tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post1988074092910543530..comments2023-08-13T06:56:50.760-07:00Comments on Arts & Sciences College Forum: PreparationDavid Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12126067283016390050noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-12823623412876739472009-12-12T12:56:17.228-08:002009-12-12T12:56:17.228-08:00Great comment! And so well said. I couldn't ...Great comment! And so well said. I couldn't agree more.yo, duh!https://www.blogger.com/profile/04379171973281926037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-45206603046531754072009-12-12T06:14:24.498-08:002009-12-12T06:14:24.498-08:00As a former student of Dr. Nemeth (aka DJN) and ha...As a former student of Dr. Nemeth (aka DJN) and having read the original blog post in its entirety, I can assure you that the language and intent of the post was neither racist, demeaning to the students of UT, nor critical of any scholarship program intended to recruit (and reward) high performing students. Rather, Nemeth identifies an array of issues facing institutions like UT such as civility in the classroom and the implications of devoting significant academic and budget resources on recruiting and retaining under-prepared students. While I realize these issues were not explicitly addressed in the single post, these debates have been regular themes on the CAS Faculty Forum and are regularly discussed on higher education blogs and other on-line venues (such as insidehighered.com. <br /> <br />Was the post provocative? Yes, it should have been. The issues facing Colleges of Arts & Sciences--writ large--and their constituent disciplines are many and significant. Specifically, the role of the arts & sciences at institutions like UT is increasing ambiguous as student expectations change (i.e., training/real world experiences v. formal academic experiences) and institution focus their energies on “more professional” programs. The real issues are whether colleges of arts & sciences will continue to serve as the intellectual center of campuses, traditional academic disciplines will be disproportionately impacted by the changing financial realities of higher education, and how emerging pedagogies (often based in the professional schools) may transform the classroom. All of these issues should be rigorously debated. Ultimately, the “playground” post and others address the crisis in academic leadership that has plagued UT in recent years--not its students. Specifically, the full collection of Nemeth posts identify the failure of academic leaders to invest time and resources in understanding the unique needs of CAS (programs, students, and faculty), as well as the proliferation of language and policies that alienate traditional academic disciplines.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-74070532933974471052009-12-10T13:30:38.923-08:002009-12-10T13:30:38.923-08:00Let us not forget a few things that seem important...Let us not forget a few things that seem important, to me at least:<br /><br />a. The original blog posting was a report on the most recent Roundtable briefing, and anything negative was offered as constructive criticism. (Look at the posting yourself. It's there.)<br /><br />b. Nowhere in the posting does Dr. Nemeth tie together the ideas of academically unmotivated students and urban areas. (If you feel a need to connect a lack of academic motivation with urban areas, then you must see it that way yourself, and are coloring the original post with your own thinking.)<br /><br />c. This whole thing was instigated by an anonymous poster / e-mailer. Why, I don't know--why the instigation, why the demand for anonymity. But if he or she had the courage of his/her convictions, and anything to back up the charges, why not just post a reasonable response? (I would think that this, in and of itself, would make a thinking person stop and use those thinking abilities, rather than jumping enthusiastically but blindly on the bandwagon.)<br /><br />d. Notice how this discussion has been hijacked away from the Roundtable and to these untrue allegations? Is there a reason for this?<br /><br />These are just some things to think about rationally. <br /><br />I encourage you to read the original post yourself:<br />http://ascforum.blogspot.com/2009/12/hub-of-mediocrity-inviting-playground.htmlyo, duh!https://www.blogger.com/profile/04379171973281926037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-36202268074081239282009-12-10T08:38:44.674-08:002009-12-10T08:38:44.674-08:00Can we please get away from "Anonymous" ...Can we please get away from "Anonymous" posts? If the issues here are important enough for you to make accusations and inuendos, then the issues should be important enough to attach your name to.<br /><br />Professor Walt OlsonRockyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05325109359230720051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6044792945653054348.post-65110802911054232612009-12-10T06:32:06.523-08:002009-12-10T06:32:06.523-08:00So it's come to the point that student reps no...So it's come to the point that student reps now come to the Council to demand the punishment of a faculty member who has had the temerity to criticize a planning document ? And the Council invites them to come back and try to make a case to its exec committee since they apparently don't know just what the faculty member they want censured actually wrote ?<br />And at least one member of the faculty who recently blogged here applauds their ill informed smear ? This is unbelievable. While I would rather not succumb to paranoia, it's hard for me to believe those students acted on their own, prticularly since they are so ill-informed about Professor Nemeth's actual opinions. Anyone know who put them up to it? More importantly, the Council should make it clear to all parties that it is not in the business of censuring faculty members whose opinions some one might find poltically incorrect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com