Page 55 - Scrimshaw1980-81

Western Maryland College Thursday, January 22, 1981 Volume XIII Number 1 Dismissal sparks controversy ", ..real effort to look at the situation for review what it was." FAC. does while not he is in the a faculty member and his over the fairness of the FAC.'s recommendation. contract Opinions Gargaro's 01 Dr. about the presence of the committee non-renewal have performance -Dean McCormick "I was not allowed to speak for myself until after the first ranged from disapproval, to agreement with the FAC" to vote 01 the FAC.," said Dr. Gargaro. "Even then, there is indifference. ", ..my teaching reputation was im- not an established procedure to appeal the decision of the According to knowledgeable sources, Dr. Gargaro was committee." deemed unsuitable for contract renewal by the F~A.C., pugned by persons who never heard me According to sources close to the FAC., faculty are not because he was considered to have been too lenient in teach." usually permitted to appeal the Committee's recommen- awarding grades for his students' classwork; failed to teach -Dr. K. Gargaro dations. The sources indicated the committee did hear an the required subject matter in his classes: and failed to appeal from Dr. Gargaro, because the Committee felt he comply with the academic policies of the college I/ •••he is more suited to a conserve- was naive about what was occurring within the FAC Upon learning of Dr. Gargaro's leaving WMC, a group of tory ..." review process Dramatic Arts students, lead by Cyndi Zacheis and Susan for the _ Student by Dr the Gargaro that said the that committee F.A.C.'s did decision use was his slanted Claypoole, the rallied WMC support administration Dr. Garqaro renew in the hopes depart- of fact to convincing student not 1I ••• Gargaro is the best instructor in the evaluations lrom the fall '80 semester. He said that the ment chairman's contract. According to Ms. Zacheis, the 60 students included drama department .••" forms were in the possession of the committee, but they students' Dr. efforts have classes to the a petition of administration SIGHT forms Gargaro's from college _ S_ Claypool chose were to use less the favorable to his from the fall '79 semester and personal appeals to FAC. members in Dr. Gargaro's case that "I feel that the real reason for my contract not being behalf. Ms. zacners said that the response from the FAC renewed was because of personality conflicts within the and the administration to the students was only a mild Robert Holt Dramatic Arts Department," said Or. Gargaro "brush 011" Amidst controversy among students and faculty alike, There is controversy among students and faculty alike WMC administrators have upheld the Faculty Affairs Committee recommendations not to renew the contract of Dr. Kenneth V. Gargaro of the Dramatic Arts Department Dr. Gargaro. who has chaired the Dramatic Arts Department since being hired by WMC two years ago, was informed on December 15, 1980, by WMC President Dr Ralph C. John, that his contract would not be renewed. The final decision has been made after Dr. Gargaro appealed to the FAC. to reverse its unanimous recom- mendation to Dr. John. Currently, Dr. Gargaro's contract is due to expire at the the end of the spring, 1981 semester. Dean William McCormick, an ex-officio member of the FAC., outlined the contract renewal procedure. According to Dean McCormick, the procedure is a routine periodic review for all faculty at WMC, and it happens at the time a teacher's contract is to be renegotiated. The review is concerned with the teacher's academic proficiency and is conducted by the Faculty Affairs Committee. Members 01 the FAC. are college faculty members elected by their peers The FAC. reviews teacher performance by two sets of criteria. There are four primary judgements of a faculty member: classroom teaching ability; scholarly activities; evidence of growth in ,his discipline; and contributions to the COllege outside of the classroom. The teacher is also required to submit three other evaluations to the FAC.: instructor self-evaluation; student classroom evaluations (SIGHT Forms); and two peer evaluations, one from outside the instructor's department and one from within his department. The FAC. uses this information to assess instructor performance, and makes a recommendation to the College President as to renew or not renew an instructor's contract. The President makes the final deci- sion Dean McCormick said that the committee is aware of student support for Dr. Gargaro. He also said that the FAC. has more information at their disposal than any other A hobbit 'adventure' group, and are more qualified to make the decisions concerning faculty performance because 01 that informa- tion. ' "The members 01 the Faculty Affairs Committee are well for Alumni respected by the students and faculty with no axe to grind in this specific case, and tried to be totally fair and objective," said Dean McCormick. "There was a real effort ;The Hobbit" is not 'just another' children's story, but According to a Chicago Tribune interview, this classic to look at the snuauco for what il was." then again, Rusty Steiger'S Hutsah Puppet Theater is not Tolkien work was chosen especially for its appeal to Although Dean McCormick said that he could not just another Punch and Judy show. With 30 oversized college audiences as Steiger explained, "It turned out to discuss the particular points of Dr. Gargaro's FAC. review, puppets, a twenty foot-long. three-tiered stage, and a be the perfect thing. For a long time I was looking for a he pointed out that Dr. Gargaro was aware of the review gallery of special effects including a giant spider and a show to tour colleges with, to present puppetry jo an adult for some time, and it was in no way kept undisclosed from fire-breathing dragon, Steiger means it when he promises way, but have enough fantasy going for it We've made the him that "I'm a strong believer in puppetry as an adult art" playas accurate, as close to the book as possible." However, Dr Gargaro believes thaI he is the victim of an Bilbo Baggins' adventure with elves, dwarves, orcs and Some of the troupe's productions include a series 0.1 unfair system, because he says that the process of review the other lovable/despicable inhabitants of Toklen's Middle television commercials and a play lor children called is arbitrary Earth will be presented on Thursday, February 4 in Alumni 'Swinging Through the Trees." It was from this Tarzan- "The decision was unjust, mainly because my teaching Hall, Tickets will be free for WMC faculty. staff and esque musical that the group draws its name - Hutsah a reputation was impunged by persons who never heard me students 3I1d will be available starting January 26 jungle greeting similar to Swans. teach," said Dr. Gargaro As a drama major at Valparaiso University, Steiger "One of the things that's exciting to me about puppets," Dr. Gargaro said that the process was arbitrary for two became intrigued with the theatrical possibilities of puppets he explained in the Tribune interview, "is you really have a reasons: There was not any written notice stating why he after viewing the television series "Sesame Street." A self license, as you do in cartoons, to create your ClWn reality, was not rehired. Dr. Gargaro believes that without written taught craftsman who builds most of his own puppets. your own world, where you can have whatever magic or notice of charge, there is not an efficient way to form a Steiger starts with a foam rubber base and then decorates- rules you want. That's what the fun of fantasy is. I don't defense. He said that the college administrators told him it to-character with bouncing eyes and colorful fabrics and knCIW if we'll have any notable influence in this country as is not college policy to issue written notice 01 reviews by yarns. Hi~ actor-magician backround provides the optimal far as opening a new area of theater-puppetry for adults- the FAG; also Dr.Gargaro said that he was condemned mix for this challenging medium but I hope I will." -betore-be neo a chance to speak in his behalf, since the