CSU Faculty Voice: Just like in 1984 (or that other Orwellian world)

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Just like in 1984 (or that other Orwellian world)

I realize that CSU is "ALL ABOUT THE STUDENTS" (just ask them), but have you noticed how the Administrative Masters of the CSU Universe are erasing faculty out of the picture, figuratively and literally? In the top-down administrative process that concocted a new hiring policy in 2011-2012 essentially ALL hiring is now at the whim of the President, search committees be damned (something unheard of at other universities with a shred of credibility as intellectual institutions as others have pointed out here). And now post-HLC visit we are learning that even faculty retention is carried out by presidential fiat in the form of the "do-over" year for those rejected by their departments or UPC.

So, why is it no surprise that something that should be as innocuous as our CSU website photos of Commencement in fact erase faculty presence from what is supposed to be our main purpose at CSU? Look at the link to the campus webpage below. Major administrators, graduation speakers, students and some parents appear, but where are the faculty? Ignored, erased out of the picture. I know some faculty were there and braved the 3+ hours in attendance.

The administrative masters of the universe and their politician friends need to be reminded that the core relationship in this enterprise we call education is between the students and the faculty. Take all the buildings away, the sports teams, take away the administrators and their 6-figure salaries, take away all the community leaders and their bombast, students and faculty would find each other and set up shop somewhere. That's how the university system started and that's still its core. Administrators used to see their function as aiding faculty and students, the old "servants of the servants of the students" sort of thing. I could name more than a few that I have known over the years at CSU who really believed this to be their role, but many of them have been fired or retired or have simply left or fled in disgust.

So here in the CSU dystopia Administrators get to take center stage on the dais and faculty are nowhere to be seen. Maybe it's not so much 1984, maybe it's more like Animal Farm.

CSU Commencement

CC: How does that phrase go, oh yes: "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS."
The subtext to the CSU "brand."

1 comment:

Robert BionazJun 11, 2013, 4:26:00 PM
For complete accuracy, I must point out that "do-over" years have not resulted from rejection of candidates for retention by either their departments or the UPC. The standard for "do-overs" resides entirely in the president's head and has primarily been used against faculty who have, in fact, met their department's DAC criteria.
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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.