to a quality education are
achieved by a fine faculty. The question
of the quality of teaching, and of
having senior faculty teaching
students, is much in the minds of
people who are concerned about the
kind of education a student receives.
The usual way of checking the
quality of a particular course is by
student evaluation. But I think the
value of student evaluation is
overstated. One of the things I keep
pushing is getting the faculty to
evaluate each other's teaching. I
would like to have a small evaluation
group of professors who would sit in
on faculty, particularly junior faculty,
and provide feedback. A student
can't know if he or she is being
taught rubbish. You need professional
evaluation. To sit and read
what students say about a course isn't
going to work. I've seen the
improvement that results from this
kind of feedback between faculty in
action. It is extremely valuable.
One of the first efforts you made toward
evaluating the University was to talk with
freshmen in relatively small groups. Your
intention, apparently, was to make the office
of the provost accessible. How effective
were these meetings?
It was a valuable experience, talking
directly to freshmen. However, I
don't think I will do it again this
year-perhaps once in a while in the
future, to test the waters, so to speak.
My function as provost is administrative,
and the questions of most of
the freshmen concerned problems
that could be readily solved by a student
advisory board or by the faculty
and the departments directly in touch
with the students.
Didyou come to any conclusions about
student concerns?
Absolutely. I met with the
freshmen - and indeed with almost all
undergraduates who were interested
in talking to me-in part because I
wanted to know if we could improve
the quality of student life. Every
aspect of a university needs to be
looked at all the time; changes need
to be made. I observed soon after
coming here, when I talked with
those students who were unhappy
with the place, that the unhappiness
was rarely directed toward the
academic side of things. The picture