May 2010 Open Letter from Members of the Admissions Office

An Open Letter to the Hampshire Community

From: Members of the Admissions Office

A campus visit to Hampshire begins with an hour long information session hosted by an admissions counselor and two current students. Held in a small conference room beneath the Red Barn, a no-frills space, the info session reflects a Hampshire class through the use of round table discussion. Engaging prospective students and parents through personal accounts of life at Hampshire, current students and prospective students alike benefit from the way this intimate space facilitates questions and dialogues. The tour, a carefully planned stroll through campus, begins where the information session ends.

At any given time, on any given day, a prospective student might stumble into the admissions office with questions. Immediately, an organic conversation begins with the staff and students who populate our office. Current students are, without question, our greatest ambassadors. Moving our tours to ASH, and dividing the Admissions office, drastically alters the way in which we interact with prospective students. It sacrifices the quality of our visit program for the use of a new space. It trades a shorter tour for a fractured office. In creating a new space we also create redundancy by having to run and manage two offices.

This is a letter of solidarity. We support Hampshire students’ desire, and clear ability, to take ownership of their education (and the physical spaces used) through creativity, hard work and collaborative effort. This is a letter of camaraderie with faculty who continue to support admissions by allowing prospective students to join a class, and by participating with our events. This is a letter of understanding. We know that executive administration must make difficult decisions on how to best use limited resources.

This is also a letter of request. We hope that senior administration will properly assess the sacrifices that must be made - the fracturing of an office, the use of precious resources, sacrificing the strengths of our current visit program – before enacting any changes, especially drastic changes, to the campus visit program, that will ultimately affect the entire Hampshire community.

In solidarity,

Diana Alvarez, Assistant Director of Admissions

Devon Balfour, 02F, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions

Jennifer Brazenall, Admissions Systems Manager

Ting Chu-Richardson, Assistant Director of Admissions

Krista Denno, Administrative Secretary

Warren Emanuel, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions

Christine Keith, Receptionist and Intern Coordinator

Maureen McCarthy, Application Supervisor

Laura Melbin-Diniz, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions

Doreen Moriarty, Administrative Secretary

Sara Springer, Assistant Director of Admissions

Learn More

 * Read about the Spring 2010 ReHamping Movement
 * Visit the ReHamping Tumblr: http://rehamping.tumblr.com/
 * Read the May 2010 Faculty and Staff Petition in support of the ReHamping Movement