Tag: Chronicle of Higher Education

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I read this at The Chronicle of Higher Education earlier today, and something about it really popped for me.

As both of my readers will recall, I spent the spring semester serving in a minor administrative capacity. This all-too-brief introduction to real academic administration* got me to contemplate the critical issues facing academia. Among the issues that have been on my mind:

(1) Treatment of adjuncts. How we treat these freeway flyers can have dangerous consequences; this is nothing short of shameful. No doubt I’ll have more on this later.

(2) The continuing destruction of our commitment to higher education. At a time when we’re asking – nay, demanding – that everyone get a college education, we are defunding our public higher education system at a breakneck clip. This can’t end well.

(3) MOOCs and online ed. This is where the above article comes in. I’ve taught online, and I can see certain situations where it can be quite effective. But, just as there’s no substitute for a fresh tomato from your own garden, there’s nothing like a master teacher, working in concert with excited, ready-to-learn students, operating with a real sense of place. Small liberal arts colleges, like the wonderful institution that pays me every two weeks to do things I love, are uniquely positioned to provide this opportunity. Take advantage of it. Support your local college.

*I’ve headed up theory-composition programs, but those positions lacked budgetary and other responsibilities.

WF

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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

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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.

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From the Chronicle of Higher Education comes an op-ed in support of “sports majors.”

The operative model in this case is the major in a performing art, such as music or theatre. I don’t know much about the potential sports classes (though the article does offer an interesting curriculum), but I do know a thing or two about the music major.

I think I’d be OK with this, if it was coupled with a real MLB-esque farm system for the NBA and NFL (instead of the farm system outsourced to the colleges), if the courses had real academic discipline and rigor (as the upper division courses and ensembles of a music major should have), and if the students who took part in the major had a real capstone/senior thesis project (beyond simply playing the game). I could see it as a path to the pros, yes, but also a way to train future coaches and minor-league or semi-professional players. Plus, with the actual farm system in place, a player could decide if s/he wanted to go that route or through the college route.

And of course, one not need major in football studies to play football any more than one need major in music to be in the campus band.

What say you?

WF