tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post1226559775683948163..comments2023-08-13T06:56:50.760-07:00Comments on Arts & Sciences College Forum: Dancing with Zemsky, Inc.David Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12126067283016390050noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-15582666152940592992008-10-09T07:28:00.000-07:002008-10-09T07:28:00.000-07:00I have read the book by Zemsky, et al. Actually, I...I have read the book by Zemsky, et al. Actually, I don't think he is saying he has a zeal for top-down. What he seems to illustrate is how often faculty stay passive and let top down management overtake decisions that faculty should have made.MikePhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11743228921368889099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-1142614260175974752008-09-26T06:32:00.000-07:002008-09-26T06:32:00.000-07:00I checked at the A&S office shortly before I l...I checked at the A&S office shortly before I left last night--they had about 6 copies of the Zemsky that can still be borrowed, think it was 7 loaned out. Great! So go get one of those copies still there and inform yourselves.yo, duh!https://www.blogger.com/profile/04379171973281926037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-78178185722317852442008-09-25T16:16:00.000-07:002008-09-25T16:16:00.000-07:00ok diogenes-that is a good seminar on some of zems...ok diogenes-<BR/>that is a good seminar on some of zemsky's positions on higher education, and it should give us pause in blindly approaching our so-called "assessment". i am sure that jacobs suggested the learning alliance at the may meeting for exactly the reasons you are suggesting; i.e. "Which is why TLA is here; to get our ducks in a row." jacobs was certainly familiar with zemsky's philosophy and agrees with much of what he says. however, i repeat: zemsky is no fool and does not suffer fools. he turned around the discussion in the philadelphia interview, insisting that the dean situation be resolved before he would bring TLA on board. i don’t think he is going to preach to the board what they want to hear.<BR/>what you say is based on two things: zemsky statements in books and forums where he is expected to speak his mind on education, and jacobs statements about what he wants for UT. while these sources are important and worthy of caution, they are <I>external</I> to the assessment process as defined by TLA. as mentioned by dr. tucker in his description of his interview, and from my own interview with zemsky himself, the impression is that the roundtable discussions will define the outcome of the report. zemsky is only acting as a facilitator, not a seminar instructor. in fact, i sneakily suspect that zemsky feels we have to do a lot of “transformational” change <I>before</I> we can even get into the league of institutions that he wants to influence. dr. tucker said in his interview: “First, I believe we are charging university prices for a community college education.” i said in my interview: “I think the community still sees us as ‘Bancroft High’ for a variety of reasons.” a long conversation followed about what makes a university a university. zemsky was stunned by the lack of Ph.D. programs in the humanities. he particularly mentioned english and sociology. so, i think we have to read a little more into his writings than a simple “His guidance will take you to a mystical place in his zealot mind of a perfect world where ideally the managerial demands for a skilled workforce are finally met by a thoroughly privatized higher-education machine that supplies skilled droids promptly in response to these demand.”<BR/>i guess what I want to suggest is that transformational change (yah- i hate that word too, and i know that it is already out-of-date- my church organization, unitarian-universalism, tried it 10 years ago, and <I>they</I> were following corporate examples- go figure) need not be bad, if we are in charge of it. change for change sake (as often happens with administrators trying to move up some ladder) is silly. but, we should be open to opportunities to direct <I>useful</I> change. what is ‘useful’ is clearly good for debate, but debate we should, rather than simply refuse to change.sir lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11606228269680007651noreply@blogger.com