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- Thread starter ORD_Buckeye
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zincfinger
Gert Frobe-approved
That wasn't my experience at all. Working on grant proposals with professors across multiple departments in the late '90's, I found them all to be collegial and welcoming. Of course there's going to be some "politics" (ie. people trying to get status and privilege, sometimes through indirect means) in any competitive organization, but my experience working with OSU professors and administrators in the late '90's was generally very positive.
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NastyNatiBuck
Hall of Fame
"Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low."
-Wallace Sayre
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zincfinger
Gert Frobe-approved
I don’t know who wallace sayre is, but that statement is dumb.
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ORD_Buckeye
Wrong glass, Sir.
My experience with Ohio State faculty ten years earlier was great. Prove yourself to them, and they would work very hard for you. I had senior faculty allow me to take doctoral level courses, worked hard to get me into my top grad school choices (well at least two out of the three), and one recruited me into my eventual post grad school job (which paid the tab for my expensive grad school that I had no idea how the fuck I was going to afford).
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cincibuck
You kids stay off my lawn!
Point of view of the lowly adjunct. I taught at three different schools in the barea. I was a GTA at UC when the department was going through a major overhaul due to North Central evaluation. New dean, lots of young professors, romance was in the air, and the gossip spreaders had plenty of material to work with.
Miami tenure track folks were either helpful or assholes. Place has now gone overboard on the idea that the student is always right.
I’ve had three great bosses at NKU. Supportive, friendly, and encouraging. This is probably my last semester there and I will miss the kids and the folks I worked with. My observation is that the boss sets the tone in the department. Good boss, good department, good place to work.
Miami tenure track folks were either helpful or assholes. Place has now gone overboard on the idea that the student is always right.
I’ve had three great bosses at NKU. Supportive, friendly, and encouraging. This is probably my last semester there and I will miss the kids and the folks I worked with. My observation is that the boss sets the tone in the department. Good boss, good department, good place to work.
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NastyNatiBuck
Hall of Fame
It rings uncomfortably true for me. I work with quite a few people who have advanced degrees. A handful of them worked in academia at points in their careers. This quote is a running joke in our group.
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I also had excellent support from Ohio State professors. Excellent. My mentor was a very well-known Ohio State professor. When I left a senior position at a large American multinational to enter academia his advice to me was, "Be prepared for the politics and observant. Most of the fights you will see will boil down to the size of their desks." My comment referred to the political in-fighting that other Ohio State professors told me about when I was there, mostly in another department. A leading professor told me that he had just advised his son to pursue another career because of what he was experiencing.
This is not an Ohio State thing. Over the years, I have watched some unbelievable nonsense taking place in universities as people fought for small things. I also have been a CEO of a large, listed firm and other companies. The political conflict between academics is not that much higher than what I have seen, but it is certainly not lower. It can be taken out of an organisation by consultation and transparency. My last superior and I differed in culture, nationality, religion...everything. In our first meeting, we agreed that we would fire ourselves if we were still fighting after two years. There were meetings in which we looked at each other with red faces and veins in our necks visible, but we concluded and rescheduled for when cooler heads could prevail. In the end, we never fought once.
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
Worked at the K-12 level as the senior classified person for 28 years. worked for 15 different superintendents. All but one got fired, and not for selecting the wrong textbook. Primary reason is that the Board 'feel out of love for them'. Harder to say than do. Cross word to the wrong person, or not giving promotion to Board member's spouse/child/cousin can lead to primary reason. Second reason is going bankrupt/financial distress. Easier at K-12 level than a major university (tOSU is lucky, as athletics contributes to general fund, not drawing it down). Third is they've done some of the things mentioned above - harassment, sexual misconduct, using public funds for personal gain. Personally saw several superintendents declare their car had been scratched/dented at a school site, and having all repairs/complete paint job paid for school district. If someone can be fired/penalized/forced to resign for something they did years/decades before they worked there, then there is a serious problem. By every account I've heard, she was effective at all levels. PS, not anything like an insider. Her support of all sports is one few presidents (mostly academics at heart) ever had, probably because they didn't play sports, or couldn't handle sport overshadowing the academic regimen of their university. Besides, 2 1/2 years isn't enough time to screw anything up at a place the size of tOSU.....
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Buckerooni
His soul was removed to make room for more stomach
I worked at a large University for years. Was an administrator - reported directly to a VP.
University politics is indeed insane. Faculty/Admin battles were frustrating and exhausting. Too many Primadonnas in both camps.
"Zero tolerance hostile work environment" policies were a joke. They existed to be used against people the University wanted to get rid of, anyway. High level employees could get away with murder if they were good performers and well-liked - and if the situation was basically he-said, she-said.
There must be some egregious incident(s) for which there is hard proof.
University politics is indeed insane. Faculty/Admin battles were frustrating and exhausting. Too many Primadonnas in both camps.
"Zero tolerance hostile work environment" policies were a joke. They existed to be used against people the University wanted to get rid of, anyway. High level employees could get away with murder if they were good performers and well-liked - and if the situation was basically he-said, she-said.
There must be some egregious incident(s) for which there is hard proof.
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
Thump, I believe so. The trustee, taking the relationship literally, will look hard and long into things, and there's not one person in any organization that is pristine. A trustee will then 'sub rosa' solicit support for other trustees, and with enough effort, a majority is achieved. Then the hammer is dropped. Had one superintendent who had a 'hit list' of people who opposed her. She would start cabinet meetings with a 'my lawyers are better than your lawyers' statement.....she negotiated a settlement and was gone within two years. It's not mentioned, other than resignation at end of year, whether a buy-out of her contract has/will take place. Very much like a football coach, but probably not the big bucks.
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