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A MUST READ FOR ALL ACADEMICS! Now on Amazon Kindle. Click on Professor Goat above to be directed to the book.
DON'T BE A SHEEP
UT's Officially Disapproved Information Source and HISTORICAL ARCHIVE. The only source of truth, where Paradox Manifests: Hundreds of thousands of visits. Yet No One Admits to Reading It. Welcome to the "Grey Area" where "Unethical Utterances," i.e., criticisms of administrators, are commonplace. Make U.U. here where genuine civility still reigns, a.k.a., freedom......................... UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO'S EQUIVALENT TO RADIO FREE EUROPE
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NEW!!! Hard Eight by Professor Extreme
HARD EIGHT
Hard Eight: Auto-Ethnographic Essays on Academic Culture Featuring the End of the Arts & Sciences College, University of Toledo, 2010
Daily Koan
Should the newly discovered black hole be named in honor of UT BOT?
Swamp Bubble
Do you agree or disagree that University of Toledo suffers from administrative bloat?
How do you feel about the proposed UT Degree Guarantee program? (Reposted to allow more people to vote.)
How do you feel about the proposed UT Guarantee program?
How would you grade the overall performance of the Jacobs' administration on running the University of Toledo?
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
Bloggie applauds this perspicacious observer:
"The administration is in a panic mode to implement controversial and irreversible structural and curricular changes campus-wide by early February fiscal plan deadlines with only the vaguest notions of their impacts. The plan is, according to an interview with a top administrator published in the most recent Independent Collegian, to cast out many seeds and "see what grows." This experimental garden, as most senators articulated in many different ways, seems a costly recipe for disaster. Utter madness. Stay tuned."
Print Version of Dictionary of Academia Available on Amazon.com
The profound ruminations of the goaty Sage are now available in this 119 page satirical masterpiece. See: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1480292494/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B009RC0SJA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1JV8N5BYAYY9WC9SJWD2
"Dictionary of Academia" Read it While it's Hot
A MUST READ FOR ALL ACADEMICS! Now on Amazon Kindle. Click on Professor Goat above to be directed to the book.
Comment of the Week
"This is that old tension between the corporate way of doing things and the academic way of doing things. In the corporate world, you sweep everything under the rug to make your b.s. as shiny, pleasing to the nose, and profitable as possible. In the academic world, you operate with a higher moral standard. Veritas and all that."
Comment of the Week of August 13
Re UT academic posers and hypocrites:
Have their checks calculated in units of postmodern theoretical currency and issued in photocopied legal tender notes signed by Walter Benjamin with a photo of Karl Marx and a seal stamped “In Derrida We Trust”.
Comment of the Era
Wow! Ain't that something.
-Anonymous
Comment of the Week
Mention goes to the the anonymous commentator of Feb 7, who, regarding UT President Llloyd Jacob's "Investing in Faculty" letter, stated: "If we could use the same criteria for 'investing in administrators' we could cut most of those positions."
Comments to HLC
Make sure you address your comments to HLC to the email address listed below in the "Higher Learning Commission Wants to Know" post. This may be the only chance you have to be heard. Bloggie hears that UT administration has discussed giving faculty "training" so that faculty members know how to "properly" talk to the HLC folks. How's that for stacking the deck? Does everyone get a little script to read? Make sure you practice before a mirror at being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Comment of the Week!
Definitely, the Comment of the Week award goes to Anonymous 12:14 pm, Dec 3, under the "Higher Learning Commission Needs to Know" posting by Diogenes. Pithy and pointed!
--Love,
Bloggie
MESSAGE OF THE DAY:
DON'T BE A SHEEP
Independent Collegian Article on Dicey Administrative Spending
IC reporter Casey Cheap looks at bow ties, apartments and movie tickets purchased by UT administrators at university/public expense. See
TO CONTACT BLOGGIE . . .
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Letter and Petition from Foreign Languages Faculty Member
A couple weeks ago, at the beginning of summer break, we in the Department of Foreign Languages were informed that our secretary's position was being eliminated and that while she will not lose her job (she'll be transferred), that position is not to be filled. We apparently will be expected to do our own jobs plus what we can of the secretary's. That is clearly not acceptable, and so one of the steps we in FL are taking against it is an online petition now available for any who want to (including those who for whatever reason--not a registered Ohio voter, not a US citizen, etc.--cannot sign the petition against SB5), to read and sign.
I know not everyone on the blog will be interested in this; I'm not asking anyone who doesn't want to, to sign or even read the petition. I do think that there are many who would be interested and would want to sign it--if they knew about it.
It's scary to post this under my own name; I'm as afraid as anyone of repercussions. But this is simply too important to keep quiet on, and we have to do something! FL is not the first department that this has happened to, and it's almost certain not to be the last if we don't speak up in a way that the administration will hear us and in a way that makes clear that other people are seeing that it's going on.
Here's the link to the online petition:For those who can make it, there will also be an informational meeting--including lunch and petition-signing--next Friday, May 27 in FH 2420, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
I know not everyone on the blog will be interested in this; I'm not asking anyone who doesn't want to, to sign or even read the petition. I do think that there are many who would be interested and would want to sign it--if they knew about it.
It's scary to post this under my own name; I'm as afraid as anyone of repercussions. But this is simply too important to keep quiet on, and we have to do something! FL is not the first department that this has happened to, and it's almost certain not to be the last if we don't speak up in a way that the administration will hear us and in a way that makes clear that other people are seeing that it's going on.
Here's the link to the online petition:For those who can make it, there will also be an informational meeting--including lunch and petition-signing--next Friday, May 27 in FH 2420, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Katherine Best
Wave of the Future or Merely Sometime Later This Week?
The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a deeply fascinating article called, "When to Dissolve a Faculty Senate." Apparently this is any time that it becomes "adversarial" to administration.
The online comments to the article are priceless.
Nemeth on Mammon in IC
David Nemeth's most recent tour-de-force
Professor Nemeth has another fabulous and timely article in the new and increasingly wonderful Independent Collegian. See http://www.independentcollegian.com/forum/the-kraken-attacks-1.2340091
Nemeth Does it Again
See the forum article in The Independent Collegian at:
Nemeth's New Article in Collegian
The Independent Collegian has run another of Professor Nemeth's fine and provocative articles in its latest edition. This one discusses the double-talk by mouthpieces for the current UT administration concerning the effects of and reasons behind so-called strategic reorganization. Make sure you get the latest version of Newspeak 5.1 if you want to decode what UT administrators are really saying.
UT Ranks 13th Nationally on Administrative Bloat
See Appendix B of the Administrative Bloat report posted on 8/28 for evidence, but UT now has a higher proportion of administrators to students than all but 12 public universities in America. President Jacobs has finally put University of Toledo in the top tier. With Strategic Organization he may be aiming for number one.
This Blog is a free and independent information source. Contributions and comments are welcome. Contact: ASCBloggie@gmail.com WARNING AND DISCLAIMER !!!! This blog is entirely non-official!! People may express opinion here, exercising freedom of speech and association.
Recent Letters from The Blade
Jacobs' arrogance is astonishing
Recently, President Lloyd Jacobs of the University of Toledo stated that bonuses were justified because his administrators "took all the risks."
As a professor at UT, I am outraged that President Jacobs claims that administrators take all of the risks. What risks do they take that the other faculty and staffs on campus do not?
Administrators are protected by state and federal employment laws and by their contracts.
When ex-President Vik Kapoor was terminated, he remained a professor with a salary near what he was paid as president.
As president emeritus, Dan Johnson retained a salary greater than his pay as president.
In the recent layoffs, exceptionally few administrators were terminated. It seems to me that low-level personnel at UT have far more risks because the greater proportion of the layoffs have come from their ranks. And they did not have continuing salaries.
President Jacobs' answer to questions on two occasions regarding relinquishing part of his bonus was to the effect that he earned his bonuses and what he did with them was his business.
Administrators do not risk their personal money in their duties: they use taxpayer money and funds collected through donations and grants to the university.
Administrators take home salaries in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and then add bonuses for longevity and whatever else the president decides is fitting for their contracts.
However, the lower-level personnel have much lower salaries and no such bonuses. Where is the risk?
It seems to me that these bonuses are convoluted: The lower-level personnel are taking the greater risks with no bonuses while the administrators with very rewarding jobs with little risk receive large bonuses.
Am I missing something here?
WALTER W. OLSON,
Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing
Engineering,
University of Toledo
It's the same old, same old at UT
I could hardly believe the arrogance of Dr. Lloyd Jacobs, president of the University of Toledo, when a reporter asked if he would be willing to forgo his bonus in light of the layoffs, raise in tuition, etc.
His comment was that he worked for it. Is that to say that the ones being laid off did not work for their pay?
All I can say is, business as usual at UT. Some things never change.
SANDY FLICK
Rose Acres Drive
UT also has checks, balances
In response to letter titled "Professors must focus on teaching," I would like to point out that the University of Toledo operates on the basis of shared governance.
This means that faculty members participate in the administration of the university.
A focus on teaching requires faculty to address administrative issues such as policies, procedures, and yes, finances, because these all affect classroom outcomes. A university with solid and equitable finances benefits everyone, including and especially the students. Just as the U.S. government is constituted to have checks and balances, so is our university government.
The UT-AAUP is one of those checks against UT administrators who most recently have displayed more concern for their own profit rather than a concern for the common good.
LINDA M. ROUILLARD,
Associate Professor
of French,
University of Toledo
Quote of the Year (so far)
The following is excerpted from the recent UT AAUP newsletter concerning the official university response to news of the bonus scandal:
. . . . Either Jacobs is misleading the media or he has misled the Board of Trustees. President Jacobs objected to "the general tone" of the UT-AAUP Newsletter. Many persons on this campus object to the "general tone" of the Jacobs Administration. During his tenure as President, he has introduced an administrative culture of fear and intimidation. . . . A point of logic must be raised here, with all respect to UT AAUP, the conclusions that President Jacobs has (1) misled the media and (2) the Board of Trustees are not mutually exclusive. Both would seem likely given his considerable talent at spinning "visions." |
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The Blog is now under new management, a consortium of ASC faculty who pooled their longevity bonuses to purchase it from its original owners. Your comments are still welcome but look for some changes. Contact: ASCBloggie@gmail.com. Your contributions might include new posts, images, comments to existing articles/posts, concerns about process and substance at UT's College of Arts & Sciences. This blog is entirely non-official, for which you can be thankful, unless you enjoy reading self-serving bureaucratic propaganda, and is intended as a discussion and commentary forum for UT A&S faculty and community.
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A blog is a blog is a blog. Information, comments and opinions found here don't represent official views, instead they represent truthful and sincere ones. If you want the official line on things go elsewhere. This is a discussion and comment page. You may even read things here that you disagree with, and then, maybe not.
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Blog Archive
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2010
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September
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- Just a few questions
- Worship of Mammon
- Chronology of UT Reorganization
- Saturn Reorganizes The College
- RIP UT College of Arts & Sciences 1909-2010
- Slides From Arts and Sciences College Death Announ...
- Sexual Harassment Policy
- Even Smaller Boxes
- Research About UT That Did Not Make The UT News
- Dean's Plan
- From the Chronicle
- Letter of Honest Concerns
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Links
8 comments:
Didn't see the sexual harassment policy prominently displayed on the UT website. Do you have a link?
David won't be able to talk anymore.
Here's the policy as someone sent it to me:
2) Prohibited conduct
Examples of prohibited conduct may include, but are not limited to: offensive
statements, insults, epithets, or jokes; physically threatening behavior directed at
another individual; using any form of communication to insult, demean or
threaten another individual (including email or internet postings such as on
Facebook, etc.); and/or other verbal or physical conduct if any of the above
conduct is based on or directed at an individual’s protected classification, as listed
above. All such harassment is strictly prohibited.
Employees who violate this policy will be subject to discipline up to and
including termination. Students who violate this policy will be subject to
discipline up to and including expulsion.
Harassment prohibited by this policy can occur during working hours and nonworking
hours, including University-sponsored programs, seminars, conferences,
business trips or business related social events, and conduct that occurs directly or
indirectly via telephone or other electronic communication through the internal or
external mail system (including email) and other forms of communication.
Additionally, this policy extends to members of the University community
whether on or off campus. This includes, but is not limited to behaviors which
may occur on professional practice assignments, clinical assignments, while
attending activities as a representative of the University of Toledo, while
representing the University in the community or at a University sanctioned or
DRAFT 3364-50-01 Sexual harassment and other forms of harassment 4
sponsored event. It also includes off-campus activities that are connected to the
educational process of the University.
Briefly, how does this differ significantly from the previous sexual harassment policy?
Can anyone with in depth knowledge about this comment here?
Do you have some specific remarks or criticisms?
Also, we can't comment if we can't find the web page. Please post a link. Thanks.
The old policy is at http://www.utoledo.edu/policies/administration/diversity/pdfs/3364_50_01.pdf
The old one defines rather clearly what harassment consists of in the way of tangible actions and seems quite reasonable.
The proposed new one--which an anonymous benefactor sent to Bloggie among others--seems vague beyond reason, What, for example, does "offensive" mean in this context? Does it mean that someone did not use a gender neutral pronoun? The meaning seems utterly subjective and therefore inherently prone to abuse. It deals with attributed meanings that may have nothing to do with intent or reality.
An attorney at a national free speech organization looked over this proposed policy this week past and pronounced it "deeply flawed." And he does this sort of thing for a living. This speech code stuff is pure fascism. And it has become fairly obvious that UT has some fascist personalities looking for to rule.
Unfortunately Bloggie cannot find the proposed new policy on the University website either. If someone knows its location, please step in.
Love to all,
Bloggie
Mark my words, it is targeted at people who comment on blogs like this or in the IC. "Offensive statements" can be widely interpreted.
Thanks for your added input Bloggie.
Perhaps you could get the free speech attorney you mentioned to go on the record with an informal critique - and maybe even organize some formal critique and/or protest with some legal teeth to back it up -- and then get all this out to the Collegian and off-campus media.
Of course you will be labeled a sexist bigot for even questioning any of this - but what else is new?
Obviously there is no place for real sexual harassment in the workplace, at UT or anywhere else -- but this definitely sounds like Big Brother and Big Sister and the Thought Police up to their usual tricks of attempted fascist mind control in the name of "social justice."
I wonder if the sexual harassment policy holds women accountable for any of their own irresponsible conduct (i.e. like foolishly placing themselves in situations where bad things can and often do happen – like ending up drunk, alone and vulnerable among drunken male strangers at parties, clubs or in other obviously precarious and sexually charged situations).
I wonder if the sexual harassment policy holds women accountable for their own covert sexual harassment in the form of supposedly innocent and benign but obviously inappropriate and sexually provocative dress and conduct (like walking around campus with thong panties hanging out and generally dressed like they're competing at some sort of national slut-fest -- or going to ask a professor for a better grade, or a boss for a promotion -- alone, in his office with the door closed and dressed like and acting like a common hooker).
These may be harsh criticisms but they are based on realities anyone can see just by looking around -- and incidents many have experienced first-hand and/or witnessed or heard about from reliable and trustworthy sources.
Call it sexist if you like – but at least have the honesty and integrity to admit sexual harassment is very often a two-way street; and have the moral courage to promote the expectation that women can and should act like responsible adults; and that young women should understand in no uncertain terms that they need to have enough self respect, intelligence and common sense and common decency to act with responsibility and integrity and look out for themselves – as opposed to just being angry, politically correct whiners and victims.
Old fashioned values made all of these issues obvious for men and women alike. In the (post)modern world we apparently need to relearn them all again.
the draft policies website is at
http://www.utoledo.edu/policies/draft_policies/index.html
the harassment policy itself is at
http://www.utoledo.edu/policies/draft_policies/pdfs/Draft_3364-50-01__Sexual_haras.pdf
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