tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post1327372071228249308..comments2023-10-15T10:48:01.870-04:00Comments on Roxie's World: In Praise of IncrementalismRoxie Smith Lindemannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-11692834997977093582012-06-25T18:14:34.189-04:002012-06-25T18:14:34.189-04:00Don't hold back, GlassPen -- As a UVA alum and...Don't hold back, GlassPen -- As a UVA alum and a woman, you are entitled to extra portions of outrage on this matter. Thanks for weighing in. We look forward to seeing what happens tomorrow, to say the least.Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-18313918586470710082012-06-25T18:11:52.062-04:002012-06-25T18:11:52.062-04:00Interesting to think about Obama in connection wit...Interesting to think about Obama in connection with the tension between incrementalism and innovation, Ezra. Part of his challenge right now is that he campaigned the last time around as an innovator (Hope and Change! Change and Hope!), but he has governed very much as an incrementalist (Caution and Carefulness, Carefulness and Caution). His reelection campaign has to be to some extent against change (Don't Change Leaders! Give us more time! Oh, and Romney Is Scary!). I think his campaign in a bit of a pickle, and the pickle has everything to do with managing the uneasy relationship between incrementalism and innovation. Thanks for bringing that up. Oh, and welcome to Roxie's World!Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-22411651111380501272012-06-25T15:12:31.452-04:002012-06-25T15:12:31.452-04:00I'm going to out myself as an alumna of The Un...I'm going to out myself as an alumna of The University of Virginia (Col '77). I was in the fourth class that admitted women to undergraduate programs, and to say sexism was rampant when I was in Charlottesville grossly understates the situation. It was a profound shock that UVA managed to hire a woman of Teresa Sullivan's exceptional stature as the university President, and I am very gratified to see the support that she has earned and has been bestowed by the vast majority of people currently and formerly associated with UVA.<br /><br />Not for one second do I believe that this is about Sullivan's abilities or personality or "differeing vision" from that of the Board. Rector Drag-A$$, having achieved her prominent position, recognized the threat to her Queen Bee status that Sullivan presented. Drag-A$$ tried to prevent Sullivan's hiring and, having failed there, has provided at best tepid public support while working tirelessly behind the scenes to undermine Sullivan...finally managing to finagle an ambush firing. It is devoutly hoped that Drag-A$$ will not get away with this: she shouldn't merely lose her position as Rector...she should be tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail like the rapscallion that she is. (Shall I tell you what I really think?)<br /><br />UVA has never been a hot-bed of political protest. It's been fascinating to watch this utterly alien activity unfold there. And it will be interesting to see how it all works out.GlassPennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-58058585723496038122012-06-25T15:08:31.870-04:002012-06-25T15:08:31.870-04:00Amen to that. While change and innovation CAN be g...Amen to that. While change and innovation CAN be good, I am always a little curious as to how we study a whole canon of great scholar, writers, scientists etc, and then claim that we have to have a newer ways to educated students. Obviously, at least some of the old ways of doing things have worked, which means that necessary changes/updates/innovations should be instituted carefully and slowly. Politics could use some incrementalism too. Can you imagine Obama trying to get re-elected by promising to institute changes that will make no immediate impact, but will vastly improve the quality of life for your children's retirement and your grandchildren's education. I can't imagine that would have the same ring to it as a promise to completely turn around the economic conditions of a 300 million people within four years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-2476847188150291792012-06-25T13:08:41.226-04:002012-06-25T13:08:41.226-04:00You gotta bring in the turtles -- School rules, si...You gotta bring in the turtles -- School rules, sister! :-)Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-83335139439208459182012-06-25T13:07:53.965-04:002012-06-25T13:07:53.965-04:00Yes, and I bet Daniels won't be the only right...Yes, and I bet Daniels won't be the only right-wing PhD-less scumbagge running a big state U before all is said and done. That's part of what makes the possibility that Sullivan might end up retaining her post at UVA so encouraging. It would be a victory for the increasingly quaint-sounding notion that academic institutions ought to be run by ACADEMICS.Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-42809790963102097542012-06-25T13:03:21.853-04:002012-06-25T13:03:21.853-04:00Thanks, TR!Thanks, TR!Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-41496990967366995932012-06-25T13:02:24.512-04:002012-06-25T13:02:24.512-04:00Kris Olds does a nice job of examining this questi...Kris Olds does a nice job of examining this question of how weird/wrong it is that governing models haven't changed when funding structures have in <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/globalhighered/failure-legacy-governance-university-virginia#.T98wiDrqAR0.facebook" rel="nofollow">this excellent piece</a> on Inside Higher Ed. Cathy Davidson makes a similar point in her commentary in the Chronicle, but it's behind the pay wall, I think.Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-22313152837193526892012-06-25T12:55:50.996-04:002012-06-25T12:55:50.996-04:00"Strategic dynamism": Another term we sh..."Strategic dynamism": Another term we should steal from the oppressors and use for our own purposes. Good move, Cassandra, and thanks for the link to the report on contingent faculty.Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-53201967591970187312012-06-23T23:57:58.011-04:002012-06-23T23:57:58.011-04:00Great post. As you point out, the reason that all...Great post. As you point out, the reason that all the innovation and the research dollars can thrive is that incrementalism prevents universities from adopting the latest business buzzword du jour. And you brought in the turtles! Perfect.undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-8925885082423908292012-06-23T18:42:50.627-04:002012-06-23T18:42:50.627-04:00I'm convinced that the university's great ...I'm convinced that the university's great strength as a societal institution is that its extreme structural conservatism/incrementalism provides a safe haven for the genuinely revolutionary intellectual work that occurs in its halls.<br /><br />BTW, have you heard that Mitch Daniels is supposedly going to take over as president of Purdue University? This right-wing scumbagge doesn't even have a motherfucken PhD.Comrade Physioprofhttp://freethoughtblogs.com/physioprofnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-37659008075066835612012-06-22T20:50:55.817-04:002012-06-22T20:50:55.817-04:00Outstanding post: really a manifesto for all of us...Outstanding post: really a manifesto for all of us.Tenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-974949915218410562012-06-22T19:50:15.659-04:002012-06-22T19:50:15.659-04:00Great post, Roxie -- I do hope there will be large...Great post, Roxie -- I do hope there will be larger ramifications from this intense and surprising local struggle, though it's possible that the takeaway for Boards will be More and Better Secrecy. It has brought powerfully home to me how outdated our governance structures are, especially with the state contributing a minority share to the cost of public higher education. Who can we trust to look after the public good? Not political appointees, I fear. I hope they manage to get faculty or faculty emeritus representation on the Board. Or, at the very least, someone who has logged some time working in/ for public higher education.dog-eared booknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-61759595393200132422012-06-22T18:26:59.173-04:002012-06-22T18:26:59.173-04:00Amen. As far as I can tell, the folk who need the...Amen. As far as I can tell, the folk who need the flexibility associated with "strategic dynamism" are the classroom teachers, who have the chance to observe what students are thinking and doing from semester to semester, and (if they're given the time and the independence necessary) to adapt accordingly. In the traditional (but fast-vanishing) model of university governance, that knowledge is shared and acted upon in larger structural ways when faculty do departmental and university service. The job of Deans and Presidents is to be aware of changes both within and outside the university, and to decide when committees need to be convened to work on larger structural changes (e.g. core curriculum revisions; creation, restructuring, or, yes, even elimination of programs, etc.) that will respond effectively to change that is already underway. Sullivan seems to have been doing just that; the BOV (or at least some of its members) wanted some sort of wind-sock president, chasing after the latest untested fad. That may work pretty well to pump up short-term profits on Wall Street, but it isn't a good long-term strategy even there (witness the various bubbles of the last decade). <br /><br />On a related note, the first part of the <a href="http://www.academicworkforce.org/" rel="nofollow">Coalition on the Academic Workforce's</a> <a href="http://www.academicworkforce.org/survey.html" rel="nofollow">report on contingent faculty</a> (you know, those of us whose positions are supposed to allow the higher-ups "flexibility," and who now number 75% of faculty) is out.Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.com