UO has two VPAA’s, a hangover from Mike Gottfredson and Jim Bean’s byzantine and top heavy org chart:
Current VPAA #2 Barbara Altmann is leaving for Bucknell, here are the finalists to replace her:
Colleagues:
We present, for your consideration, an outstanding pool of finalists for Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs: [I’ve added links to their letters of application, which are worth reading.]
Dr. Susan Anderson, Professor of German and Scandinavian
Dr. Carol Stabile, Professor of Journalism and Communications [sic]
Dr. Frances White, Professor of Anthropology
Letters of interest and CVs are posted at http://provost.uoregon.edu/content/senior-vice-provost-academic-affairs-search-0 Please engage the finalists at their public presentations and any other meetings to which you may be invited. After each candidate’s day of campus meetings, a survey link will be activated on the same webpage as a way for you to give me your feedback. The one-day events will be held June 9, 10, 11 and schedule details will be posted soon. I look forward to reading your perspectives on the candidates.
Please contact Kathy Warden, [email protected] if you have any concerns or comments on the process.
Regards,
Frances Bronet
Acting Senior Vice President and Provost
For people that don’t know Carol Stabile, despite appearances, she actually tends to side with the administration most of the time.
My experience has been that she tends toward moves that are politically savvy and focused on her own aggrandizement rather than having and holding any core principles.
If she gets this job, then you should expect more of the same from Johnson Hall.
I know Carol Stabile, and your comments are 180 degrees off.
“…a hangover from Mike Gottfredson and Jim Bean’s…”
Nicely turned phrase, sir.
I too disagree with Appleby’s mean-spirited characterization of Stabile. But to judge by the letters, none of these candidates inspires confidence. None show any grasp or real commitment to the work that office needs to do (and White’s is particularly appalling for its incoherence and tunnel-vision). Except for being similarly female, none can hold a candle to Altmann, the only competent person in one of JH’s lamest units. So my main reaction is (as usual, unfortunately): we are so screwed!
I think it is bad form to anonymously criticize colleagues without providing some evidence.
I agree, that’s why I made clear that I base my assessment (unlike Appleby) on their application letters, and offered no comment on what I might think about any of them outside of what they say there. I encourage everyone to read the letters and attend the presentations and form their own judgments.
oh we are not screwed. The appointment of any one of these individuals would most likely result in Business as Usual (BAU) – which means we will continue to survive at the level of mediocrity that we are currently at – but of course, we can always blame that on lack of resources. Like, uh, we really want to do better , but we just can’t … because of _________________________
What the letters all have in common is lengthy summaries of their overall managerial experience in various supervisory capacities. This is to be expected if we want to just be managed (i.e. Business as Usual).
What the letters also have in common is, in this dog’s opinion only, no real insight on how this position could be used to exercise some real innovation and initiative to actually change the curriculum system here at the UO (which I believe is in dire need). White’s letter hints a little about this but not that much. We really need a much different student credit hour portfolio towards degrees than just butts in seats and we need a lot better interdisciplinary opportunities to assist students with careers in the current real world. But these would depart from BAU and probably aren’t allowed …
However one views Bronet – she was never a BAU subscriber and eventually I think the combined difficulties of moving beyond BAU became too much.
And in the archives of UOmatters I have previously documented, extensively, what moving beyond BAU actually looks like.
I disagree, Kitten. All three are strong and viable candidates who have given ample evidence of effective leadership at and commitment to the UO. We’ve probably all had the experience of knowing with complete confidence how to do a job only when we’ve done it for a long time (often in fact when we’re about to quit doing it). Every possible candidate for the Sr VPAA job has the defects of his/her virtues, and whoever gets appointed will have the opportunity and the obligation to grow into the position and live up to it. Barbara’s done it, with substance AND sparkle, in this and many other roles at the UO. So will the new Sr VPAA. We aren’t screwed.
It’s Journalism and Communication. NOT Journalism and Communications. Let’s all try to get it right.