The Fall 2006 study abroad program at the Villa Spelman in Florence, Italy has been suspended as a result of the University's decision to pursue selling the property due to the financial burden of restoration and maintenance.
To address the many student concerns on the issue, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Adam Falk attended Tuesday's Student Council meeting, to which freshmen, sophomores and juniors were invited.
Because talks are underway concerning the future of the undergraduate and graduate program in Florence, the program was suspended this week so that students intending to apply to the Villa will be able to apply to other study abroad programs. The Department of Romance Languages and Literature has agreed to accept credit for alternative Italian programs provided the program receives approval from faculty members before students attend.
Response to the University's announcement has been swift. Earlier this week Christina Neilson, a graduate student in the History of Art Department, set up an online poll entitled "Save the Villa Spelman." As of Wednesday at 10 p.m. 1,378 people worldwide and from the Hopkins community had signed the petition.
A student protest that had originally been planned for the University's Commemoration Day ceremony on Feb 22. was postponed to coincide with this month's Board
Trustees meeting, which the organizers believed was scheduled for March 1. The meeting, where the prospect of selling the Villa will be discussed, will actually take place over the weekend and end on Monday, March 6.
"We're hoping to save the Villa Spelman. We think this is an outrageous thing to do and are demanding that the Villa be saved, that fundraising be done and that we be given five years to become solvent again and perhaps discuss the issue later," Neilson said.
Executive Assistant to the President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees Jerry Schnydman said, "A peripheral look at the petition shows mostly non-Hopkins people signing it.
"I do plan to share the material that was e-mailed to me [the petition] with the Trustees," he added. "Anything that anyone would like to be put forward will be considered by the Trustees. But, if they do not respond in the affirmative it does not mean they did not consider them."
Students such as Laura Blom, a history of art graduate student, say that their main reason for attending Hopkins was the Villa. "I visited the Villa as a prospective Ph.D. candidate. The physical building fosters qualities that really sell the Hopkins programs."
She continued, explaining why a physical location is important to the program: "The fact of the matter is that it's fundamental to the research we do. Biologists have expensive labs, Italian historians need a place to do research."
During his visit to the Student Council meeting, Falk emphasized that he wanted to discuss the Villa as a facility, and not as a symbol. "The Villa from many people's perspective is the Hopkins commitment to Italian studies. I'm going to talk about the Villa as a facility because that's the context we have to talk about it in," he said.
One issue that came up during the meeting was fundraising for the Villa. Falk explained that for the most part, when donors come to him looking to give to the humanities, they ask what is the school's highest priority. "My higher priority to talk to donors about is Gilman Hall. There might be people interested in solely supporting the Villa. I haven't come across these people," he said.
However, those looking to save the Villa think there are more fundraising opportunities out there to restore and keep the Villa. Professor Emeritus in the Department of History Nancy Struever said, "All we're asking for is time to see if we could raise the money to save the place. We're hoping the trustees will give us what time they think they can, maybe a year, to raise the funds. We would be looking for [first] an endowment to maintain the Villa, and [second] for funds for a one-shot rehabilitation. It is getting very shabby."
At the end of the meeting Falk said he would be willing to have another meeting if people felt it was necessary. "Terrific meeting. I am very grateful for the chance, I hope we'll do it again," he said.
Atin Agarawal, student council president, also thought the meeting was successful. "I think the meeting went really well. ... I think it's important that he said that they are not far along in the process right now," he said.
Though attendance was low relative to the number of people who signed the petition, Agarwal said, "People had ample time to come; I think there were maybe seven or eight people there, and they all asked good questions."
Senior Laura Elgort felt the meeting was in some ways incomplete: "I thought it was a first step, but I don't think it was necessarily productive. I think he got a chance to make a case in front of students. I don't fault him, it was a good first step to start talking to students."
While members of the Hopkins community are fighting to save the Villa here, concerned individuals from around the world are also speaking out.
James Hankins, a professor of history at Harvard University, signed the petition as well as sent a personal letter to University President William Brody. "I think the more studies the better for the sake of the field. I'm not sure that Hopkins realizes how important the Villa is. They don't see it from the point of view of people in the field."
In response to the numerous letters and petition signatures from people not affiliated with Hopkins, Schnydman said, "I'm personally most concerned with our students; therefore, I am more interested in what our students and faculty have to say rather than people from outside the Hopkins family."
