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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Letter from Alum

The following letter was sent to Bloggie yesterday with the note that it may be of interest to ascforum readers:



Hi,

I've been reading the Spring 2010 edition of the alumni magazine. Larry Burns and Shanda Gore write in their introductory letter,

Your University of Toledo has just finished another engaging academic year with important milestones accomplished, including

*The opening of the Minority Business Incubator
*Dedication of the Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation
*Dedication of the Veterans Plaza
*Savage & Associates Complex for Learning and Engagement dedicated for the College of Business Administration
*The eighth straight semester of enrollment growth

Also, your University of Toledo Lady Rocket swimmers won their first Mid-American Conference championship. The Lady Rocket basketball team won their division, and the football team has just finished a very productive spring season.

Looking at that list of accomplishments, the typical reader might wonder if any of the thousands of faculty, staff, and students at the university *learned* anything or *discovered* anything in 2009-10. As an alumnus, I'm really interested in what the academic core of the university (the faculty, staff, and students) is doing to distinguish UT from all the similar institutions in Ohio. One gets the impression from this letter that the mission of the university is instead to dedicate buildings and win athletic championships.

Just another look at where the hearts and minds of the administration lie.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was speaking with an until-recently administrator and he told me Jacobs and his cadre see faculty anger not just as something to be ignored, but as proof positive that they are succeeding.

He told me most of the board feels the same way and one of the primary members who doesn't, her term is up in 3 weeks.

He also told me Jacobs & Co. want a no confidence vote because it will draw national attention and they plan to use that attention to further trash tenure, faculty, etc.

How do you fight someone who embraces righteous slings and arrows and puts them on display for all to see?

Anonymous said...

In cases like this, I think it is clear that there is not much recourse than to let them burn themselves out until the effects of their excesses are obvious to all.