The lead story in the Commentator this week is the story about Yeshiva University’s “D-” grade in being environmentally active. In the report, which I helped to produce, Joel responded to the question of whether the bad grade was due to Yeshiva University’s lack of participation in the study poll:

President Richard M. Joel defended his office’s silence to the SEI’s request, citing the large volume of surveys which the Office of the President regularly receives. “We are very deliberate with responding to any of the surveys we have to respond to, such as government surveys and accreditation surveys. But we do not respond to a survey just because someone e-mails it to us.”
In light of the fact that this was the first survey of its kind from the SEI and directed by a Harvard doctoral student, President Joel stated, “I am not prepared to say that someone who is a self proclaimed policeman is actually a policeman.” He added, “I am not embarrassed about this university’s stance on sustainability.”

An Op-Ed that ran in the same issue as the article condemned the administration’s lack of participation:

Unfortunately for Yeshiva, the survey was published and received wide circulation. Though we don’t vie for rankings, the Report Card doesn’t help us when it comes to U.S. News and World Report. In its listings of the top 100 national universities, 25% of a school’s grade - the largest of any contributing factor - is in a category called “Peer Assessment,” which translates into a popularity contest. We are already in the third tier for this significant category; our failing grade on the Report Card does not exactly help our cause.