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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Wormfest

A Bird's Eye View of Faculty Governance


Bloggie is in a blue funk, and is not talking to you.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jake and Scary!

Anonymous said...

Jake and Scary!

Anonymous said...

Jake and Scary!

Anonymous said...

From the Faculty Senate Meeting of Feb 12, 2013. President Dowd speaking:

I have lost track of the number of meetings I and the other members of your Executive Committee have had with administrators since the previous Senate meeting. But it seems the discussion was the same at each meeting – talking about the teaching workload forms and the implementation of the new workload policy. As I said, there have been many, many meetings but few resolutions to the relevant issues. Sadly, I honestly do not have anything new to report to Senate. However, please note that Bill Koester, Chairman of the University of Toledo Board of Trustees, has accepted my invitation to address the Faculty Senate at our next meeting. I extended that invitation because I wanted Senators and non-Senators to have the opportunity to raise their concerns about the proposed workload policy to the Chairman of the Board.
Speaking of the Board, earlier today I presented the Faculty Senate report to the Board of Trustee’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee. If the Senate permits, I will include in this report the issues I raised with the Board. First, with regard the workload memo, I stated that I believe faculty members have moved far-beyond the mechanics of the proposed workload policy, in particular, specific teaching assignments. Faculty members have analyzed the details of that policy and, almost universally, came to the same conclusion that execution of that policy will fundamentally change the structure and direction of the University of Toledo. I reported to the Board my belief that teaching workloads are not the central issue. At issue are all of the other activities faculty perform that must be reduced or eliminated in order to comply with the provost’s/chancellor’s workload memo. Over the years, I have been honored to be elected approximately 20 times to leadership positions in Faculty Senate and Graduate Council. I stated that in my experience, no single act by a UT administration has produced such a unified and extremely negative reaction from the faculty and that the workload memo sends an unmistakable signal that this administration does not value faculty members’ work with students, faculty and student research, or a faculty member’s service to department, college, university, and profession. I encouraged Board members to verify the above statements by reading the provost’s/chancellor’s workload memo, speak with other faculty members about its implications, and draw their own conclusions. I said that faculty members are concerned about whether our University will continue as a university, or simply as a business. Universities seek high ideals; while businesses seek high profits only. The provost’s/chancellor’s workload memo sends the clear signal that the administration’s view of UT is that it is a business, without clear consideration given to academic issues

Anonymous said...

From the Faculty Senate Meeting of Feb 12, 2013. President Dowd speaking:

The next issue I raised with the board is my belief that our students cannot plan ahead. Just about every year since the merger this university has “reorganized” in one way or another. Every year the administration creates and destroys, creates and destroys. Because everything has to start over each year, the only unwavering characteristic of the University of Toledo is significant uncertainty on all matters. This makes it exceptionally difficult for students, faculty, departments and colleges to plan for next year or subsequent years. For example, most departments begin to determine their schedule of courses for any particular academic year in November or December of the previous year. That, of course, allowed students to plan ahead. But over the past few years, department chairs have not been able to schedule in advance because they do not know whether they will be given permission to hire the necessary instructors to meet the demand for their courses. What is the true cost from all of this? Faculty cannot plan ahead so our students cannot plan ahead. When students cannot plan ahead then neither can their parents. The true cost is paid by our students. What has been the “market’s reaction” to President Jacob’s never ending cycle of “creative destruction” and the unyielding uncertainty under his management? The market “has spoken”: for years our enrollment has declined and continues to decline, and our retention rate is among the worst in Ohio.
The next issue I raised with the Board was related to the previous issue. The other feature of President Jacob’s never-ending policy of “creative destruction” is that no administrator is ever held accountable for their failures. If a new “whiz-bang” idea fails then the responsible administrator is simply moved to a different administrative position without being accountable for their failure, and allowed to follow some other new “whiz-bang” idea. I asked, again, what are the true costs from each failure? Every new “whiz-bang” idea that has failed has imposed significant costs on our students in terms of time and tuition dollars spent and progress towards their degree.
I then explained to the Board that during his December presentation to Faculty Senate, Chief Financial Officer David Dabney claimed that the total cuts to college and department budgets have summed to only $203,000 since FY2009. I noted to the Board that CFO Dabney’s claim is incredulous because most colleges have faced budget cuts of multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars each year since 2009. I also noted that your Faculty Senate Executive Committee asked CFO Dabney to provide the financial data to support that claim but so far CFO Dabney has refused to do so. I then respectfully requested that the Board of Trustees direct CFO Dabney to provide Faculty Senate with specific and detailed financial data on each and every budget cuts each college has had to endure since FY2009.

Anonymous said...

The final issue I raised with the Board at that meeting focused on the number of sabbatical leaves submitted by the administration for approval by the Board. The Board was asked to approve 8 sabbatical leaves for next year. Only 8 sabbatical leaves. I stated that in my opinion that number is an order of magnitude smaller than what is expected of a university of our size. I stated that because detailed reports are filed by faculty members after completing their sabbatical leaves, the president, chancellor, and provost are well aware of the significant work accomplished during each sabbatical leave. Hence, approving only 8 sabbatical leaves sends another clear signal that this administration does not value the research of its faculty members. I then asked President Jacobs to enumerate the number of sabbatical leaves granted each year by peer institutions. As President Jacobs routinely asks faculty to meet or exceed “Best Practices,” I stated that he should be held to the same standard. So I asked President Jacobs to describe to the Board the “Best Practices” he followed when submitting only 8 sabbatical leave proposals for Board approval. His response to this question, and I am quoting, was “None.”. When pressed on this issue by a Board Member, President Jacobs stated that this was a financial decision and that sabbatical leaves “are expensive.” That was it. I want to make certain that I am not misrepresenting President Jacobs’ response to those questions. I see that Chancellor Gold is in attendance. Chancellor Gold, do you remember any other specific remarks that the president made about that issue at that meeting?
Chancellor Gold: I don’t.

Anonymous said...

If we could grant a sabbatical leave to Dr. Jacobs for a year, think of the progress we could make as a University.

Anonymous said...

A large numbers of companies that implemented "Best Practices" in the early 1990's when this was the then current buzzword in manufacturing are no longer around today. The problems were several  fold.  There was a false representation of what was "best" in that every new idea was considered "best" without consideration for the business, the unperceived costs and the lack of data to support the claim. In addition, companies replaced well working cost areas with unproven units organized according to "best practices" thereby destroying the foundations of the company.

"Best" indicates an optimization has been made. Therein is the real problem. What is considered "best" according to an arbitrary or poorly chosen standards (OR people: read "cost function",)  leads to results that are hardly "best." If whoever is doing the optimization does not fully understand their business, they cannot develop an adequate standard to determine what a "Best Practice" actually is.

It seems to me that the University of Toledo has a leadership that does not understand the business of academia, have never served in key positions within the university such as classroom Instructors, Department Chairs, Deans of Colleges, etc., but are posing standards that sub-optimize and are inadequate to determine what a "Best Practice" is for the University of Toledo.

Anonymous said...

From MSN Money

HOW UNCLE SAM MADE $100 BILLION ON STUDENT DEBT

[…AND HOW WE ARE ABLE TO SUBSIDIZE SO MANY REDUNDANT, USELESS, PARASITIC, BULLSHIT HIGH-SALARY ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATORS AND FUND SO MANY REDUNDANT, BULLSHIT, POLITICIZED MOFO POMO PSEUDO-ACADEMIC PROGRAMS…

Answer: By making students and taxpayers – and their children and grandchildren, indentured debtor-servants for life with unsustainable student and public debt and taxation and Fed money printing that will enrich a few Wall Street, Washington, Hollywood, Media and Academia elites today, but economically and culturally cripple the nation and the future generations of tomorrow. – Ed.]

THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN BORROWING MONEY ON THE CHEAP AND LENDING IT OUT AT A PREMIUM, REAPING HUGE PROFITS.

…RIGHT NOW, BOTH ART SCHOOL STUDENTS AND MBAS ALIKE ARE BEING CRUSHED BY STUDENT DEBT.

DEEPLY INDEBTED DOCTORATE RECIPIENTS ARE SEEKING FOOD STAMPS IN INCREASING NUMBERS.

ROUGHLY 284,000 COLLEGE GRADUATES ARE MAKING MINIMUM WAGE.

Even when graduates get a job, their debt doesn't get any less onerous. The Center For College Affordability and Productivity reported that

NEARLY HALF OF THE COLLEGE GRADUATES FROM THE CLASS OF 2010 ARE IN JOBS THAT DON'T REQUIRE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE.

A FULL 38% HAVE TAKEN JOBS THAT DON'T EVEN REQUIRE A HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION.

According to the Associated Press, THAT HAS DROPPED THE MEDIAN WAGE FOR COLLEGE GRADUATES SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE 2000.

[But the cost of college education continues to skyrocket and the proliferation of useless bullshit high salary academic administrators and useless bullshit pseudo-academic programs and pseudo-college-degrees continues apace. – Ed.]

WITH ALL STUDENT DEBT ADDING UP TO $1.1 TRILLION

it's likely a good time to start discussing some solutions. In the meantime, the government has no problem watching the money roll in.

http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=4428cdb8-8acc-4588-97d0-57db91482442


alumnus said...

Since Jacobs is still around, there must be people on the board who think UT is doing well as an institution. What on earth is their argument? It's not a point of view you can find anywhere else.

With the possible exception of George W. Bush, I've never seen a top official do such an objectively bad job and still get to be in charge.

Anonymous said...

Yet Another Survey:

Ambition run-amok, clownish machismo, PhD envy, petulance, captain of a goon squad, non-transparent, control freak ...

= (choose only one)

a) Erich Von Stroheim
b) Kim Jung-un
c) Attila the Hun
d) Idi Amin
e) Lloyd “Bully of Bancroft” Jacobs

Anonymous said...

New business in town:

Jacobs and BOT Enterprises have entered the restaurant business. The new franchise is called

CRONY ISLAND

Anonymous said...

a) Erich Von Stroheim
b) Kim Jung-un
c) Attila the Hun
d) Idi Amin
e) Lloyd “Bully of Bancroft” Jacobs

Who had the largest empire, spoke multiple languages, and had his leadership secrets published in a book? The other four could have learned from him!

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what happened with Mary Jane Erard? The union sent around an email a few hours ago with the statement "is no longer employed by the UTAAUP."

Anonymous said...

Mile Dowd - Thank you for your courage and clarity. Not being a Senator I tend to overlook efforts being made to restore UT values.

Anonymous said...

Re AAUP exec director Jane Erard

She was fired - is being sued for misappropriation of funds and is counter-suing the AAUP

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2013/04/13/UT-union-fires-director-sues-for-50-000.html

Anonymous said...

Shocked! that's all I can see regarding the MJ/Union news. She's was at UT longer than me and I knew her both as the go-to person for grievances and info on grievances and as a painter! I went to some of her exhibitions. Wish I could believe this was just some kind of misunderstanding.

Anonymous said...

There was a thing in UT Update about fall semester starting a week earlier, on August 19.

Is that even a change? I think we usually have two full weeks of classes before Labor Day.

Anonymous said...

It is a change since in following the standard consortium calendar would have pushed final date to submit fall grades to close to Christmas Break.

Anonymous said...

Folks should read the Blade coverage of the planned event on Bancroft this evening. From 6 to 7 pm, NOW is protesting the ending of the transfer agreements with local abortion clinics. You can take a stand against attacks on women's health and bad university governance in one convenient stop!

Anonymous said...

Improving the human condition, but women need not apply.

Anonymous said...

I'm disappointed in Jacobs and Gold, yet again. To not stand up for women in need is cowardly.

Anonymous said...

I see by the news this morning that Lloyd and Company have decided that they are going to cure cancer. What next?

Anonymous said...

"I see by the news this morning that Lloyd and Company have decided that they are going to cure cancer. What next?"

Curing UT of the Lloydie-Goldie- Scary syndrome: the kind that damages brains in media, society, and in government; the kind that allows businesses employing thugs like those serving on BOT to exist; the kind that keeps brainfucked customers to do business with such companies; shall I continue? The disease is not only affecting UT but the surrounding community.

Anonymous said...

flurry of activity on so many fronts and issues at UT this week alone, but the usual bloggers are silent??? Where are the updates and debates??

Anonymous said...

Re Anon updates and debates -

Can you please give us a quick thumbnail sketch of some of the recent UT activities, issues and happenings to which you are referring?

We have been out of town and a bit out of the loop and would welcome any insider campus updates here.

Anonymous said...

$10 million in cuts coming to academics near you. How much is left to cut?

Anonymous said...

So now our president is willing to throw women under the bus? What has Jacobs bargained for in return for not improving the human condition for women?

Anonymous said...

Put Ben & Co. (a.k.a. The Deanlets and other assorted extraneous high salary pseudo administrators) back to work earning their keep in the departmental trenches where they belong - back at their previous professor salaries and generating real tuition revenues aimed at closing the university budget deficit.

The combination of the pay cuts and added teaching revenues of a couple dozen reassigned pseudo administrators alone would put a huge dent in the university deficit.

Kapoor and others were unceremoniously sent back down to the minors in the past when things went sideways - why should Ben & Co. be any different?

It's called accountability.

Anonymous said...

for example....the evaluation of the President was successfully completed and results released to faculty (and so much to the naysayers on this board)

Dear Faculty:
Attached please find a copy of the faculty evaluation of Dr. Lloyd Jacobs as conducted by The University of Toledo 2012-2013 Faculty Senate during the period of March 20 – April 2, 2013 . The instrument was developed in 2010 for administrator evaluations and was reviewed in November 2012 by Provost Scarborough, Dr. Michael Dowd and myself. We agreed to add an eleventh question on performance related to external relations. The Center for Creative Instruction was responsible for the web distribution of the evaluation and for the collection and compilation of the data. Dr. Michael Dowd formatted the data for this enclosed report delivered by the 2013-2014 Faculty Senate President Linda Rouillard.
We express here our appreciation for the work performed by the Center for Creative Instruction. Bobbi Vaughan and Brian Szabo were extremely helpful in this process.
I must note, however, that this evaluation process was delayed at one point by some administrative reluctance over this evaluation. At Faculty Senate’s request, Provost Scarborough intervened to facilitate the process.
In addition, I note the numerous expressions of concern from the faculty over confidentiality of this evaluation. In spite of this concern, however, your response rate of approximately 33% (382 out of a possible 1129) is a very good response rate and reflects your concern for our institution.
Thank you again for your time and contribution to this effort.
Sincerely,
Dr. Linda Marie Rouillard
President, Faculty Senate

Anonymous said...

I am a tenured/tenure-track faculty and I did not receive any report about the evaluation of the administration.

Anonymous said...

"Ben & Co."? Good one!

Please make all efforts to retain the well-deserved designation for this VP: Ben+COIL (as in College of Incompetent Leadership)! The two go together like horse and carriage...

We can also call them Crony Island Enterprises.

Anonymous said...

problems problems problems and much to discuss but no one discussing....

budget cuts..UTXNet, Honors College, and YouCollege scheduling courses and sections without academic department approval or oversight....staffing issues....no replacement faculty.....presidental and dean reviews.....more overseas travel....

yes much to discuss......

Anonymous said...

Quick! Someone send a note to the BOT telling them that a negative evaluation by the Faculty is not a badge of honor. Let them know that at some Universities (most?) Presidents are actually respected by the Faculty (and vice versa)!!!

Anonymous said...

So, now on to a formal vote of no confidence by the Senate?