For weeks now, there has been talk surrounding the abrupt departure of Gary Lemon from the Management Fellows Program, the recent appointment of Jonathan Nichols-Pethick as director of the Media Fellows Program and the loss of Bob Steele as director of the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. Everyone is asking the same question: what do these changes mean for DePauw?
While Dave Bohmer's and Bob Steele's planned retirements, as well as Gary Lemon's unplanned exit, are saddening, what matters most is that the programs themselves continue to thrive after these men have said their goodbyes.
Change can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, but we recognize it is unavoidable. What can be avoided, however, atre the mixed messages and unclear communication about these changes. People everywhere are clearly afraid that the "changes" that are being discussed will be more than just simple renovations, and instead complete demolitions and reconstructions of their most beloved programs and organizations. So far this semester, very little has been revealed to the students themselves about the plans for these programs and without clear communication between the parties involved, speculation and rumor will fester even farther.
At this point, it seems that the administration is just simply not on the same page as far as a concrete plan goes. On one hand, Raj Bellani stated that, "We want every opportunity at DePauw to be just for DePauw students and it doesn't matter where that student comes from at the university," in the Friday, February 7 issue of The DePauw. On the other hand is Dave Bohmer, quoted in that same article, saying that "[he] has not been reached out to about Media Fellows internships." So how has this sort of discrepancy even occurred?
Change isn't a bad thing. As an editorial board we are excited to see where the new leaders of these programs will take us, and how they will continue to develop in their efforts to serve students. Then again, we are hesitant to whole-heartedly embrace any change about which we seem to know so little.
Just tell us what's happening-we're listening.