More than 200 Indiana University faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences signed an open letter expressing concern over the recent removal of the college’s Executive Dean Rick Van Kooten, who served in the role since 2019.
IU announced Van Kooten would leave office Aug. 1 via a June 16 IU Bloomington Today release. He will become a special advisor to IU Bloomington Chancellor David Reingold, while Associate Dean for natural and mathematical sciences and research Caroline Chick Jarrold will step in his place, the release said.
The university’s announcement described Van Kooten as having “strengthened the College’s research enterprise, elevated its national reputation, and expanded opportunities for students and faculty across disciplines.”
“He has led with deep care for this community and a steadfast commitment to the values that define the liberal arts at IU,” Reingold said in the release.
In the letter, that was signed off by 12 named faculty members who helped collect signatures, including four who initiated and drafted the letter, faculty disputed Reingold’s description, calling it a “gross understatement.”
They highlight Van Kooten’s prior roles as chair of the physics department and IUB Vice Provost for Research before becoming executive dean. The letter also emphasizes Van Kooten’s “intellectual excellence and real collegiality,” noting his leadership during a time of “real crises of confidence in higher administration.”
These crises include new faculty and post-tenure review procedures, intellectual diversity mandates and productivity reviews, which have created significant administrative burdens and dissatisfaction among faculty.
“We write now to express our deep disappointment in the university’s decision to remove from leadership a colleague who has drawn from his faculty experience and institutional knowledge to be an excellent leader,” the faculty wrote.
The letter concludes by raising questions about the future of the college, including the decisions that led to the role change and whether any plans reflect a commitment to the college’s values.
“We hope that answers to these concerns will soon be forthcoming,” faculty wrote in the letter. “Because the College of Arts and Sciences has long been the core of IUB’s reputation for excellence, and that excellence has now been placed into question.”
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
