Editorial President McCardell Legacy in the Making

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President McCardell: Legacy in the Making



President John McCardell Jr. resigned his post before a capacity crowd in Mead Chapel Tuesday afternoon. He spelled out his future plans and his hopes for the College with the humility and eloquence that have come to define his 13-year tenure.

His departure in June 2004 will signal the end of an era of Middlebury College history. It's an era that has been marked by aggressive expansion of facilities, record-breaking fundraising and the introduction of a new model of residential life. McCardell's vision inspired many of these innovations, which will continue to shape collegiate life for years after he vacates his Old Chapel office. So in some sense, the McCardell era is just beginning. His successor will inevitably advance the vision that took root during the current administration.

McCardell's remarks, while at times forward looking, also reflected a historian's consciousness. "The historians will ultimately judge the greatness of the times through which we have passed together," he said. "In that judgment I am content, indeed serene."

As he should be. His leadership is firmly imprinted on the pages of recent Middlebury history - as well as that history yet to be written. And fortunately, he'll return to campus in July 2005 as College Professor to watch the College evolve - to a considerable extent in his own image.



BannerWeb: Flawed Beyond Inconvenience



BannerWeb made a shaky debut for Winter and Spring Term registration. The minor technical glitches should be forgiven, as should the slight inconvenience of rising at 7 a.m. to register in "real time."

But the problems run deeper. Beyond the learning curve associated with any new system, BannerWeb displays conceptual flaws in its very design. The first-come, first-serve registration system asks an entire class of students to be online at 7 a.m., with the spoils going to those with fastest computer navigating skills. We admire those with good hand-to-mouse coordination, but that alone does not entitle them to the most coveted classes. Real time registration may be sound in theory, but hardly so in practice.

BannerWeb also lacks a mechanism for effectively prioritizing registration. Middlebury Automated Registration System (MARS) had a built-in hierarchy - senior majors had the highest priority, followed by senior non-majors, junior majors, junior non-majors, and down the line.

BannerWeb rightfully privileges seniors by allowing them to register a day before juniors, who, in turn, register the day before sophomores. But the chain breaks down with major/non-major restrictions. Professors designate their course either "majors only" or "all students." In other words, "restricted to specialists" or "free for all." Neither is acceptable. Closing courses to non-majors negates of the liberal arts tradition that underpins the Middlebury College curriculum. A free for all, on the other hand, is a recipe for chaos. Majors will be deprived of the measure of priority they deserve.

It's a Catch-22. The middle ground offered by MARS seems lost, even though Banner experts point out there are ways for professors to more strictly control registration for their classes. Professors, however, don't seem to be aware of the finer points of the system, nor should they be asked to divert attention from teaching and scholarship to fiddle with a registration system that should be administered centrally.

The Registrar's Office must take account of BannerWeb's flaws and take steps to remedy them before the next registration cycle. For inspiration, look to MARS.