Dear President Shushok and the Board of Trustees of Roanoke College,

We, the undersigned alumni of Roanoke College, are writing to you today in regard to Roanoke College’s future, which is now more precarious than it’s ever been before. 

Consistently, graduating students have cited Roanoke’s faculty as being the best part of their college experience. Roanoke’s faculty is made up of dedicated scholars who work tirelessly to develop personal connections with students, individualize their teaching, and give young people opportunities to complete independent projects and cutting-edge research. As former Roanoke College students, we enjoyed the intimacy of small, discussion-based classes, independent studies, and the opportunity to engage in research – all under the direction of faculty mentors who continuously supported our vision and dreams. Having access to these opportunities was the reason we chose to go to a liberal arts college in the first place. Removing these opportunities fundamentally undermines the value of a liberal arts education. 

Unfortunately, Roanoke’s administration is making decisions that threaten the faculty’s ability to mentor students. Starting next year, Roanoke is enforcing a 4-4 teaching load on all faculty, meaning all faculty will be teaching four courses a semester, and eight a year (the standard course load for faculty previously, and most other comparable liberal arts colleges, is 3-3). Roanoke admin have also announced plans to fire adjuncts and lecturers. This will affect students and faculty in multiple ways:

1.      This move devalues Roanoke faculty by giving them more teaching responsibilities for no extra pay. This will cause some professors to leave and make it harder for Roanoke to recruit high-quality professors.

2.      Faculty will have less time for one-on-one, individualized relationships with students. This will hurt their ability to work as mentors and cut down on student research opportunities, such as independent studies and honors projects. 

3.      This change will also hurt the quality of courses. Professors will have less time to devote to creating courses, and having more students will make it harder for professors to provide detailed feedback on assignments.

4. The college's plan to fire lecturers and adjuncts means losing even more talented teachers (who make even less money than tenured faculty members). Lecturers who are fired from the college will be put in a precarious position. 

The effect this move will have on students can’t be understated – all of the things we loved about Roanoke College (the small classes, the individualized mentorship) won’t exist if this change happens. Roanoke’s faculty need our support. We ask that fellow alumni sign this petition to support Roanoke’s faculty. Please add your name to this petition against the 4-4 change. The future of Roanoke College depends on it.