The Future of the Dissertation

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500

As I perused the stacks of books in the exhibition area of a recent conference, I started eavesdropping on a nearby conversation between two young men who were discussing their dissertations. I chuckled when I heard their exchange of dissertation-ese that was loaded with jargon and used overly complicated sentence structures.

Several past threads in the Chronicle forums have noted the importance of understanding that job

Hiring and Firing Bytes

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

• Virginia Commonwealth University expects to cut 91 jobs over the next two years, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Meanwhile, the University of Nebraska system could slash hundreds of jobs if Gov. Dave Heineman's proposed budget cuts go through, the Omaha World-Herald reports.

•

Simple Faculty-Load Tricks

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0500

The days of research sabbaticals and teaching-load reductions are taking, shall we say, their own sabbatical for a while. For those who are employed at teaching-intensive institutions and strive to maintain active scholarly agendas, this is a significant problem, especially if the cuts to such programs are timed with a book contract or significant grant opportunity.

There are other load tricks, however, that sometimes can help faculty members who are trying to sustain their

Trinkets and Tokens

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Dilbert once had a story arc about the horrible trinkets and tokens that corporate employers give out to recognize employee contributions. The most common ones are probably logo shirts that only come in XXS or XXXL or the infamous logo belt buckles that are designed to fit rodeo-clown belts. Higher education is not immune to such trinkets. When I was a student, I always thought that faculty members had first crack at all the really nice swag, things like sweatshirts and ball caps and the

Hiring for the Mission

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

My last entry on small private colleges' need to find faculty members who can cover a wide range of courses was inspired by comments I heard at various sessions of the Council of Independent Colleges' annual institute for chief academic officers. Another interesting, and somewhat related conversation occurred at the dinner meeting of the CAOs at Presbyterian colleges, which was sponsored by the

Three-Year Thinking and Personnel

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Several articles in The Chronicle (including this piece in The Chronicle Review and my recent column) have discussed U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander's proposal in Newsweek that we increase opportunities for undergraduate degrees to be completed in three years. His

In Search of the Flexible Candidate

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

I've spent the past several days at the Council of Independent Colleges' annual Institute for Chief Academic Officers. The CIC is an association of small and midsize private institutions that offers its members developmental conferences such as this one, a similar one for presidents, a series of workshops for chairs, and other programs and projects including a valuable tuition-exchange program for children of faculty and staff members.

While a number of the more elite private

Diversity Officer's Ouster Sparks Student Protest at College Park

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Hundreds of students at the University of Maryland at College Park marched on the administration building last Thursday to protest the dismissal of Cordell Black, a popular diversity officer who has occupied his post for 18 years, The Washington Post reports.

Mr. Black will be let go as associate provost for equity and diversity at the end of the year as part of a university

What You Don't Remember

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

When I became an academic administrator, one of my mentors encouraged me to always try to remember what it feels like to be a faculty member who grades hundreds of freshman-composition papers in a semester or who needs summers "off" to do even a minimal amount of scholarship or who gnashes clenched teeth at ineffective committee meetings.

I was pondering that conversation the other day and spent a little time assessing what I have and haven't remembered, especially about being an

From Bad to Worse

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Over at Crooked Timber, Michael Bérubé describes how "extra extra dismal" this year's job market looks to be in modern languages. Why the extra "extra"? Well, because ...

the effects of the Great Collapse of 2008 are only hitting this part of the academic machinery now. Colleges and universities have already taken—and administered—hits elsewhere, via salary cuts and/or freezes,

The Millionaires' Club

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

According to a recent Chronicle article, 23 private university presidents took home more than $1-million last year, up from nine the previous year. Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, NY, came in at no. 1, with a total annual compensation package of nearly $1.6-million.

Among the other

Ignoring the Obvious

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500

I worked in private business for a few years before moving into academe. One of my mentors noted that most companies spend their time trying to eliminate inefficiency by lamenting a few drops of blood lost through paper cuts rather than looking at the great gaping holes in their arteries. They would cut back on toilet-paper purchases while ignoring problems in their business models that cost them piles of cash.

My observation has been that higher education does much of the same.

Colleges Hiring More Counselors?

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

In these tough times, faculty and staff job openings may be fewer and far between, but the market for mental-health professionals may be heating up, as stressed-out students turn increasingly to campus counselors for help with problems big and small, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports in a recent article. Suzanne Boyll, counseling director at La Salle University, told the

Meeting Institutional Needs

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

In a previous entry, I promised to discuss the searches my institution is undertaking this year. This is an update on our search in human performance/athletic training.

We have an excellent athletic-training program, which was enthusiastically reaffirmed last year by the Council for the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. The program provides students with great opportunities to learn from and network

Aiming High?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0400

What do fallen university leaders and felines have in common? Apparently, they both land on their feet. One need look no further than James L. Oblinger, the ex-chancellor of North Carolina State who resigned over the Mary Easley hiring scandal, and Richard Herman, the ex-chancellor of the University of Illinois whose fall resulted from an

On Hiring