Spring Break
In StuCo visit, Brody discusses issues at JHU
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The first topic was the issue of a new Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering who has not yet been selected despite an ongoing and lengthy search.
Brody said that he has been unable to find a suitable replacement, and that he expecting it to be another nine months before someone is found.
He remarked on the significance of picking the right person for the job, saying that "The most important job of President is picking good people, if you pick good people 50 percent of the time, you're beating the average."
Brody also discussed a proposal that Hopkins and IBM are discussing that would aim to provide high performance computers to the medical school and biology labs. This would further Hopkins's ability to advance in research to have these biological computations accessible.
President Brody also discussed this year's school budget and the economy's impact on it.
Brody talked about the possibility of budget tightening in future years with lay offs and other measures, although he cautioned that the current budget is not in dire straits.
Still, since the endowment is invested in the stock market, it is proportional to the status of the economy, and presently it has been decreasing.
Nonetheless, Brody expressed his confidence to the student council that "the finances are being managed as responsibly as possible."
He also discussed future construction plans on and around campus. Future plans include a new building for the Carnegie institute which will provide more facilities for research.
Additionally, there are plans for a parking lot, a visitor center for admissions, and a computer science building on the southern end of campus.
Brody cautioned that these plans are dependent on the sentiments of Hopkins' Baltimore neighbors. Nonetheless, Brody said that there have been more complaints this year concerning student noise, behavior and trash than any years prior.
The future may also require further construction for more student housing. Brody said, "Student housing can get more expensive, and students will have to live somewhere else, in turn, the school will have to provide more housing for students."
The topic then turned to fraternity housing. StuCo members raised the issue of creating a fraternity row and Brody said that such a setup would be ideal but that it is very difficult to find a location that is suitable.
As the meeting continued, Brody stated that the "biggest challenge is lacrosse" referring to Hopkins fight to keep giving out lacrosse scholarships while still keeping Division III status.
He told StuCo members that Hopkins will attend the NCAA convention with a sentiment that "reform is fine, and conformity is not" referring to the reform package on the table that includes a provision that would exclude Hopkins from Division III if it continued to give out lacrosse scholarships.
StuCo members mounted complaints about what they called a lack of advisors provided for each major, particularly, business, pre law, pre med, and public health.
They also complained about the quality of advice given by each advisor. StuCo members argued that students rarely see their advisors for purposes other than releasing registration holds twice yearly.
Brody ended his remarks by asking StuCo members to offer their opinions regarding University expansion. The majority agreed that in order to expand, both facilities and faculty would also have to be expanded.
The meeting concluded with the announcement of a club night is also being organized for next Thursday. When buses are scheduled and the club is booked, announcements will be made.
Finally, in an open discussion, the issue of diversity was raised with the Board of Elections (BoE). They discussed the importance of educating other ethnic organizations about election processes.
To help educate other ethnic organizations, many student council members suggested that leaders of each group be informed of a designated information session.