smorgasbord

Three things on topics academic this morning:

(1) A note to The Chronicle of Higher Education: Putting up an op-ed from an attorney for the Competitive Enterprise Institute (a “free-market” “think” tank so right-wing that it makes AEI look like the Comintern) does not help your credibility.

(2) Colorado College in (not surprisingly) Colorado is offering a new major in Education that operates a little differently. Good on them.

(3) If you read only one of these, read this one from Matt Reed at Inside Higher Ed. The destruction of public education is not limited to K-12. Public education (from pre-K to PhD) remains the greatest potential creator of *true* equality, and as such it’s a threat to the oligarchs. That’s why we have the funding inequalities described here. That’s why we have MOOCs and for-profit “schools” pushed – and pushed hard – by people who would *never* send their own children to one.

WF

the bright sunshine of human rights

Today I finished Carl Solberg’s biography of Hubert Humphrey. I figure if I’m going to be a Minnesotan, I need to bone up on the state’s history, politics, and culture (though it may be a while before I get up the courage to try lutefisk).

There’s a phrase from Humphrey’s 1948 speech to the Democratic National Convention that has stuck with me for years, and it’s referenced in the title of this post. We’ve heard much about human rights in the North Star State this past week, for obvious reasons. I think the Happy Warrior would be proud.

Also, this happened.

He’s good enough, he’s smart enough, and doggone it, people like him.

Sen. Franken gave the address at UMM’s Commencement on May 11. He shook every faculty member’s hand before the speech, and this picture was taken after the exercises. When he was talking to me and two fellow music faculty members, he remarked that the only class he had real trouble with was Music Theory, because “I couldn’t hear modulations. Plus, whenever you had to identify a piece of music by hearing it, if I didn’t know I’d just put ‘Streets of Laredo’ because I thought the professor might find it funny.”

I like it here. There are challenges, to be sure, but I like it here.

WF

wrapping up

Sorry for the many delays. I haven’t had time to write blog posts about being an administrator because, well, I’ve been too busy being an administrator. My time as Discipline Coordinator is coming to an end, and I wish to reflect upon this time.

This past semester has given me a much different perspective on academia, and after 15 years in this field I didn’t think that was possible. For one thing, I read even more articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and I can talk about assessment, MOOCs, budgets, and town-gown relations with much more precision and understanding than before. For another, I see the behind-the-scenes battles and have a much better perspective on the struggles between faculty and administrators, administrators and staff, students and faculty, and music programs and everyone else. (Just kidding – sort of – on that last one.)

I truly get the concept of “shared governance” for the first time. Here at UMM, we have what is known as Campus Assembly. Instead of a Faculty Senate (though we do send a few representatives to the main UM Faculty Senate in the Twin Cities), our governance body consists of the entire faculty, a good hunk of the staff, members of Student Government, and the upper echelons of administration. In some ways it’s frustrating (we’re academics, so we love to hear ourselves talk), but it really does place ownership of the governance process in everyone’s hands. It’s not perfect, and there are some changes I’d like to see, but it has opened my eyes.

Finally, I believe this experience has improved my own teaching and research/creative work. Now that I have a better perspective on what the tenure process here is like, I can take what I do and fine-tune it to better fit that particular process. Again, after 15 years I did not think I really could change all that much, but now I know I can.

I have been fortunate to work with great colleagues in the UMM Music Discipline, as well as a grand mentor in Mike Korth, Associate Professor of Physics, a solid Division of Humanities chair in Pieranna Garavaso, Professor of Philosophy, and a Dean who has given me many wonderful opportunities in Bart Finzel. I thank everyone who helped – especially my long-suffering wife – and I thank you for coming along with me on this journey. Stay tuned for the sequel.

more than a feeling

One of my treasured memories is a great weekend Jawa Girl and I spent in Boston shortly before moving back to Cincinnati in 2007. We walked the Freedom Trail, had some great food and shopping at Quincy Market, enjoyed some pastries from the North End, and watched everyone celebrate a Red Sox no-hitter. It’s a great city with a lot to offer. We have good friends who grew up there, and good friends who live close by. And what a rich musical and academic history!

So yeah, the events of yesterday hurt.

I am not going to hazard a guess as to who was responsible (though you’d better believe I have some ideas). Our first priority now must be to bind the wounds of the injured, soothe the souls of the hurting, and memorialize those who were killed. Justice will come, and it will roll down like a mighty river, but it will come properly. We must not lash out blindly. We did that once, and it didn’t work.

Rather, let us devote our energies to love. Love beats hate every time. Let us love one another. As W. H. Auden said in “September 1, 1939,” we must love one another or die.

WF

to the rule

So one of the things I have to do is approve exceptions to graduation plans. We do a pretty good job of advising here at UMM, but now and then you get one. In this case, it was a small but important requirement.

We’re trying to make everything a little more standard here without resorting to standardization, as (a) philosophically I have a real problem with turning education into a checklist and (b) that would be antithetical to a liberal arts program. So here and there, sometimes exceptions are on the table. My question for all of you is this: How far do you go in exceptions for things like concert attendance, etc.?

WF

deadlines

Today was the deadline for a couple of scholarships/auditions, so I stayed late at the office to get any last-minute forms. Historically, I’ve been…oh, let’s go with “flexible” in my punctuality (I have often said that I was born 29 days premature and it was the last time I was early for anything), but I find myself trying to stay right on top, if not ahead of, major deadlines.

Gonna give y’all a little hint, and I never would have believed it myself until I’d seen it with my own eyes: The deadlines exist for a reason. I always believed it was just so the folks farther up the food chain could have plenty of time to fart around before doing whatever needed to be done. I won’t make that mistake again.

WF

everyone has their own agenda

The title is accurate for the meetings I’ve been running, as I make sure everyone has their own agenda before we start. (I send them out via email.)

Today’s topic is everyone’s least favorite part of their job: meetings. I had two this morning back-to-back, and had to “lead” the second one. No one ever seems to enjoy this part of the job, but I have found that making sure everyone is well-prepared and no personalities try to dominate make for happy, quick meetings. We disposed of six little things in 15 minutes, and could spend the remaining time getting inside a particularly thorny issue. I am pleased to report we came away with some fine plans that are easily implementable and will have a positive impact on the program.

Academic administrators at any level – even my “Temporary Honorary Colonel” referenced above – should have the following as their primary goal:

What can I do to make sure our faculty can engage in their teaching, research, and service to the best of their abilities? If the faculty can do their jobs, the students benefit by having engaged, professionally-satisfied teachers and mentors. I know there are those who might disagree with me, but the faculty have to be at the center of any academic enterprise. Maybe that’ll change when and if I move up the ranks, but for right now, that’s how I feel.

Oh, and concerning students: I refuse to think of the students as “consumers.” Rather, they are students. A university has no customers.

WF