The newest addition to the chancellor's annual search for a new job has Dr. Wells in the running for the leader of SUNY-Albany. The Northwestern reported this story on Saturday.
Here is the story from the Albany newspaper, which lists the other candidates. Apparently this search was supposed to be undertaken with the stricted secrecy, but someone didn't think that was appropriate for a state institution.
Even more interesting (sort of) is that they supposedly were on the verge of hiring someone else just a few weeks ago.
It also reports that Albany took a 14% budget cut, so finances are pretty ugly there.
It is not particularly surprising to discover, as the Chancellor has been on the job market for many years now. The question is whether he will pull himself out of the running again, declaring that he couldn't tear himself away from us. . .
13 comments:
>>the Chancellor has been on the job market for the many years now.<<
Interesting choice of words. You say that like it's a bad thing. The fact is, any administrator worth having is going to be sought out by headhunters with great frequency, especially in a chronically underpaid state like Wisconsin. It's the administrators who AREN'T being solicited that we should worry about. Should WE want them if no one else does?
Sometimes I wonder if you really work here. There's a lot about academe you don't seem to get.
Nemesis:
"Sometimes I wonder if you really work here. There's a lot about academe you don't seem to get."
Not to speak for Winneblogo here but, oh yeah I guess I am! The point I've made and others have made is that he has had one foot out the door since he came in.
In his position, it is about crafting a vision for Oshkosh. How dedicated he is to that vision is being questioned because he started to 'look' after being here a few years.
It is a small network of recruiters for these top posts. Word gets around when you are open to other positions and word gets around when you are not.
Nemesis - Your post is both nasty, and not fully logical. Sure, it is nice that lots of folks seem to think our top guy is good enough to be interviewed (if not hired). But the question people raise is how loyal he is to Oshkosh. All he has to say is "no" when people come calling. The fact that he is willing to go through all these searches seems to indicate that he wants to move. The fact that he wants a new job and can't land one is a bit inconvenient for all of us.
Well, think what you want, but I sure don't see anything wrong with a man trying to advance in his field. He's doing a fine job for us, he's earning his paycheck. We didn't buy him outright; we don't own him.
"Loyalty" don't put dinner on the table, especially in an ignorant inebriated parsimonious state like this where academicians are more reviled than horse thieves and con men. Read the local blogs; see what the locals think of us. They'd like to ride the whole lot of us out of town on a rail. Wells isn't the only one here trying to get away from the rabid anti-intellectualism that overwhelm this state.
Nemesis:
Well, aren't we a happy little scholar?
I do not think that the locals are want to drive all of us out of town. You? Yes.
Small wonder some locals may label us out of touch. Your attitude is visable on this campus in just a small minority.
Make it smaller. Go elsewhere if you don't like it here. With your attitude, I'm sure you'll find that many schools, not to mention their cities and states, will fawn all over you.
If "out of touch" was the worst I'd been called, I'd be happy.
No, it's things like "scam artist" "crook" and "raping the taxpayer" that really hurt.
Aren't blogs very unrepresentative because they are full of responses from people with more extreme and ideologically driven views and therefore a very unreliable gauge of public opinion?
As far as the Chancellor potentially leaving, any transition is disruptive. There will also be the challenge of finding someone who is good to replace him. Paying well below average does not help. Rick Wells' tenure here is already well above the average time that a Chancellor (and whatever else they are called) typically stays at one place and he has genuinely worked tirelessly to promote UW O. He has weaknesses, of course, and we know them well, I suppose, but we could do a lot worse.
The chancellor has done a pretty good job handling the budget problems. I do see a problem with him at Albany. Albany is one of the research universities in NY, and Wells hasn't been a supporter of research. If it wasn't for some vocal people who have the chancellor's ear, the curriculum modifications would have been long gone and we'd be on a 4/4. I can't imagine the Albany faculty would want to have him as the boss.
It is hardly a steadying influence to have your chancellor continuously on the job market.
That being said, Wells has done a good job dealing with cuts and getting the new academic building approved.
I don't know that he is R1 material--though I suppose I am not either!
"Another Opinion said" said, "If it wasn't for some vocal people who have the chancellor's ear, the curriculum modifications would have been long gone and we'd be on a 4/4."
Um, many of us ARE on a 4/4.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/02/09/daily13.html
It looks like they did appont the previously fetted individual... on Feb 10.
Zimpher, one time Chancellor at UWM, was selected as the head of the SUNY system, not the Albany position.
XBadger, Is it because your department chose to remain on 4/4, or you individually? Most of the people I speak with are on 3/3 load. Just wondering.
Anyways, I stand by the Albany job being a bad fit. I don't blame him for looking, but he is looking in the wrong place. Albany is a bit like U of Milwaukee. His best shot is due to Zimpher being in place, because the search committee might think he can work well with someone he already knows.
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