By Rachel Konieczny
News Assignment Editor
“It’s not about us. We’re trying to represent what people want to talk about and trying to [give] the frustration some more channels and to [ask] what you can do about it,” said Anne-Claire Fisher, professor of education, on Franc Chat.
Franc Chat is a campus discussion group made up of students and faculty, according to Mary Rose Kubal, professor of political science. The group tackles difficult campus-wide issues, like budget funding and racism.
Fisher, a Franc Chat facilitator, said the Franc Chat meetings aim to open up channels for difficult conversations on campus.
Franc Chat facilitators Fisher, Kubal and John Stevens, professor of business, held the last Franc Chat meetings of the semester on Monday and Wednesday.
Fisher said the facilitators encourage all participants to talk and ensure each participant is given equal discussion time.
Kubal explained how the topics of university identity, strategic planning, enrollment and communication originated.
“People seemed discouraged about low enrollment and other issues, but also had a lot of interesting ideas about how we could make improvements on campus,” Kubal said. “So we organized a Franc Chat in June asking faculty and staff what conversations need to happen on campus in the coming year.”
Kubal said the facilitators decided it was realistic to schedule chats on two topics in the fall semester and two in the spring semester. The Franc Chats discussed university identity and strategic planning this semester and plan to cover enrollment and communication next semester.
Subtopics in previous meetings included discussing what it means to be a “Franciscan,” defining the “Bona Bubble,” creating welcoming and experiential growth for students, discussing students’ career and professional readiness and analyzing alumni testimonies, according to the Franc Chats online log, found at moodlegroups2.sbu.edu.
Fisher said the facilitators trained resident assistants so students, in addition to faculty and staff, could also utilize the Franc Chats discussion methods.
“We don’t have ownership about the topic,” Fisher said. “We’re just there to help the topic go from ‘A’ to ‘B.’”
Fisher said she hopes to get participation from a wide variety of schools within St. Bonaventure in order to hear the different voices on campus.
“It’s one thing to just talk about stuff, but then you need to get to [the question of] ‘What do you do with this information?’” Fisher said.
Kubal said Monday’s Franc Chat had seven participants, not including the three facilitators. Fisher agreed the average attendance is ten or less participants.
“We’re trying to build it, but so far no one is showing up,” Fisher said. “This is a busy time of the semester. We hope to get more people to show up so we can hear their views.”
koniecrc14@bonaventure.edu
