Even the Chancellor thinks it might be time to leave

The chancellor announced this afternoon that he is a finalist for a similar position at CalState Long Beach.

This surely is a step up in the world of academic administration, being a bigger and more highly rated institution. However, it is also true that if the financial and ideological situation around here weren't quite so poisoned, he might not have been as ready to accept the nomination.

However, it just wouldn't bother me much to see him go. How about you?


Here is the text of his announcement:

Date: October 10, 2005


To: Members of the UW Oshkosh Community and Friends:



The California State University system office will announce later today that I have agreed to be a finalist for the Presidency of California State University Long Beach. I want to assure you that I am very proud to be your Chancellor, however, this is an excellent opportunity that requires careful consideration. I was nominated for this position, and it is the only Presidency I have agreed to consider. If it were not for the outstanding reputation of our UW Oshkosh academic community, the UW System and the State of Wisconsin, my family and I would not be in the position to consider this opportunity. We greatly appreciate the support of the people of Oshkosh and are enjoying the State of Wisconsin more than any place we have had the pleasure to live. Consequently, if an offer is extended, we will be facing a difficult decision.

Chancellor Charles Reed and the California State University Board of Trustees expect to conclude the search on or before November 1. I regret any distraction this situation may cause for our academic community, and I intend to continue, with your help, to stay fully focused on moving forward the priorities of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Richard H. Wells
Chancellor

A more positive story about UW outreach.

This digitization project discussed at the Wisc. State-Journal is a great project and is co-directed by our own library director Pat Wilkenson.

Wisconsin State Journal

New Buildings on Campus

The regents gave approval to the new academic building on campus last week, which is good news for the university community. However, it comes at a very interesting time. My biggest question is why the state has $40 million to spend on new buildings at a time when we are cutting courses like crazy.

It is an serious question for the university. How can we complain that we are being gutted by the state legislature (which we are) when such a huge amount of money is being spent on a new building? What is the point of getting a new building when we don't have enough teachers to teach the students that we do have? Where does this money come from anyway and why aren't we tapping it to take care of students who are here now?

I suppose it is a matter of the way money is divided up. Somehow it is more legitimate to give $40 million to private contractors to build a new building. We know, afterall, that there are much better donors among the big contracting companies than among the university supporters. Why not raise tuition and hand it over to the rich businessmen?

I should provide a few links, in case you are not up to speed on the news:

Here is the Northwestern story

I was also struck by the critical letter to the editor yesterday by the retired director of facilities management (second letter down). He seems extremely angry that the university leased Cub foods building and is moving ahead with new construction. It makes me wonder about the history of this project!

Cuts by legislature left opening for abuses in UW system

The Journal Sentinel reports that part of the reason for the backup position scandal is that cuts by legislators caused campuses to cut back on their self-auditing (in order to save teaching resources).

JS Online: Cuts hurt scrutiny of UW System

Computers hurt education

This is an interesting article complaining about the adverse effects computers have on education--it seems quite relevant to much of the discussion lately about d2l and other educational technology:



Orion > Orion Magazine > September | October 2005 > Lowell Monke > Charlotte's Webpage

Buying the state of Wisconsin

The latest tempest on campus is that all state-funded travel must be paid for using a U.S. Bank Visa card. Apparently, the Doyle administration claims that forcing all state employees who travel to carry a new credit card will provide great efficiencies.

What is probably the real case is that the administration will be getting a kick-back from U.S. bank when state employees use the card. Someone feels that this 1% that the state is recieving is enough to radically change the way travel works for state employees.

There is great resistance to this idea here on campus. Why should we all be forced to apply for (and hand our personal information over to) a new company? Why do we have to be burdened by carrying and preserving an extra card that can ONLY be used for specific aspects of travel up to a limited dollar amount?

We are personally responsible for all debts incurred on the card. I suppose the state will wash its hands of responsibility as well if the card is stolen or is used to steal your identity.

This is just another example of the corporate take over of the public sector in America. We are already forced to carry a U.S. Bank Campus ID card, and now we are being forced to hand over more information to this corporation if we want to use part of our benefits. I wonder how deep U.S. bank has its hand into the student loan business on campus? Maybe we should just outsource the whole operation to a big corporation. After all, education is all about profits, isn't it???

Buying the campus mind

Ideological-driven special interests grow, as colleges search for more donations:

News & Features | Buying the campus mind

College Education Still Pays

If you want to put a few dollar signs on the value of higher education, here is a story from the Chronicle of Higher Education:

A glance at the current issue of The Economist's Voice: The value of a college degree

The hourly-wage gap between people with college degrees and those with only a high-school education has been growing for decades, but the rate of increase slowed in the 1990s. At the same time, tuition prices rose, leading people to ask whether college was still worth it. But after studying the financial risks and rewards of higher education, two economists have concluded that continuing one's education definitely still pays off.

"In fact, there are no signs that the value of a college education has peaked or is on a downward trend," say Lisa Barrow, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Cecilia Elena Rouse, a professor of economics at Princeton University.

For the average student who entered college in 2003, the authors calculate, the cost of earning a bachelor's degree would be worthwhile if it raised the value of the student's lifetime earnings by $107,277. That figure represents the sum of average tuition and fees for a four-year degree program and the amount someone with just a high-school diploma could earn in the same span of time.

Ms. Rouse and Ms. Barrow write that a college diploma would raise such a student's lifetime earnings by as much as $402,959 -- nearly $300,000 more than the total cost.

That increase is important to focus on, in contrast to the rising cost of tuition, which the authors say has almost no effect on the value of a college education. In fact, despite the growth in the number of graduates, the wages of degree-holders continue to rise, indicating "an increasing -- not a decreasing -- demand for their skills," they write.

The article, "Does College Still Pay?," is available at http://www.bepress.com/ev/vol2/iss4/art3/

Price Increases Sharpest at Public Colleges

Inside higher ed posts a summary of a study of the costs and graduation percentages at universities and colleges. As the headlines note, legislatures all over the country are trying to balance their budgets on the backs of students and their parents.

Inside Higher Ed :: Price Increases Sharpest at Public Colleges

The latest in the Barrows saga: Wiley wanted to fire him

I am getting tired of this story, but I'll post this link, so that if you are following along, you will know the latest:


Wisconsin State Journal

Marder before the Wisconsin Supreme Court

I have not followed the details of this case over the years, but it seems to be reaching its final denoument, as it is now before the supreme court.

The most interesting issue in the article: whether Marder was protected by state laws or not. Seems strange to me that a state employee might not be covered by state laws, but we'll see what the court decides.


JS Online: State Supreme Court hears fired UW professor's appeal

Student Success at Public Colleges

Inside Higher ed published a study of colleges that have success in graduating their students, putting "high expectations" at the center of the effort.

It seems like a good place to start as the University view the PBS documentary "Declining by Degrees" at the Provost's Summit on Teaching and Learning tonight.
Inside Higher Ed :: Student Success at Public Colleges

Lack of men on college campuses

USA Today ran a story yesterday about the fact that more women than men are graduating from college.

It asks the question where the men have gone. It suggests that there is a growing problem of underemployed and hopelessness among young men in the U.S.

Almost as many men are on probation and in prison as are in college, the story reports.

The story raises an additiional question as to the shape of education on campus and across the country.




USATODAY.com

K.C. Wong tries to remind Northwestern that all crime is not the same

K.C.'s letter appeared in the Northwestern this morning, in response to an editorial from Sept. 21 that called for the immediate dismissal of all UW employee's convicted of a crime

Oshkosh Northwestern - Not all criminal conduct bad for university classrooms

The original editorial is here.

K.C. continues to make worthwhile points about crime and about the university system. We are not a nursery school, and students are not babies.

K.C. is also suggesting that we in Wisconsin and in the U.S. need to rethink our knee-jerk response to crime. Abandoning all who are convicted of a crime, whether to jail or to ostracism, is not compassionate nor sound public policy.

Journal Sentinal reflection on bad relations between legislature and university

The MJS author argues the problems are really due to ideological differences: republican legislators can't handle university system that disagrees with their conservative agenda.

JS Online: Legislature, UW System not on same page

Latest from the Barrows saga

Backup jobs remain in the news. UW reputation continues to drop as UW Madison chancellor admits not following rules.

JS Online: Officials faulted but lose little in UW case

This story summarizes the memo that got Barrows fired.

Here is a story of reactions from madison.com

Also, a Timeline, where you can see that Barrows still has a job making $72K a year.

Finally, this link takes you to a copy of the report itself.

National Survey of Student Engagement shows problems at UWO

The provost recently sent out a report on the results of the 2004 NSSE survey. Oshkosh fell below the national average in every column. Another message suggested that these figures place us in the bottom 10% of all universities:

A summary:
For first-years:

Level of Academic Challenge 46.2 (natl. average 53.6)
Active and collaborative learning 34.0 (natl. average 42.3)
Student Faculty Interaction 24.8 (natl. average 33.3)
Enriching educational experience 19.0 (natl. average 26.7)
Supportive campus environment 55.3 (natl. average 62.8)

For Seniors:

Level of Academic Challenge 53.9 (natl. average 57.6)
Active and collaborative learning 47.8 (natl. average 51.4)
Student Faculty Interaction 35.6 (natl. average 44.0)
Enriching educational experience 33.3 (natl. average 40.9)
Supportive campus environment 53.4 (natl. average 59.7)

I don't know exactly how the questions were put together or exactly what the numbers mean, except that we are doing worse than most places across the board. At least seniors think slightly better of us than the first-years.

The provost made some vague statements about addressing these issues in the strategic plan, but they seem to suggest that something drastic might need to change if we want to improve the quality of education for students. I imagine that larger class sizes and fewer classes are not going to help when the survey is administered again next year.

Barrows sues -- claiming UW was mean to him

The embarrassing saga that will not die -- now Paul Barrows claims to be the injured party.

JS Online: UW official sues chancellor, former dean

Interview about problems and future of higher ed

In an interview hyping their new book, three authors discuss the problems of higher education. They are especially concerned about the marketization of higher education and the lack of commitment to public purposes.

It parallels what Dean Zimmerman suggested in his opening day remarks: we need to explain better that universities exist not only to serve "the consumer," but also serve to create a better society.

Inside Higher Ed :: 'Remaking the American University'

Stephen Kercher's report and commentary on the Budget forum

Stephen posted this insightful comment on the budget forum and Underheim's bitter rhetoric to the university discussion list:

Those of us who attended yesterday’s forum on the “Crisis in the
Public University” are more than likely being asked by their students
what they “think” about Representative Gregg Underheim and his
position on public funding for the UW system.


How does one reply? How does one not betray the anger and
frustration that many of us felt in Reeve 202 as Representative
Underheim circumvented the strict code of civility that Dave Siemers
rightly attempted to maintain and dismissed Susan McFadden as a
starry-eyed idealist who foolishly believes that money grows on
trees. (Perhaps Dave applied the code a little too zealously. I
don’t think the student Shannon was wrong to suggest that there was a
strong hint of condescension in Underheim’s delivery.)


What follows is a free-wheeling, opinionated take on the subject of
yesterday’s forum. Please read on if you are interested.


To begin, it seems to me that inquiring students might think of the
ways that Gregg Underheim embodies the prerogatives of America’s
conservative movement. Having exhausted hope in the public sector,
conservatives of Underheim’s stripe hold out as models for public
policy corporate, managerial modes borrowed from the country’s
largest private-sector employer, Wal-Wart. With the example of Wal- Wart as a guide, conservatives promise to pursue “economies of scale”
and follow the “law of diminishing returns.” But, as Andrew
Schroeder and many others point out, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina
demonstrates the pitfalls of providing public services on the cheap.


Witness too Representative Underheim’s pseudo-populist stance—another
hallmark of the modern conservative. The public policy question
forced by today’s budget crisis, Underheim told us yesterday, is
whether the less well-off should be forced to support the tuition of
the pampered middle-class students who attend our classes. Mr.
Underheim is a frequent visitor to our campus (he once dropped in
(unannounced and uninvited) to a lecture I delivered on the Watergate
crisis)), and he ought to know that many of our students are the
offspring of the working-class families for whom he claims to represent.


I have reason to believe that Representative Underheim, like many
conservatives, have the interests of the wealthy, not the poor, at
heart on this issue. Many working-class families who send their
children to our university understand, as Michael Zimmerman reminded
us, that our institution will provide them with their best hope for
upward mobility. It is in the perceived best interest of many
wealthy, more ideologically conservative constituents to ratify our
faith in the “free market,” extol the virtues of privatization and,
not least, make substantial cuts to their tax burden. Unfortunately
for us, this agenda has helped undermine the public’s faith in the
public sector. Mr. Underheim’s political strength is a grim reminder
of this fact.


What many wealthy, ideologically conservative Wisconsites believe on
this issue—and a few of them, embolded by stiff drinks, have not been
afraid to confess it to this university professor in public—is that
the University System (big, bloated, and wasteful) is a drain on
taxpayers who have no intention of sending their children to a public
school. Underheim, I would guess, represents these citizens’
concerns more than he does others. I think Underheim’s description
of Milwaukee—read BLACK Milwaukee—as a “drain” on public resources,
as Susan McFadden astutely pointed out, confirms this impression—in
my mind anyway.


What conservatives like Underheim won’t fess up to is a deliberate
agenda to cut public spending by “starving the beast.” In an age of
economic downturns, bloated budget deficits and cowardly politicians
(who in their right mind, people ask, would have the courage to raise
new public revenue?) we are stuck with Underheim’s politics of
despair and cynicism.


Yet I think that students should also know that things don’t have to
be this way. Students would be well served to revisit the tradition
of the Wisconsin Idea, to acquaint themselves with that chapter in
the history of American social thought when proto-progressives took
on the Social Darwinist “realists” and imagined a new public role for
universities and the state, to read Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.’s
description of a new “politics of hope” at the dawn of the 1960s, as
well as many other articulate, idealistic responses Americans have
made to the conservative status quo in our history.


In the end, perhaps Susan McFadden was not the starry-eyed idealist
in the crowd but one of the few REAL realists. By yielding to
Underheim’s cynical social vision, his empty and destructive politics
of division, progress in the state of Wisconsin will be thwarted. To
grow our economy, ensure social justice and improve the quality of
life for all people in Wisconsin, we are obligated to not swallow the
pills Underheim his fellow “realists” prescribe for us. There are
other visions, other solutions, other paradigms.


For those students who may despair at the bleak picture painted
yesterday, they should be encouraged to take heart. Newt Gingrich’s
conservative revolution was stalled by the American public’s healthy
skepticism of where it might lead them. And we can be thankful that
Wisconsin’s citizenry had the good sense not to elect Underheim State
Superintendent of Public Instruction. As the parent of two children
educated in area public schools, I’d rather them learn at the hands
of a real-time teacher than the experts popping up on children’s
laptops in Albuquerque.