I love our friendly, quirky little university. The campus is beautiful and well-maintained. The faculty are smart, accomplished, and approachable. The students are talented, spunky, optimistic, and full of life. We are very highly ranked on influential college rankings.

Each college and university has its own hard-to-define “thing” or spirit. I like Eastern’s “thing.” I fit here. I would joyfully spend the rest of my career as a Panther.

Like every institution, though, Eastern has its share of problems. Our current set of problems are rather ordinary ones shared by most colleges. One of these problems has been a long-standing and unhealthy culture of distrust between the administration and the faculty. It often seems like we aren’t even on the same team.

But a new President means a new opportunity to change old ways to doing business.

In regard to one of Eastern’s other major problems—the budget—Glassman has acted quickly and boldly to right the ship. This has been successful and he deserves the credit. Eastern’s finances are much stronger now than they were a year ago. In a similar way, Glassman has an opportunity to bring about a new era of cooperation by empowering faculty and chairs to have a greater role in the running of the university. Glassman could empower chairs to have a decisive role in the selection of deans and put in place procedures to ensure that faculty concerns are addressed with prompt and concrete actions.

A more cooperative era would have huge benefits for our university, but achieving it requires Glassmanesque boldness to change an entrenched way of doing business. Effecting such change is often awkward and uncomfortable. But if Glassman is willing to work closely with the Faculty Senate and chairs to develop and execute a bold reform plan then he can dramatically change Eastern’s faculty-administration relations for the better.

The changes happening today are good. Our best days are ahead of us, not behind us.

Dr. Jason Waller, assistant professor of philosophy and women’s studies