Without my Uncle Rat's consent, I wouldn't marry the President

[rolanni]

So, yesterday was a hell-day at the day-job and today shaping up to be another. Times are hard for the race of traveling scholars (those of you who thought we made that up for the Crystal Books -- nope; true fact. Most real-life scholars don't defend their work with knives, though. At least, not physical knives.) In any case, times are hard; a lot of the state universities, and a good many of the private colleges have simply stopped hiring temp professors to fill in during sabbaticals; a lot more have decided not to fill vacancies as they come up. Budgetary constraints, yanno.

What that means is that there's a Whole Lot of competition for those few jobs remaining, which in turn means -- an insane amount of data entry for Yr Hmbl Narrator, who happens to be lucky enough to work at a college that has not (yet, at least) had to adopt Draconian Measures.

Also yesterday ran into a Policy which is, in fact, an Unfunded Mandate illuminating the rift between Admin and Academic. I mean, when someone tells me that they've spoken to "all the departments on campus" about an Important Policy, "except for the faculty chairs" (the group most impacted by this Important Policy), it does kinda make my head spin around.

I can't see why we can't be One People about this policy, myself. It's not like the faculty chairs -- or the secretaries, who will actually be responsible for implementing the policy -- will be called on the carpet if the Important Policy isn't followed. It's the college that's going to be in trouble. But, hey. I am only an egg.

Time to go.

Comments

[malkingrey.livejournal.com]

a lot of the state universities, and a good many of the private colleges have simply stopped hiring temp professors to fill in during sabbaticals; a lot more have decided not to fill vacancies as they come up.

Ugh. And I thought it was bad back when they'd just figured out they could shift most of the teaching burden off onto adjunct faculty (aka temps), and run the tenure-track stuff like a bait-and-switch racket -- get five or six years of hard work and research out of some bright young thing, then regretfully turn them down for tenure and hire the next one.

Academia in America devours its own young.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Our own Younger Son, PhD is off being devoured on a research grant in California. Wonder where he'll be after *that* grant runs out . . .

[jelazakazone.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I was pleased to actually recognize the lyric from your subject this morning. One of my favorite kids' tunes.

[shana.livejournal.com]

My brother has been teaching part time at two universities in Boston for more than 20 years.

Thanks to the union, (in which he is active) he is actually making decent money and has benefits.

[painoarvokas.livejournal.com]

On the subject of scientists being violent, I really like this little soundbite from Peter Watts (http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=886): "This is how it works: you put your model out there in the coliseum, and a bunch of guys in white coats kick the shit out of it. If it’s still alive when the dust clears, your brainchild receives conditional acceptance. It does not get rejected. This time."

I took the Crystal depiction of universities to be satire of the current system, but in-world, I've always wondered how such a system could possibly produce any new science – they seemed to have lost the sense of what science is about. I like to think that was the point.

[painoarvokas.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I think I intended to write something a bit more profound about the Crystal university, but didn't :(

I really liked the word "grudent" (contraction from "graduate student", I took it – but also carries an overtone of crudity and cruelty). Was it invented for the book, or does it actually get used somewhere?

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

"Grudent" is a created word, exactly a smashup of "graduate student."

And you're right -- like the rest of their society, the university in the Crystal books is self-destructing; the professors have lost sight of the purpose and importance of their scholarship inside a system that's gone pear-shaped at best, or been turned completely upside down, at worst.

[(Anonymous)]

"And you're right -- like the rest of their society, the university in the Crystal books is self-destructing; the professors have lost sight of the purpose and importance of their scholarship inside a system that's gone pear-shaped at best, or been turned completely upside down, at worst."

I did wonder about that set up. I find an intelligent wizard tree to be less unlikely than high quality science or scholarship conducted according to the Argumentum ad Baculum. Not that science or scholarship is any less vicious, they just don’t use knives.

“If there was ever a hotbed of machination and deception, it is a sherry-reception given by a Noted Professor. I had rather swim with crocodiles; at least my reputation would survive.”

The Fire Rose, Mercedes Lackey