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To President McShane: "We need to know where you stand."

Professor Barry Rosenfeld, Professor and Chair in Fordham's Psychology Department, sent this letter to Fordham President Joseph McShane on May 12, 2017. 

Dear President McShane:

I have deliberated on whether an email to you is appropriate, but feel compelled to speak out on behalf of our students. I have no doubt that you are concerned about the deterioration in campus climate that we have all witnessed this year. What began as a problem in the relationship between the faculty and administration has now expanded to (if not been eclipsed by) even more serious problems between the student body and the administration. My email is a request that you speak to our community about this situation - now. The absence of your voice is precisely what pushed the faculty into the no-confidence vote last month (a decision that none of us took lightly, no matter how we ultimately chose to vote). We (speaking on behalf of the faculty) perceived a lack of leadership from you in what appears to be a struggle between the Board of Trustees and the faculty. In the current crisis, in which a group students are facing life-altering sanctions from the Dean of Student Affairs, your silence has been equally worrisome. You have spoken strongly in many previous campus-wide problems (the racial bias incidents of last year, for example), yet for reasons none of us know, have chosen to remain silent in this matter. 

I won't claim to know what the best course of action is, and perhaps you are being advised to remain silent until the process has unfolded further. I think that decision is unwise. The disciplinary process is proceeding in a manner that seems unfair - at least to outside observers (though our students - inside observers - have very much the same perception). In my Senior Values seminar on Psychology and Law I teach students about the importance of procedural fairness, which has a far more powerful effect on the behavior and attitudes of those involved than the actual outcome of a process. Thus, regardless of how this drama ends (and I certainly hope it does not end with any expulsions), this process will almost certainly leave a generation of Fordham students scarred by the experience. With thousands of students graduating next weekend, I cannot imagine you want their final memories of Fordham to be one of authoritarian rule by the Student Affairs office, without any input, involvement, or even a statement of concern from your office. 

In short, I am deeply concerned about the state of affairs on campus, and the real potential for lasting harm already being done to our community and the reputation of an institution that we (and you in particular) have worked so hard to build. I think the community deserves to hear your voice on these issues. Whether we agree or disagree with your position, we need to know where you stand.

Barry Rosenfeld, Ph.D., ABPP (Forensic)
Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology
Adjunct Professor, School of Law, Fordham University
President Elect, International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services
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