Spring 2009 was the first year the event, “Dessert with the

Dean,” took place and had never received such a vast crowd as it

did this past Wednesday.

Spring 2009 was the first year the event, “Dessert with the Dean,” took place and had never received such a vast crowd as it did this past Wednesday.

As everyone filled Stallings ballroom, their eyes met two long tables filled with dessert cuisine. Brownies, cookies, assortments of sandwich triangles and fruit perfectly sliced for dipping into a chocolate fountain. One would think with two long tables of sweet distraction it would be impossible to concentrate, but surprisingly the deans were able to pack enough punch into their messages to keep the audiences intrigued.

Eight out of nine deans dispersed between two tables, and were given a formal introduction at the start of the event. The presiding Senator, Jamell Garner, started the forum with a question to the deans, “Will the recent budget cuts affect students’ ability to graduate on time?”

Most of the deans were on the same page with their response, stating that they would be sure that courses needed to graduate would not be at stake. They also seemed to all agree that internships and scholarships are not as available due to budget cuts. Dean Quiester Craig from the school of business and economics was a little more detailed with his response stating that, “cuts caused a loss of faculty, which means class sizes have increased and courses normally offered in two semesters are only available in one.”

The next question Garner raised to the deans was about the efforts going on in their particular college. Dean Sanjiv Sarin from the graduate school announced improved admittance, how the college had made it easier to apply to the graduate program and plans to establish a graduate student government association.

Vicki Coleman over library services had a lot of new occurrences to speak of including how kindles and iPads are now available to be checked out from the library, the success of the digitization of the A&T Register and yearbooks.

She also spoke of a library student advisory board, which was put into place to effectively communicate student ideas concerning the library experience. William Harvey from the school of education spoke of establishing a peer advising system and how he is challenging the students to raise their academic endeavors. Both Robin Coger from the college of engineering and Craig are striving to achieve effective communication between alumni of their colleges and undergrads of the colleges for mentoring purposes.

Students were also encouraged to ask question at a certain portion of the event and one arose about the removal of the S.M.A.R.T program. Harvey said that it would not be put back into place until it is certain that the students in the program were fully equipped to tutor properly.

Inez Tuck from the school of nursing said that it was her third time attending the event and she felt that it was a great format to reach the students and to get their message across “we are here for you.”

Randolph Brown, sophomore, shared that it was his first time attending the event.”They [the deans] seem understanding and accessible, I can tell they care about the students.”

Other deans stated that they wished that it was more time for students to ask them questions but overall it was a great program. Students and senator Allahquan Tate all agreed that the deans seemed very accessible and that the brownies (both the pecan and cookies and cream) were their favorite dessert of the evening.

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• Courtney Matthews Contributor