The Psychology Department simply did not have the space for more faculty members in the already overcrowded William James Hall, said Psychology Professor Mahzarin R. Banaji, the head tutor in the Psychology Department.
By the time the first-floor library moved to another building and other spaces opened up for faculty offices and labs, the FAS hiring spree had made way for School-wide budget cuts.
“[The creation of office and lab space] just coincided with the economic crisis and the University’s decision to become more stringent about growth,” Banaji said. “So we are in a peculiar and unfortunate situation.”
The Sociology Department wasted away the period of extravagance taking its time to discuss and deliberate on possible candidates, said Sociology Professor Michele Lamont.
“We didn’t seize the moment,” she said, adding that the department had proceeded slowly because it wanted to make “sound decisions.”
‘VICTIMS OF OUR OWN SUCCESS’
The changing face of the Faculty has coincided with [developments in the number of concentrators] in each department.
As student interest shifted, some concentrations—in some cases with already low student-faculty ratios—have found themselves struggling to provide the same quality of undergraduate education to more students.
Few departments have seen an upsurge in students like the Sociology Department.
With 88 concentrators and no secondary field candidates in the 2006-2007 academic year, the department now has 202 concentrators and 22 secondary field candidates.
Lamont said she believes that a 2003 hiring spree re-energized the department and renewed student interest in the area.
But hiring in the department slowed when the financial crisis hit.
Two years ago, the department was forced to rescind two unofficial offers it had made to prospective junior professors as a result of the FAS budget deficit, according to Sociology Professor Orlando Patterson.
“In some ways we are the victims of our own success,” Lamont said, repeating a phrase Patterson had used to describe the department in an interview last month.
“It’s difficult to provide the same kind of high-quality teaching we are committed to [offering],” she said.
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