AU administration may address the demands of students groups such as A New AU and Occupy AU through a meeting next semester between President Neil Kerwin and student representatives.
“I will work to arrange a meeting with your organization and others as early as possible in the spring semester to explore these matters in greater detail,” Kerwin said in a letter to Ethan Miller, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, and to other student organizers.
The proposal “[demonstrates] Dr. Kerwin and the administration’s willingness to engage in a dialogue with students about their concerns,” Associate Director of Media Relations Maralee Csellar wrote in an email.
However, representatives won’t be able to implement change instantaneously since the University is tied to the Budget Committee’s schedule, which will hold public comment sessions in late summer 2012, according to Kerwin. At these sessions, the University community can discuss the issues the student groups raised such as parking rates and financial transparency.
“I believe that removing issues from the established budget process would undercut our ability to take a truly comprehensive view of institutional needs,” Kerwin wrote in the letter. “Such actions taken without the involvement of the Budget Committee would also compromise our commitment to broad participation in the resource allocation process.”
Kerwin disagreed with the students’ view that there is a lack of student input in University matters.
He said AU has been taking student concerns into account by keeping tuition increases at their lowest in 15 years, focusing on maintaining useful financial aid for students and improving the University’s sustainability.
The University also takes student input into account through suggestions from project teams and academic departments, in addition to input from the non-voting Washington College of Law student on the Board of Trustees, Kerwin said.
Kerwin also said he regularly meets with the University Council, which has representatives from the Student Government, the Graduate Leadership Council and the Student Bar Association.
“The AU administration has been listening to the various questions, suggestions and requests from various student groups, including Occupy AU, A New AU, CASJ, the Student Worker Alliance and others, at meetings, town hall forums and through direct correspondence,” Csellar said.
Last month, Kerwin pledged to create a committee with students, faculty, staff and alumni to review the University’s investment practices to make sure money is only given to companies that share AU’s commitment to social responsibility.
