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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Alternate Universes Part 2

UTMC according to UT-AAUP and Consumer Reports:






UTMC according to UTMC and UT administrators:


20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brilliant!

Anonymous said...

You’re on your own, folks!

In healthcare, education, jobs, personal finance, retirement, etc. (i.e. health, wealth, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) – that’s the bottom line.

We’re on our own.

So shut up, be still, quit hating, quit blaming, get real, get a life and get busy taking care of yourself and the ones you love.

No-body, no-thing, no bureaucracy or law or ideology is going to do it for you.

Not the feds or The Fed or Obama or Congress or the Supreme Court or unions or the AAUP or the UT provost or president or the dean or the department chair or academia or intellectualism or Marx or Hegel or Marcuse or Che Guevara or Malcolm X or Andy Warhol or Foucault or Derrida or Ralph Nader or Greenpeace or the “occupy” movements or Mike Bell or Noam Chomsky or The Rolling Stones or Lady Gaga or Jack Kerouac or Hunter Thompson or Charles Bukowski or Robert Mapplethorpe or sex or drugs or alcohol or antidepressants or vitamins or feminism or being gay or being “hot” or being “cute” or going shopping or diets or health food or “cleansing” or “mindfulness” or positive psychology or girlfriends or boyfriends or getting pregnant or getting married or “the arts” or “social justice” or “change” or “raising awareness” or the media or pink ribbons or weird hair and clothes or tattoos or piercing or Jackass or vampires or zombies or Fifty Shades of Grey or Harry Potter or Astrology or the Internet or Hilary Clinton or Michael Bloomberg or Michael Moore or Jesse Jackson or Rosie O’Donnell or Al Franken or Oprah or Dr. Phil or Tom Cruise or Katie Holmes or Scientology or the Dalai Lama or Deepak Choprah or Tony Robbins or Eckhart Tolle or Wall Street or Hollywood – or Mitt Romney or Jesus or Sarah Palin – are going to swoop down on a magic broom and wave a magic wand and save the world or save you or make you and yours happy, healthy, wealthy and wise from now on.

Nope. It’s up to YOU to take care of yourself.

And when even mainstream left-leaning MSN starts preaching things like Libertarian-style self-reliance, personal responsibility and integrity, individualism, American Yankee ingenuity, entrepreneurial free market capitalism, classical liberalism, democratic constitutional republicanism, community-based localism and freedom FROM centralized planning and state and federal government taxes, intervention and tyranny (Thomas Paine, Sam Adams, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, Emerson, Thoreau, Edison, Ford, Steve Jobs, et al.) – then you know the times they really are a changin’:

http://money.msn.com/personal-finance/what-no-ones-telling-us-workers-usnews.aspx

Anonymous said...

Actually, those two images represent two realities: The bottom version is for provosts, VPs, vice-provosts, chancellors, and administrators, BOT members and the top version for the rest (AAUP/CWA/AFSCME/non-union faculty/staff). Two kinds of health care/pension/etc plans.

This is where the US may be heading if we let this happen: a neofeudalistic patriarchal system ruled by dictators like Jacobs.

Anonymous said...

Someone should also check out what they charge compared to other hospitals, regionally and nationally. I recently had outpatient surgery and UTMC charged my insurance company 10 X the national average.

Anonymous said...

We on the UT main campus have had so many incompetents and short-sighted stiffs at the highest levels of administrative leadership for so long that being able to catch but a glimpse of Dr. Scarborough's poise and potential as our new provost was a impressive, refreshing and exciting experience.

His presentation was charismatic, enthusiastic and (though he claimed otherwise) well-articulated. Perhaps I am alone among the faculty present at his Town Hall to have reached a tentative conclusion that "Here is a potential provost who could be a champion for the faculty if he wanted to." He could, with his "velvet steel determination" ... "develop strategic action to build quality reputation" and raise main campus community morale (faculty, students, staff and alumni) thus empowering us all to want to team up and work hard to reverse the disspirating downward spiral of the past seven years.

Dr. Scarborough could work wonders with the help of a cooperative main campus community. But, he would have to start off on the right foot and gradually earn their trust and respect.

Would Dr. Scarborough as provost be a faculty champion on the main campus? It is probably too much to hope for. His presentation was earnest, but slick and stoked the fires of the cynics in the audience. Did he deliberately take up 92% of his allotted time to present his ideas, ambitions and background (both professional and personal) rather than risk fielding questions from a mainly distrustful and even hostile audience?

Might Dr. Scarborough once installed as provost have then the cajones to try and buck the UT President and the Board of Trustees in order to chart a faculty-friendly original and compassionate course toward improving morale and performance on this campus?

I doubt it, but his personal charisma, intelligence and apparent strength of character, along with his “velvet steel determination” -- might in a wilder (yet possible) scenario serve to bring even his bosses around to supporting a revolutionary way of getting things done without the sort of creative destruction and ends-justifies-the-means administrative mismanagement, tyranny and arrogance we on this main campus have suffered over the past seven years.

Anonymous said...

Quote: His presentation was charismatic, enthusiastic and (though he claimed otherwise) well-articulated. Perhaps I am alone among the faculty present at his Town Hall to have reached a tentative conclusion that "Here is a potential provost who could be a champion for the faculty if he wanted to." He could, with his "velvet steel determination" ... "develop strategic action to build quality reputation" and raise main campus community morale (faculty, students, staff and alumni) thus empowering us all to want to team up and work hard to reverse the disspirating downward spiral of the past seven years.


Jesus H Christ, if you believe this crap you deserve the sheep pens you were allocated. A second provost coming from the dark side, Third if you count Gold. how much crap can you eat before you realize that you are your own chef's or hospital dieticians? previous provosts (pre-Mc-Millen) were at least academics, not lackeys.

On this one, you faculty deserve what you get.

Anonymous said...

jesus H. Christ
Are you stupid enough to believe a Lloyd jacobs Medical Center person can be independent? Are you a genius or just plain stupid, to badly paraphrase Forrest Gump's, critics?

Anonymous said...

People die for freedom and the right for faculty governance. Are you willing to die for freedom in this summer of rebellion? Or are you wining that the content/situation prevents you from public action? I am ashamed to be one of you...I mentioned this a while ago and it was never published, perhaps i failed to prove I am not a robot?
In any event I am ashamed of the faculty.

Anonymous said...

Diminishing returns of college education

White House budget office predicts 25% default rate on current student loans.

Half the graduates of four-year colleges don't have basic reading and math skills.

"Here's some perspective: In the last 20 years, tuition costs have risen 184%, and that's adjusted for inflation, but the pay of college grads has only risen 9%.

One of the education industry's favorite statistics has been that college grads will make a million dollars more in their lifetimes than folks with just a high school degree.

But recent studies show that's no longer true.

Today, a degree means your lifetime earnings will go up by $300K - $600K...

...A study finds half the graduates of four-year colleges don't have basic reading and math skills, like the ability to understand a credit-card offer or an editorial from the newspaper.

For far too many grads, that diploma is just proof of debt, not employability.

But there is hope for a real solution.

Last year the University of the South - a private school - cut its tuition and fees by ten percent.

And it's paid off for them: They've gotten a huge boost in applications, and the quality of applicants improved too, allowing the school to become more selective.

So schools are capable of holding down costs, and providing a better value.

The last thing we need is more government interference, making it easier for students to run up a mountain of debt they can't afford, and piling more risk on the taxpayer's back."

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/willis-report/blog/2012/07/26/obamas-decoy-bailout-distract-you-real-crisis#ixzz21pnBuiFi

Anonymous said...

University of the South? Chick-fil-A University?

“The renaming of The University of the South to "Sewanee: The University of the South" in 2004 was an official attempt to recruit and retain more minority and non-Southern students. Most students and alumni were, and continue to be, offended by the "distancing" University from its historic association with the best of Southern culture… “


http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/print.php?storyid=11584

You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Bud.

Anonymous said...

There two images also represent the library:

the library on the top is what serious researchers may find after Pryor completely destroys it.

The bottom is Pryor's vision with everyone using those useless ipads.

Yo, Benster! Haven't you had enough. You have no clue what to do with the library and think that an ipad store or repair shop is a worthy replacement for the reference section. And you are dragging some of the librarians whose faculty contracts you cannot even respect into this delusional mirage of what your bosses believe to be the future library! Soon, they will walk out on you...

Get real and get out!

Anonymous said...

"University of the South? Chick-fil-A University?"

Great! :-))) How about TU for Twitter University -- Your knowledge in 140 characters! Who needs those lengthy CliffsNotes versions in that 'museum of books' when the School of Benster/COIL can graduate you with less? That's the TU formula for Coursera.

If Pryor had painted the School of Athens, he would have inserted a third person between Plato (pointing up) and Aristotle (pointing). The third person in the middle would be holding an iPad searching Wikipedia and Twitter for knowledge.

Come to think of it: "School of Athens" seems to be the Benster's model for the Library of the future (without the statues, arches, and paper scrolls), and what about that lonely dude right in the middle is the now-deserted reference desk, or is that the iPad expert of the future???
http://tinyurl.com/838wt5d

and that geezer in rags on the steps is the traditional professor (awaiting his retirement)

And did you notice: no women! Sure looks like the TU of the past and future.

This could be the "School of Benster/COIL" instead. You neo-luddites: Who needs the Renaissance? Who needs enlightenment? Or Academia for that matter!? The iPad is the future. Viva Twitter University!

Anonymous said...

Apparently the Research Experience and Awareness of Clinical Health (REACH) student interns' paychecks were "missing" this week. No one knows what happened, nor if Payroll will make the corrections now or force the interns to wait another 2 weeks for their first check (AFTER the internship ends Aug. 3rd). These bright students are at the top of their class in their respective high schools...how can UT attract/recruit them when they can't even pay them on time?? Another shining example of UT's commitment to young people!

Anonymous said...

Typo correction - I was too hasty with my earlier posting. It should read (in a more complete form):

If Pryor had painted the School of Athens, he would have inserted a third person between Plato (pointing up) and Aristotle (pointing down). The third person (the so-called "co-learner" -- the term for faculty in COILese language) in the middle would have held an iPad while searching Wikipedia and Twitter for knowledge...and with fingers busy tweeting (instead of pointing up and down).

Sorry!

PS: My teaching area no longer has a library liaison, and word has it that Pryor is abolishing the liaison system and the direct links between librarians and department liaisons. Just how many of you have a subject-competent liaison understanding your disciplinary needs in the library?

Anonymous said...

This is from a UT news update (July 31, 2012):
"Most Recent Blogs
Go International! A UT Aluma's story
By Sammy Spann
An alum of UT’s MPA (1994) program, Elin Suleymanov, was recently (October 2011) appointed ambassador to the United States from Azerbaijan. His bio (and list of publications) can be found at http://www.azembassy.us/embassy/ambassador.html. Remarks made by a U.S. assistant secretary of state are below, and contain some brief references to Toledo. This is the 20th anniversary of US-Azerbaijan relations."

Alumna has become Aluma and alumn has become alum... yeah, let's forget English, Latin and all those non-STEM(edicine) bullshit!

Anonymous said...

"Alumna has become Aluma and alumn has become alum... yeah, let's forget English, Latin and all those non-STEM(edicine) bullshit!"

What did you expect in an institution that is taking student-centeredness to grotesque new levels?

Don't you dare correcting that sacred lil' lamb who grew up on twitter, myspace/facebook, wikipedia. That lil' lamb is here to innovate language, not just academia (to suit Benster's limited understanding of what academia is supposed to be...) And don't you dare to have them use spell check, or else it might insult their ego and elf-esteem. They are the future!

Alum -- is that Easyspeak (Lloydese, COILese, etc.) for alumnus, alumna, or alumni.

This is my thinking but prove me wrong: they are de-genderizing English, so it can fit the future Twitter dissertation (in 140 characters), and it is definitely easier on those bony ipad-ready fingerettes.

In automobile terms:

standard English = Humvee
newspeak (alum, etc) = SmartCar

You dinosaurs on the floors of School of Athens. Yu aint getnit!

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah, God forbid a commonly used shortening of a word be used in informal writing. I have a lot of MASSIVE PROBLEMS with the way UT is falling apart under Jacobs, but 'alum' isn't one of them.

Anonymous said...

If you want a graphic that speaks volumes about the current UT and the Jacobs admin just take a good look at the huge banner hanging from the UT football stadium. The banner farcically proclaims that UT is the best university on the planet. And that's the Jacobs UT in a nutshell: a self parody which promotes form over substance. When friends of mine from the Northeast saw that banner they practically fell to the ground laughing. It was a marvelous photo op - they just couldn't resist taking a photo of it to show their friends back home so they too could have a good laugh. And that's UT in a nutshell- a joke to everyone not in the Jacob's inner circle.

Anonymous said...

" I have a lot of MASSIVE PROBLEMS with the way UT is falling apart under Jacobs, but 'alum' isn't one of them."

True. I guess, alum is a symptom that also merits attention but by itself it will not solve those massive problems. Perhaps, a deep analysis of this institution will point to similar shortcomings on larger scales. Perhaps there are many signs of the Jacobs regime collapsing -- the bonus system is not one of them...

Anonymous said...

Funny: nobody has raised the issue of these two images representing an institutional Apartheid:

Top image: pro-faculty/union affiliation/pro-academia/pro-learning/non-prioritized IT support

Bottom image: pro-administration/ anti-union mentality/bonus system/anti-academia/student-centered bogus/politically aligned IT support

The walls are there:

reward system: bonus for failures, breach of contract for hard work

IT support: VIP support for administrators with free ipad, WTF support for academics with free abacus

This mediaevalism has earlier parallels: dictator (Jacobs) supports church or party (BOT), and church/party declares the dictator god or some superhuman overlord over the disenfranchised masses (faculty and staff). This partnership resents (if not fearful of freedom of speech, press, and assembly and would be much happier with SB5 in effect, so they can penalize for striking and call on the dogs of the war (national guard, private security firms) and a perverted mass media (Blade). Only open proclamations and public declarations can slow this cancer down.