Darrin L Rogers @DarrinLRogers@fediscience.org

Signs of a dysfunctional academic environment (cont.):

- "financial crisis" + increased investment in money-losing, non-mission-critical areas

- "financial crisis" + more admins & more spending on admins

Sorry, this list just kept getting longer.

(These are just some general observations from some American universities)

6/6

#HigherEd #faculty #RunAway

Signs of a dysfunctional academic environment (cont.):

- faculty travel & development funds disappear while admins travel & hire consultants

- admin hire consultants to teach them how to admin

- admin "initiatives": ↓ dept & faculty autonomy + ↑ admin numbers & control; never the reverse

- repeated waves of (attempted) "restructuring"

- Thinking Outside The Box never incl ↓ admin portion of budget or ↑ financial transparency

5/6

#HigherEd #faculty #RunAway

Signs of a dysfunctional academic environment (cont.):

- "we will consider providing resources after you demonstrate your new program's success"

- no way for faculty & staff to communicate broadly (e.g. forums, message boards) w/o admin involvement

- faculty senate includes administrators

- admins have closed meetings w no minutes available

- admins will not discuss important issues publicly or in email; only verbal one on one

4/6

#HigherEd #faculty #RunAway

Signs of a dysfunctional academic environment (cont.):

- admin regularly refuse to meaningfully discuss decisions

- admins invoke "confidentiality" for their actions & discussions

- colleagues offer support in whispers or closed offices only

- micromanagement of salaried employees

- requirement to track all sick days, leave, etc. w/o means to track overtime

- benefits listed in official documents must be fought for, with inconsistent results

3/6

#HigherEd #faculty #RunAway

Signs of a dysfunctional academic environment (cont.):

- new faculty warned against asking questions

- new faculty cautioned not to show uncertainty in the classroom

- committees filled w admin-friendly faculty instead of those w domain expertise

- DEI works only for students (esp if complaints against faculty) & hiring committees, rarely/never to protect vulnerable faculty & staff

- admin fights to keep student evals involved in T&P decisions (see above)

2/6

#HigherEd #faculty #RunAway

Some signs you do not work in a supportive (or even functional) academic environment:

- rigid research standards for T&P but no support for research

- student complaints used as leverage to reduce instructor autonomy instead of as information in a thoughtful approach to teaching

- increases to faculty workload (e.g. teaching, advising) w/o demonstrated benefit

- finance & operations info kept from faculty & staff

1/6

#HigherEd #faculty #RunAway

I don't know what I thought a job coach would do for a person, but as it turns out they help you recognize that you have skills, and they give you hope :)

#transition #datascience

I had no idea the backlash was like this. These responses are strongly reminiscent of how authoritarian institutions respond to proposals for egalitarian movements that threaten the status quo

via @flourn0

https://fediscience.org/@flourn0/108550254521272911

Ah, roundtables: a group of amazing academics making speech-like sounds with hints of brilliant insights, none of which I will understand unless they also happen to have Broadway-star vocal projection. Sigh.

#conferences #hearingdisability

"Dear M[a]c[K/k]en[z/s]i[e],"

-- Me, emailing 20% of my students

I keep hoping to hear conservative family & friends (to say nothing of politicians and media figures) actually condemn the ideology that drove the murderers. I'd even settle, at this point, for a condemnation of the murders themselves. I hear none of that.

What are the least lethal places to live in the US as far as gun violence and automobile deaths? Maybe don't take this graph as your final answer, but this take on #CDC mortality data suggests Boston is surprisingly OK. Maybe steer clear of the deep #south, especially the bayou region.

Note: heart disease, diabetes, and COVID are not shown.

Besides the fact that police don't die very often in the USA, #police deaths have also gradually gone down since the 1980s. Recent statements by police-supporting journalists and organizations suggest an alarming increase in deaths in the past two years. Yes. Because of #COVID.

Apparently #music sucks after about 1930 (but we're getting better)

#dataviz #datascience #spotify #yourmusicsucks

Years ago I read an insightful paper in which societal/legal treatment of sex offenders was compared to being declared "homo sacer" in ancient #rome.

IIRC homo sacer ~=~ "property of (only) the gods," so you could be abused by others, even strangers, bc if the gods wanted to save you, they would. You're their property.

Just now saw ref to a video essay: "the audience is a god."

#woah