Communication is essential between the administration and students on a college campus. In order to build trust and create a mutually beneficial relationship, it is vital that faculty keeps students informed and vice versa.
While Geneseo prides itself on putting students first and fostering a positive learning atmosphere, the line of communication between students and the administration is minimal. This was especially evident following the abrupt removal of former Dean of the School of Business Denise Rotondo in January.
Many students, faculty and staff expressed concerns regarding this termination. It seems there has been no quality response or reasoning granted from the administration.
The Lamron published news articles regarding questions surrounding this abrupt termination on Jan. 25 and again on Feb. 15. Since then, no official word or update about the situation has been given to students at Geneseo.
While this controversy is extremely prevalent for School of Business students, it also represents a wider issue at Geneseo as an institution and for all students who attend school here. The lack of conversation pertaining to Rotondo’s removal when it happened was disappointing enough; however, the continual neglect to update the campus community on this issue is unacceptable.
As students, we cannot allow this situation to fade away. We must continue to place pressure on the administration to do better job communicating when there are such controversies. It is imperative that students are up-to-date at the very least. From there, we can move forward and have difficult conversations.
Students and faculty have peacefully protested the removal of Rotondo and asked for more information—all of these pleas have been ignored by our administration.
Geneseo is planning on replacing Rotondo, and this cannot fairly occur without informing the campus community for the reason of her removal.
Furthermore, in order to develop a trusting and positive relationship between the students and administration at Geneseo, it is important that both parties practice accountability. Students must not allow this controversy to fade away with time and the administration must inform the campus community with the motivations behind its decisions.