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From: Melissa R Herman <manoki@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Message-Id: <199609111935.MAA17771@wisdom.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: tenure at minnesota
To: socgrad@csf.colorado.edu (socgrad network)
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 12:35:05 -0700 (PDT)
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A friend of mine, who has an untenured instructorship at Minnesota,
responded this way when I forwarded the post of a few days ago (about
plans to drastically alter the meaning of tenure at Minnesota).  His
comments are caustic and funny, especially the one about boardroom orgasm...

 > 
 > Somewhat true, i.e., under discussion and in a plan forwarded by regents.  
 > The outgoing President is against it and the faculty is threatening to 
 > unionize.  Next month, they meet again to hash the idea out.  Meanwhile, 
 > the faculty has been pushed out of the process.
 > 
 > The regents are made up of CEOs who took bad business courses telling them 
 > about TQM and the sort of nonsense which preaches institutional 
 > transformation regardless of function.  They have this idea that abolishing 
 > programs and departments is the best way to prove their fealty to the gods 
 > of management and achieve synergy, boardroom orgasm or whatever else 
 > that is conveniently stylish.  Seen from their limited
 > perspective, the plan makes sense--place and replace pretty much at will.  
 > Seen from anyone who possesses a modicum of sanity, it is nonsense.  
 > Already, some faculty have been contacted by other Big Ten schools
 > wondering about their interest in leaving the U here.
 > 
 > Yesterday, an editorial in the local newspaper summed up the feelings of 
 > many Twin Cities citizens and Minnesotans generally re the regents' 
 > proposal:  outrage.  It is funny--as well as immensely gratifying--to live 
 > in an area and state where polls indicate that citizens think the state is 
 > spending too LITTLE on education, and sees the University system as "the 
 > most important state institution".  
 > 

-- 
Melissa Herman                              
manoki@leland.stanford.edu
Department of Sociology                     
Stanford University