A Petition To Retain Smith's Academic Quality:

It is a rare thing in the academic community to find truly talented and dedicated faculty. We at Smith have the honor and the privilege of access to just such a commodity, but this year has seen many blows dealt to that high academic caliber. This petition refers, in general, to the quiet loss of many adjuncts and lecturers, and more specifically to the loss of a particularly popular, innovative, and at times controversial professor, Sociology Department Lecturer Kim Lyons. The non-renewal of Professor Lyons contract is indicative of a larger trend affecting the Smith community, one which is costing us the input of many talented teachers, some of whom, like Prof. Lyons, are known for out-of-the-box teaching styles and norm challenging originality. Her passion, her unorthodox style, and her obvious dedication to her craft and the Smith community have, in the words of one student in a letter to President Christ, inspired the un-inspirable. She has managed to reach out and teach students, even the most academically jaded or apathetic among us. Her connection to Smith goes beyond her role as a professor, as a native to the area and a Smith Alumna (Class of 94). She has an outstanding record of attracting new majors to her department and teaches Soc. of Crime-- consistently one of the most popular sociology courses offered. If the loss of such an asset to the Smith Community is part of the creation of this New Smith then we want nothing to do with it. We, the below declared members of the Smith and Five College community, respectfully request the administration to reinstate Professor Lyons and stop turning a blind and callous eye to the waste being laid to the quality of our faculty and academic offerings.