Rapaport is a second-year design and sociology student.
By Jaime Rapaport
As was widely publicized, on May 8 19 students were arrested by
the UCPD for a peaceful sit-in in Murphy Hall (“19, including
student regent, arrested for sit-in” Daily Bruin, News, May
9). The arrests were the culmination of a 50-student march to
demand tenure for Professor Joshua Muldavin. As one of the 19
arrested, I hope to convey what no newspaper article can ““
why I put myself on the line for Muldavin and what I learned from
the experience.
As fellow students, I hope you can relate to my concern for what
this tenure case symbolizes about the quality of education at UCLA.
Going into this battle, I knew that I was not only fighting for a
professor who had inspired me, but for those students whose lives
had been changed by one of the few professors whose life revolved
around them.
Joshua Muldavin has spent the last 10 years living on campus to
be more accessible to students, shared his research as part of
course material and challenged students to think critically. But I
was there for more than Joshua Muldavin. I was there for all
students at UCLA who deserve professors who focus on enlightening
them and making the college experience what we all hoped it would
be.
Too often I hear students complaining about inadequate teaching
and professors who are too busy with research to give students five
minutes of their time. Perhaps it’s because the type of
professor that students really need is not being granted tenure.
Where is this school headed if the administration’s sole
nominee for the Carnegie Foundation’s “Teacher of the
Year” award is being rejected?
The Muldavin case says something about UCLA’s priorities,
as well as its concern for students. It embodies many of the
frustrations that students at this university have about the
quality of their education.
As a professor eligible for tenure, Muldavin has been evaluated
based on three areas: teaching, research and community service,
with community service carrying less weight than the others. Any
student who learned from Muldavin in the past can attest to his
teaching capabilities. Not only does he provide insightful and
comprehensive lectures about environmental degradation, developing
nations and alternatives to current popular views, he also empowers
students to change the world.
Muldavin inspired a spirit of activism in me, and by
establishing International Development Studies at UCLA, gave that
gift to others as well. He has gone beyond the call of duty to
create one of only a few development programs in the country.
Muldavin does not fall short in the research department, either.
He has published groundbreaking research in the top journals in his
field (geography and political ecology), as well as extensive work
in China. The content of this research is often criticized for its
lack of emphasis on “objective” number crunching in
exchange for a more qualitative approach. The fact that his
research does not adhere solely to traditional quantitative methods
should not determine whether Muldavin has satisfied his research
requirement.
It is obvious that Muldavin balances quality research and
quality teaching without compromising his students’
education. But the denial of tenure to Muldavin is merely an
example of a much greater issue at UCLA ““ student
involvement.
The chancellor and vice chancellor claim that student
“input” as opposed to involvement is taken into
consideration during the tenure process. But student evaluations
hardly seem to measure up to the immense power that the
administration and its subcommittees use behind closed doors.
Instead of having an active voice, we are forced to stand in
front of the administration demanding “quality
education” and “quality teaching,” the same
reasons that encouraged us to enroll here in the first place. I
believe that both the administration and faculty would prefer the
everyday sounds of UCLA over 50 students marching and chanting
through campus or speaking out in Perloff Park.
Perhaps a solution to this dilemma would be to allow active
student participation in their education, rather than forcing them
to protest outside Murphy Hall. In Muldavin’s case, absence
of student involvement has infuriated many students who feel that
they are not represented in the tenure process. And rightfully
so.
Each tenure case gets passed along from faculty committee to ad
hoc committee to the dean, and so on, not once being evaluated or
even observed by a student. Members of these committees make
recommendations and decisions based on their experiences with the
candidate, evaluation of his research, as well as other important
factors that determine a qualified professor.
But who is there to discuss the issues that affect the student
body? There is no student representative to attest to the
professor’s attendance at office hours, devotion to students
outside the classroom, or ability to make students think
critically.
Although faculty and administrative representation is essential,
there are no checks and balances. If tenure is based on research,
teaching and community service equally, who can fairly represent
the teaching aspect? Without student involvement, research heavily
outweighs teaching in the information considered in the tenure
process. This is to the benefit of many faculty members as well as
the administration.
Faculty members may support a professor whose research
complements their own, while the administration favors professors
whose research brings in the most grant money. Contrary to popular
belief, the tenure process is not always objective and may
oftentimes be quite political.
The presence of a student would serve not only as another factor
in the decision, but as a way of providing balance to the
process.
Student involvement in the tenure process is not an impossible
goal. The urban planning department has a staffing committee which
make recommendations for promotions and tenure ““ one of a
kind at UCLA because it allows students to participate in its
meetings. Therefore, student representation is possible. We just
have to fight for it.
Show the administration that student involvement is important to
you by stopping by at the three-day fast and tent city this week
from Tuesday to Thursday at Schoenberg Plaza. Continue your support
for Professor Muldavin at the teach-ins, discussions and musical
festivals that follow throughout the three days or by sitting on
the lawn with fellow students.
Let the administration know that rallies and speak outs outside
of the tenure process should not be our only voice on campus. As
students, we demand to be involved in the processes that directly
affect us.