CSU Faculty Voice: More Thoughts on "Occupy Cook"

Thursday, November 24, 2011

More Thoughts on "Occupy Cook"

I enjoyed the contrast in behavior between the students, armed only with their thoughts and their rhetoric, and the administration, protected by a police presence and advised by the university counsel. Although several members of the administration tried to convince the students that there were legitimate reasons for their many failures, or alternatively, tried to avoid responsibility by claiming that the student perspective was simply wrong, the students seemed particularly unpersuaded by those shopworn rationalizations and ham-handed attempts at deflection.

2 comments:

Paul GombergNov 26, 2011, 9:37:00 AM
Yes, and when confronted with a situation where they could not simply assert their authority as administrators, they became quite upset. One administrator came up to me and said, "Some students (how many?) complained that they were forced to come for extra credit." This is not much of a response to the substance of what was going on--except to say that the power of the students was making her uncomfortable.
ReplyDelete
Replies
CordayNov 27, 2011, 12:34:00 PM
Whether the administrator's comment was true or not --the point of extra credit is just that--it is extra. No one is forced to do "extra credit."
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Thanks to Haki Madhabuti

"1. He/she must be a scholar of national note, with significant peer review publications and books in his or her field. There must be no doubt as to his/her standing in the community of scholars. This would also include a history of the candidate’s participation in the appropriate professional organizations.

2. He/she must have served with distinction as the administrative head of a major unit within an institution of higher learning or at the important position of Provost and/or Dean. Of course, prior service at the presidential level is preferred.

3. He/she must have a documented history of raising significant monies from the private and public sectors. At most major and research one universities it is not unusual to expect the president to come with a plan to raise in excess of half a billion dollars or more in the first few years.

4. The prospective president must have a consensus buy-in from the faculty, students, administration and staff, therefore, arriving with a unity mandate to lead by joining a University community that has bought into his or her vision for the future."

From an open letter to the CSU Community, 2009.