Chemistry Prof. Regan Thomson just started in his role as Faculty Senate president this fall and has already dealt with disagreements among faculty.
The Senate’s opening meeting on Oct. 16 brought concerns about Northwestern’s proposed Rebuild Ryan Field to the fore. Some faculty members favored pausing the planning and promotion of the rebuild in the wake of the football team’s hazing scandal this summer. Since then, hundreds of faculty have sounded the alarm about plans to partially finance construction by potentially incurring debt.
Thomson, who served as president-elect last academic year, is now charged with leading a debate-riven Faculty Senate, which advises the administration on various issues. Its resolutions do not compel the school to act, but have played an important role in shaping policy.
The Daily spoke with Thomson about the Ryan Field debate, faculty issues, leadership and his canine office companion.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
The Daily: There are a number of faculty who want to see the Rebuild Ryan Field project paused. What is your stance on that?
Thomson: My personal view on the stadium was that the vote to pause it was probably not going to fly. It was pretty clear from what the administration was saying that they weren’t going to pause it. For me, trying to work on resolutions that run completely counter against what’s been said — I don’t know whether that will ultimately be productive. My view of faculty governance is that it works best when not everything has to be a big public resolution. We can just ask questions and get the answers that we need.
The Daily: You’re referring to the resolution about the debt.
Thomson: That’s part of it, yes … It was asking the chief operating officer to provide answers to some questions to alleviate the anxiety that faculty had around what exactly this $800 million stadium is going to do to the long-term stability of the University. It’s one thing that it costs so much (in) its operating costs. It’s the long-term costs that people are concerned about.
The Daily: The Faculty Senate has a lot of other things on its plate. If there were a few other topics that the Senate will cover this year that you want the community to know about, what would they be?
Thomson: Last year, we passed a resolution about community transfer students and making the process less opaque. That’s an ongoing area that we’re interested in: enhancing accessibility for transfers for community college students.
The Daily: When you’re running against someone, you have some sort of vision. You have to put out some sort of idea for who you’ll be as a leader. Would you call yourself a visionary?
Thomson: I’m trying to strike a middle ground. You don’t want to have a Senate that just devolves into a bunch of needless debate about things we don’t know about. But at the same time, we don’t want to sit there passively.
The Daily: In your office, you have a dog here and a stuffed dog there. Is there something about dogs that inspires your leadership?
Thomson: I just got back from D.C. on Friday night after a National Institutes of Health study session. The welcome you get when a dog sees you is nice. I don’t know how that informs my life — I don’t have a tail that wags every time I see someone. But I try to smile.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @realShunGraves
Related Stories:
— Faculty demand answers on Northwestern’s Ryan Field plans
— Northwestern President Michael Schill addresses Faculty Senate
