University of St. Thomas students left frustrated following meeting with president

University of St. Thomas students who are upset about deep cuts in the communication program said Monday that they left a two hour meeting with the school president with no resolution to their frustration, the administration. 

“I just feel like he skirted around the issues a lot and there wasn’t any real directness to it,” graduate student Giovanna Ramirez said.

The meeting was streamed live on Instagram, and got off to a tense start by President Richard Ludwick, who could be seen asking parents and faculty to leave the meeting. The students are angry at the administration for what the say are a lack of class offerings, limited faculty to teach classes and questions about the future of the department. 

“I’m happy to meet with parents and the faculty individually, because I think that’s where we need to focus is on our students and on their needs,” Ludwick said before the meeting. “I’m really excited about doing that. We’ve already had a student ask us to remove these things, so let’s remove those too. What I’d like to do is provide a space that’s available for everyone to talk.”

The meeting came after students published a video on social media last week detailing their concerns with not only administration, but also the communication department itself. The students claimed that by hollowing out the communication program, the school had not delivered a high-quality education that was promised when they enrolled and that administrators failed to support their needs. 

"Monday, I hosted a forum with our communications students to hear and address their concerns in a candid and open discussion," said Ludwick in an email to the Chronicle. "As a University, we are prioritizing engagement and have offered several opportunities for our students to participate and provide feedback. We are working with our students, faculty and staff to build a program that aligns with future communications needs.”

In an email last week, Ludwick invited students to a meeting to discuss the concerns expressed in the YouTube video. The video was viewed almost 10,000 times since first being shared.

On Monday, Ludwick asked students multiple times to refrain from recording the conversation.

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Despite his requests, parents and faculty remained and students continued recording and televising the meeting. 

Cesare Wright, an assistant professor in the department, stood with the crowd to see if Ludwick’s responses would ease student’s anxiety.

“This meeting was a farce,” he said. “The president was combative and insulting to students and failed to substantially address any of the concerns raised.”

During the meeting, Ludwick faced repeated questions about the direction of the department. About a year ago, the communication department merged with the English department. Wright told the Chronicle that the administration eliminated nearly two-thirds of communication courses for the fall semester and most of the communication department faculty members left the university. Wright's contract ends in May and he said the administration told him in December they would not renew it.

Students read off a list of demands to Ludwick, including the reinstatement of Wright.

Ludwick issued a statement Wednesday, saying the school wanted to address concerns in a "candid and open discussion."

"As a university, we are prioritizing engagement and have offered several opportunities for our students to participate and provide feedback," he said. "We are working with our students, faculty and staff to build a program that aligns with future communications needs.”

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Jacquelyn Jordan, who alleged one of the professors created a hostile learning environment for non-Catholics, asked Ludwick about the ongoing investigation into the matter. Her parents attended the meeting, too. She insisted on an apology from an assistant professor who she said treated her differently because of her Protestant faith. 

“The fact that I, a 32-year-old woman in graduate school had to have her mommy and daddy basically call out the president privately for him to comply with me getting an apology is pretty pathetic,” Jordan said. 

A first-year graduate student, Ramirez said she now wonders about her future in the Master of Digital Media and Emerging Technology program. She told the Chronicle with the school year just days away from ending, she hasn’t been able to enroll for the fall semester. Ramirez completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communication in May 2023 and hoped to get another degree from the Catholic institution under the tutelage of Wright. 

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“I haven’t signed up for classes for the fall semester, because I don’t know what classes are available,” she said. “I don’t have an advisor assigned to me. When I do search for classes, it doesn’t show up.”

Ramirez asked Ludwick about the program's continuation in the meeting, and he responded, “we’re working on it.”

“It was a program I was really excited about,” she said. “I felt like it was something you just don’t see and it was ahead of its time. But, I guess I’m just kind of burnt out by the situation and maybe it’s just time to start working.”