Year in review: Biggest stories of 2018

Like the years that came before it, 2018 brought no shortage of news to GW’s campus.

Student activism dominated headlines this year, starting when students rallied after a racist Snapchat post to call on the University to implement a series of new diversity and inclusion initiatives. Later in the year, students drove the Board of Trustees to approve a free 18th credit and established a new food insecurity task force.

On the administrative end, the University restructured its student affairs divisions and cut ties with what was formerly known as the GW Alumni Association. University President Thomas LeBlanc wrapped up his first year at GW’s top post, while a handful of deans have departed.

Take a look at some of the biggest news stories over the past 12 months:

Schools face turnover
[gwh_image id=”1057925″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo by Olivia Anderson | Photo Editor” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Ben Vinson, the former dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, announced his resignation in March after he was named as the provost and executive vice president of Case Western University.[/gwh_image]

The year kicked off with the announcement that Ali Eskandarian, the former dean of the College of Professional Studies and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus, would step down at the end of January to follow research and academic pursuits. Two months later, Ben Vinson, the former dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, announced that he would resign to serve as the provost and executive vice president of Case Western Reserve University.

In April, officials announced that Anuj Mehrotra, then a senior official at the University of Miami’s business school, would take the helm as dean of the School of Business. The next month, David Dolling, the former dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said he would resign in August.

The University kicked off the searches for the next heads of CCAS and SEAS last month but have yet to launch a search for the dean of CPS and VSTC, which experts said could be an indicator that officials are restructuring the position.

A student-centered office opens
[gwh_image id=”1069620″ credit=”File Photo by Donna Armstrong | Contributing Photo Editor” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Cissy Petty arrived at GW this summer to serve as the inaugural dean of the student experience.[/gwh_image]

Officials announced at the end of January that the student affairs and enrollment divisions would merge into the newfound Office of Enrollment and the Student Experience by the summer, helping to shape University President Thomas LeBlanc’s vision of an improved student experience. Under the new department, officials created two offices – one focused on collecting data about policies and the other overseeing registration, summer programs and enrollment services.

The ESE also welcomed Cissy Petty, the inaugural dean of the student experience, in July. During the administrative shuffle, officials cut two positions formerly held in the division of student affairs: the associate dean of students for administrative services and the executive director of planning and outreach.

Racist Snapchat post sparks outrage
[gwh_image id=”1048107″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Students used the hashtag #AlphaPhiBigotry on social media after a racist Snapchat post circulated featuring two members of the sorority.[/gwh_image]

Campus erupted in February after students circulated a Snapchat post showing two members of Alpha Phi, one of whom was holding a banana peel, with the caption: “Izzy: I’m 1/16 black.” The post prompted a broader conversation about inclusivity on campus, as student leaders in and out of the Student Association called for systematic changes, including removing Alpha Phi’s chapter, developing a task force to investigate racial discrimination in Greek chapters and adding sections to the student code of conduct to address “racialized” language.

Officials promised shortly after the incident to implement a slew of new inclusion initiatives, including mandatory diversity training for all incoming freshmen and an anonymous bias reporting system. Administrators later released a report detailing how the diversity measures would take shape over the next academic year.

The Class of 2022 was the first to experience the new diversity training during Colonial Inauguration, and officials hired a diversity and inclusion training director over the summer.

SA Senate approves pro-Palestinian divestment resolution
[gwh_image id=”1056275″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Former SA Sen. Shaheera Jalil Albasit, CCAS-G, a sponsor of the divestment resolution, listens as students speak during public comment. [/gwh_image]

The Student Association passed a controversial resolution in late April calling on GW to divest from nine companies that allegedly contribute to Palestinian human rights abuses. The vote added the University to a growing list of student governments with similar calls nationwide – but University President Thomas LeBlanc rejected the proposal the day after it passed.

The weeks leading up to the vote saw heightened tensions between the involved groups, and safety concerns forced SA leadership to cancel the original vote scheduled for mid-April. A similar resolution failed in the SA Senate in 2017 by just one vote.

GW cuts ties with Alumni Association

[gwh_image id=”1068378″ credit=”Hatchet File Photo” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Marty Baum, the president of what was formerly known as the GW Alumni Association, now heads the Independent Alumni Association of George Washington.[/gwh_image]

Former GW Alumni Association President Venessa Marie Perry first announced in May that the group, an independent organization, would merge with the Office of Alumni Relations. The decision