2008 Woodie Awards
Rosenberg, Samatar address student IGC concerns
By: Matt Day, News Editor
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
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The IGC, the most ambitious programmatic endeavor in Rosenberg's five-year tenure at Macalester, was the subject of a March 7 Mac Weekly editorial asking the Institute's deans to help explain the role of the IGC.
Students and administration members quickly organized the event, which was held over two hours in the early evening and attended by more about 100 students, faculty and staff.
In his opening remarks, Rosenberg outlined what he saw as the three main goals of the IGC: to take separate units of the college responsible for connecting students beyond Macalester and put them under one roof, to create an "incubator" for new ideas and programs and to improve the integration of civic engagement into Macalester's academic curriculum.
Rosenberg also said he sought to dispel what he saw as the myths surrounding the institute.
"My goal from the beginning has been not to take funds from [other organizations] and shift it to the institute," he said, noting that the majority of IGC funding comes from the budgets of the programs under the IGC umbrella.
Funding has been a source of anxiety among critics of the Institute, and Rosenberg spent much of his time addressing the economics of the IGC.
"I was happy to know that the administration was paying attention," Macalester College Student Government President-elect Alison Tray '09 said, noting that Rosenberg was well informed about concerns students had with the IGC.
Samatar, who spoke after Rosenberg, opened his introduction by listing internationalism and quality of students among the reasons why he chose to teach at Macalester.
He then encouraged students to better articulate questions about the IGC.
"Please read first," he said, referring to the information on the institute available online and in the international studies office. "Then, if you have a specific question, bring it.
"My office is open to you," Samatar added. "There are no closed doors. Let's begin the conversation."
Lelde Ilzina '10 agreed with Samatar's point about being prepared to address specifics.
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