Dowling, Skocpol Appointed To Review College Governance

The recent appointments of John E. Dowling, professor of Biology and acting master of North House, and William J. Skocpol, professor of Physics, have completed a committee which will review student-faculty committees and suggest possible changes in College governance.

The Student Assembly requested the formation of the committee in a December letter to Dean Fox, saying that the committee should study ways to convert undergraduate enthusiasm for student government into effective organizations.

The committee will study the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life (CHUL), the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE), the Student Assembly, and other student-faculty committees.

Fox appointed Dowling chairman of the committee but has not yet given him the group's official charge or set the date for its first meeting. Dowling said yesterday that the committee would "think hard about modifying the system if we feel such modifications are efficient," and set December as the tentative date for the issuance of the committee's report.

Dowling said that given the short time period remaining before reading period, the committee's goal for this term should be to review the status of College governance and to consider any recommendations for changes in the fall.

Dowling said that his experience as a member of CUE, CHUL and the North House committee will give him a good overview of College government organizations. "But I'm going into this with no preconceived notions," he added.

Bowersock Names

Glen W. Bowersock '47, associate dean of the Faculty for undergraduate education, appointed Skocpol as the faculty representative from CUE. Skocpol said yesterday that one of the committee's functions would be as "a support group that will provide a forum for discussion of governance in a broader group.

Skocpol intends to ask for leave next year to work at Bell Laboratories while his wife studies at Princeton, but Bowersock said yesterday that his appointment was essential because other Faculty members of CUE had commitments which prevented them from serving on the governance committee.

Bowersock said that if Skocpol had been unable to serve, the student representative from CUE might have been dropped from the committee to keep the number of students and Faculty members even.

Bowersock said the committee had the potential to make a contribution to the improvement of College governance, citing student input into Core Curriculum changes and tutorial legislation as areas where students had previously influenced the actions of College government bodies.

In addition to Skocpol and Dowling, Faculty members of the committee are Robert J. Kiely, master of Adams House, and Archie C. Epps III, dean of students. Joseph F. McDonough '81, Natasha Pearl '82, Nancy Northrop '81, and Elizabeth E. Ryan '81, are student members of the committee