[Vision2020] Seriously: U of I Presidency

[Kenneth Marcy]

On Thursday 02 April 2009 09:02:06 nickgier at roadrunner.com wrote:
> The most recent scuttlebutt is that "The Dirk," AKA a former Idaho senator,
> will be made the new UI president. Presumably without proper vetting or
> consultation with any faculty or staff.

Oh dear, oh dear! That is rather an architecturally gold-plated prospect in a 
time of such needed fiscal austerity. Surely if the administration building's 
lavatories need refurbishing, or if the gracefully curving drive around the 
building needs concrete abutments emplaced to protect the denizens inside 
from attacking terrorists from south of the 45th North Latitude, methods of 
provision less expensive than hiring such high-priced experience to do such 
projects could be found.

> A Board of Education member was once reminded about the long tradition of
> faculty governance and the UI constitutional provision that the "immediate
> government" of the university was in the hands of the faculty.  His
> response was: "That's odd. I thought we the ones that did that!" And yes,
> they the power to do just that.

Why is it, do you suppose, that the name of Cornelius Fudge, former Minister 
of Magic, comes to mind so easily?

In the Order of the Phoenix, after High Inquisitor Delores Umbridge removes 
Professor Sybil Trelawney from responsibility for teaching Divination, 
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore reminds Umbridge that she may appoint new 
teachers only if the Headmaster is not able to find a suitable replacement. 
Then Dumbledore appoints the centaur Firenze to teach divination while 
Trelawney continues to live in the castle.

Instead of waiting for powers outside the University to hire a new president, 
perhaps the Faculty Senate should pay attention to Headmaster Dumbledore's 
example, and appoint a member of the University faculty as President of the 
University. Following appointment by the Faculty Senate, a vote of 
confirmation to office by the general University Faculty should seal the deal 
for the new incumbent.

Considering events to date, Law School Dean Burnett should be the presumptive 
appointee. I don't know any reason why the General Faculty would not concur.

> The motto of our faculty union is "Education for Democracy; Democracy in
> Education."  We are currently in a losing battle for the second half of
> that motto.

Harumph! The less-well-educated citizens of Idaho have been losing their 
constitutionally-mandated right to higher education for a couple of 
generations. The legislature has consistently ignored its obligation to 
maintain the educational quality of its flagship land-grant university to the 
detriment of Idahoans here and around the world. One level of concern is for 
the interests of the faculty union to be heard as far as The Argonaut is 
distributed; another level is the weakening ties that unite the literate 
within and beyond a State of the Union responsible to educate its own.


Ken