Search?

Okay, so the search continues for the Provost.  Or, does it? I skipped the Scarborough presentation having seen him in action before the old Arts and Sciences Council. I did, however, go to the presentation of  the very nice gentleman from UMBC.He was very proud of the record they had for excellent undergraduate teaching.  This alone may disqualify him but let me continue.  The three outside candidates all had similar qualities.  They come from a science/engineering/medical background and have spent most of their time trying to recruit and retain very bright students.  While that may be a problem for us, the much larger issue is retaining and graduating marginal students.  The state is going to start reimbursing universities for those who are retained and eventually graduate.  So what do we do with a 16 ACT who doesn't come to class, makes little effort when there, and then leaves without graduating and for whom we get no state aid?  The state has also said we may no longer teach remedial classes.  Can we insist that student do a year at a community college?  Can we insist they take a semester of college boot camp that will not count toward graduation?  Not one of the candidates addressed this issue or what they are going to do to increase the graduation rates.  My fear is the faculty will take the hit in some way.  I do not have a magic wand but I do know this problem will not go away.  It will not be solved by technology.  It will not be solved by hiring more administrators.  It is the elephant in the room and needs to be discussed openly and forthrightly.  One of the candidates noted Akron was no longer going to accept anyone with lower than a 16 ACT.  If our university decides it is no longer going to be open enrollment  then what does that really mean?  Are we Toledo Tech?  We need to partaicipate in this discussion.

Alternate Universes Part 2

UTMC according to UT-AAUP and Consumer Reports:

UTMC according to UTMC and UT administrators:

Second Candidate

I have just returned from the presentation/discussion with the second provost candidate.  As with the first, I have gone in cold.  I did not read the resume or talk to anyone who had spoken with her.  I wanted a true first impression.  On the plus side there was no formal power point presentation.  She just spoke.  While this appeals to my aestetic public speaking side, it did not give us the same amount of information the first candidate did.  While this is probably unfair, the first candidate seemed to have done a lot of thinking about universities and where he thinks they are going.  I admit to being biased in that I am not really all that happy with his conclusions.  He still seemed to imply that I was in a service discipline.  Candidate two has probably done the thinking, but it was not as apparant in the presentation.  She did seem more interested in the liberal arts as real disciplines.  She also seemed to have a lot of first hand experience in trying to make the university "relevant" to its community and the outside world.  The question to which I believe I already have an answer, is whether this administration has any real interest in spending real money on non STEMM disciplines.  The answer, from the previous four years is NO.  I just don't believe candidate two will have any more luck changing the spending habits of this administration than did a previous provost.  Candidate one will probably not be interested in changing where the money flows.  As a result we in those "other" disciplines can probably expect little change with him as provost.  At least that's the way I see it at 4 p.m. on a warm Thursday afternoon.

Slow Summer?

I attended the provost candidate's presentation Tuesday at 10:30. I believe the spelling of his name is Montamagna but I'm sure someone in the administration will correct me if I'm wrong.  What I'm going to relate are truly first impressions.  I have been out of town and Tuesday has been my only contact with the man.  I have not even read the resume.  My first impression is that he seems to have actually thought about issues not merely memorized the correct verbage and talking points.  Second he has actually tried some things at his present post.  Third he seems to have actually been a faculty member and not just a career admistrator.  On the downside he used terms like economic engine and referred to the wonderful job the Jacobs' Administration has done here at UT.  Of course, to expect someone to criticize the person who is responsible for hiring the new provost is a little over the top on my part.  One item did bother me.  He was asked what role he sees for the Humanities in the new university.  His response was the humanities should help to create an environment (Toledo and surrounding areas) so that the really important folks (doctors, engineers etc.) who are creating real jobs will want to remain here.  It was one of those yea you're in the plan but only from a superficial and roundabout perspective answers.  Again, I liked that he has spent a great deal of time thinking about how you keep students enrolled, but he was working with engineers.  I do not know, and neither does anyone else, how this translates into an open enrollment university.  I have noted on this blog that to enroll a student who has no real contact with a university through the experience of friends or family and then expect that marginal student to succeed is just wrong on our part.  It is a problem that will be confounded when we are not allowed to teach remedial classes.  It becomes a throw them in the deep end and see who can swim and who can't issue.  With the state looking at retention rates for funding models the challenges become quite large for the next provost and for the faculty.  It is probably the kiss of death for his application, but I actually liked the guy.

Truth & Beauty Reign Gear

This new student has arrived on campus with a wardrobe suitable to the university climate.  

The New Era Begins: The Reign of Truth & Beauty

Alternate Bizarro Universe?

Thursday, July 12, 2012 myUT | Send an Announcement Town Hall Announcement Leadership of The University of Toledo Medical Center invites you to joinin an interactive town hall meeting tomorrow at noon on the  Health Science Campus, Health Education Building Room 100. The campus community is invited to hear details on UTMC success stories in customer service  and the delivery of university-quality care, ask questions and share their experiences that have earned accolades from U.S. News and World Report.  Submit your questions to townhallquestions@utoledo.edu or via  Twitter and Facebook --watch online at video.utoledo.edu.