Tuesday, July 1, 2014

It's July 1st do we know who's who?

Apparently the only thing we know today, July 1, 2014, is that faculty are following the students and taking CSU's Board of Trustees and administration to court. Check out the 25-page document concerning CSU's infringement of constitutional freedom of speech in the form of threats to the CSU blog and the thinly veiled free-speech silencer "cyber-bullying policy." Tsk, tsk, so many tender Tommies out there in cyberland. The Fire lawsuit doesn't, but should, include HRH Dr Watson's penchant for banishing people from campus premises at his whim (no "due process" for doing such--hey isn't that another constitutional thingy?). Honestly, I never heard of so many people being banished from sight since I last read Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars.

"I know a little bit about a lot of things, but I don't know enough about you..." (Diana Krall)

Anyway, while we know about the Fire lawsuit today, it is July 1st--old contracts done, new ones begin--does anyone really know who some of  our administrators are? Back in the olden days when we had something of a personnel calendar that was more or less adhered to you received your personnel documents in a relatively timely manner. It seems that things just go into a black hole somewhere in Cook and don't emerge for months on end (I just got my 2013-2014 personnel notices this week), can't imagine when I'll get my 2013-2014 "portfolio" back, and weren't all those job interviews going on in May supposed to net us some deans and a provost? So, on July 1st, 2014, who is:
 1. the Provost--what's the hold up in sending out AH's appointment letter? Do we have a provost today?

2. Department Chair--a few departments had elections this spring, but here it is July 1st and many of us are still waiting for the announcement that HRH has appointed someone. I suppose it doesn't matter much because who can learn such jobs in 1 year which is all chairs are now. Dr WW removed the 3-year term from dept chairs and turned them into permanent interims at 1-year appointment.

3. Dean of Arts and Sciences--ok, I think an announcement was made a few weeks ago that someone was dean for certain days in June, then someone else was going to be dean for a few days after that and then, I believe, Dr. Leroy Jones was going to be dean until a permanent dean could be found. Huh? Since Rachel Lindsey left there has been a CAS Dean's search every year (time, money wasted) and still we just get another interim?

4. Associate Dean--do colleges have these in place--when you don't give out contracts no one knows for sure...

5. University Advisors-- I guess some of these folks also did not receive contracts on July 1st and are not working. Who's handling all those students Enrollment Management is bringing into the univeristy? Oh right, silly question.

What kind of management strategy is this? Oh right, right, right, "come in, create chaos, then exploit it."

Well, time to get back to reading Animal Farm...

3 comments:

  1. Corday, you have such a wicked sense of humor, tempting us with thoughts of how real universities are managed. Why in the world would the university need to know who the academic leadership is when there is no leadership at the top of the pyramid scheme known as Crony State. Deans??? We don't need no stinkin' deans. Nor does it seem does the university need anything resembling stability because the BOT chairman believes everything is fine. Hmmmmm.

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    1. Dr Watson wants control over all university money and hiring. He should just get it over with and combine the office of President and Provost. Does the current interim provost even occupy the office space in what was once the provost area of the Cook Bldg.? In spite of the bloated hierarchy of the Watson administration, there is no independent oversight of the university. None is possible. The Board of Trustees is bamboozled by visions, no, chimeras, of the “West Side Campus,” the Obama Library, or Jazz in the Grazz and so they cave to the southside homeboy charmer and buy the snake oil. Much more comfortable to do that than to act like overseers of the public trust. They have been given the facts, the stats, the examples. CSU is dying on the inside, they do nothing. What is that old phrase about Rome burning while Nero fiddled?

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  2. Phillip:

    R.I.P. Eli Wallach.

    ;)

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