UVSC bumps summer pay for full-time faculty

Professors who choose to work the summer semester are in for a nice surprise: administrators have approved a raise.


UVSC boosts pay for summer
More students creating bigger faculty workload
(Deseret Morning News, April 29 2008)

Prof's poster gets castrated

UVSC's only Artist in Residence Alex Caldiero recently put together a poster advertising his Humanities 2020 course for next semester. On his poster he featured Caravaggio's Cupid Triumphant, along with other works that would be studied during the class.

But apparently the 400 year-old masterpiece, which features the mischievous cherub in the buff, is a little too risqué for the young impressionable student of UVSC.

Like all posters on campus, Caldiero's poster must be approved by Campus Connection. He was told last week that the school has a policy outlawing nudity on any campus posters or flyers, and Campus Connection refused to give their stamp, which is needed if the poster will be displayed on campus.

Caldiero was told on Monday that Academic Affairs VP Liz Hitch will be reviewing the poster, but as of yet he has not heard her decision. Needless to say, The Pipeline will keep you posted.

In the meantime, Caldiero is shocked that a public college would cause such a stink over a piece of art, especially one as important as the Caravaggio.

UPDATE: After over a week Calderio learned that Hitch finally approved his poster, but did so without comment as to why the process took so long, or why it was held up in the first place.

UVSC Prof collects Iraqi refugee stories in Jordan

UVSC English professor Laura Hamblin is currently in Jordan documenting the stories of Iraqi women refugees, and now you can catch up on her research at her blog:

womeninthedesert.blogspot.com

Hamblin, who received the first Ethics Faculty Fellowship, plans to produce a documentary about her research, and will give a presentation on her work next September.

Is Academics headed for a major change?

The Pipeline has been hearing rumblings from various corners of campus about a major shake-up in Academics for months now. There had been whispers about departments moving around, departments getting split up, and whole schools being overhauled. But nothing was ever definite....all just rumor and conjecture.

Well it still isn't official yet, but now at least there is a concrete document from VP of Academics Liz Hitch's office that lays out some of the plans. If even half of this stuff actually happens (it looks like it probably will) it will be the biggest change the campus has seen in many years. Check it out:

Organizational Redesign for Academic Affairs (doc)

The document is dated October 8 but the footer at the bottom of each page says September 20. We know that Hitch sent an e-mail to some faculty and staff that included this link recently.

As for what is going to happen, we will let you read the document yourself. But if you are really lazy here is the list of substantial changes listed in the report:


1. Aviation, Emergency Services, Fine and Performing Arts, Social Sciences, and Health Science become schools reporting to a dean.

2. There are no substantial changes in the School of Education.

3. Forensic Science moves to Biology.

4. The School of Business will divide the Department of Management into two smaller groups.

6. The School of Business will send Criminal Justice faculty to the department of Anthropology/Sociology in the School of Language and Social Sciences.

7. The School of Business will assume Culinary Arts faculty in hospitality management.

8. The College of General Academics will be renamed “University College.”

9. University College will include remedial programs as well as programs for high academic achievers, such as Honors, Debate, Integrated Studies and Humanities.

10. Speech Communication faculty from the current Communication Department will be assigned to the University College as a core academic skill. The debate program will be housed in or near Honors.

11. Honors will be in University College.

12. A centralized Graduate Office will be formed in the VPAA office.

13. ESL goes to the School of Adult and Continuing Education.

14. Turning Point, Wee Care, Women in Technology, and other appropriate programs that provide student services go to Student Services.


In other words...big changes. There is way more to this story, but we'll save that for future posts.

Today On Campus: Monday • 10/15/07

Fall First Block Classes End

CREATING TESTS AND USING ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF ASSESSMENT
11:30am - 1:00 pm
LC 243
FREE
Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence

Interpol Concert
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Ticket Prices: GA Floor = $30.00, Lower Bowl = $27.00
More info and to buy tickets click here




Each weekday during the fall and spring semesters The Pipeline publishes "Today on Campus" which outlines events at UVSC. To notify us of an event send details to uvscpipeline@gmail.com

UVSC prof sounds off on the influence of "Community Values"

Ethics Center director David Keller, has published an article in Academe (the journal for the American Association of University Professors).

Academic Freedom vs. Community Values?


While Keller has a few facts slightly skew, and a condescending tone, it does make for fun reading for those familiar with UVSC's struggles with meeting the expectations of the surrounding community.

One part in particular caught our attention came from an anonymous letter that Keller and other "liberal" professors received early in 2006:

“Eventually, people with a strong Left-wing orientation . . . will leave UVSC because the community will not abide them. They will realize that they cannot be happy here. And like it or not, the community—especially this one—calls the shots.”

UVSC prof gets book deal with Oxford University Press

UVSC's own Brian Birch, a professor in the Philosophy and Humanities department has agreed to a deal with the acclaimed Oxford University Press to publish his book about the relationship between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity.

Professor's book on LDS faith to be published
(College Times, September 10 2007)

Birch is currently on sabbatical and will take the next year finishing his book, entitled Mormonism and Christian Thought and completing revisions. He expects it to be published in late 2008.

Faculty and Staff asked to pony up once again

UVSC president Bill Sederburg sent out this e-mail today to all campus employees:

Dear Faculty and Staff

September just started and with it our yearly Faculty Staff Campaign. Every employee will receive through intercampus mail an envelope with the address of Institutional Advancement on the outside.

Inside will be a donation form and my letter. Just write your name in the return address and use that envelope to return your donation to Institutional Advancement.

The theme for the campaign is "One Step Closer to Making a Difference." Every donation, even small ones, will take us "one step closer" to creating a great university. Every donation will "make a BIG difference."

Let's make this the most successful campaign ever. I am looking forward to sharing lunch with every department that achieves 100% participation. I hope to see you all there.

President Sederburg

UVSC raising funds from faculty and staff (Deseret Morning News, September 4 2007)

UVSC prof brings poetry to the airwaves

UVSC's only Artist-in-Residence Alex Caldiero has been co-hosting a monthly radio show devoted to poetry for almost a year now. He recently sent out this press release about the latest upcoming show:

POETRY IS WANTED HERE

August 16th, 10:30-11:00 am on KCPW Radio 88.3 FM

Join Poetry Is Wanted here hosts, word sonosopher Alex Caldiero &
bookman Ken Sanders, along with producer Lara Jones for a new
installment of their monthly poetry show on KCPW radio.

We will be tackling the subject of poetry that transports the listener
to other times and places and using three poems and three places to
evoke this theme. First up, Ken Lara and Alex will all read and discuss
Vachel Lindsay's early 1900s poem "THE CONGO" which is a poem that
begs to be read aloud. Boomlay! Boomlay! Boomlay! BOOM!

Next up is..."In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome
decree" ie Samuel Taylor Coleridge's masterpiece KUBLA KHAN. A
powerful poem excerpted from Leslie Marmon Silko's CEREMONY will
follow, and if enough time remains, well, we'll always have more poetry.

POETRY IS WANTED HERE can be heard the third Thursday of every month,
from 10:30 to 11:00 am on KCPW RADIO 88.3 FM. Upcoming shows air:

September 20th
October 18th ( a special Halloween show)
November 15th
December 20th (winter solstice show)

Join us for a monthly dose of provocative and thought provoking poetry.
Out-of-towners can download programs right from kcpw.org

If you have never had the chance to see Alex live at least catch him on the radio. He is well worth your time.

Sederburg talks about transition, hands out sandwiches

UVSC President Bill Sederburg, master of the PowerPoint, invited the campus community to break bread and have a good ol' rap session about the school's impending move to university status. For the past few years Big Bill has used "Sandwiches with Sederburg" as a way of presenting his expectations for the following year.

And it seems next year's theme will be hiring. Sederburg laid out his plan for the new influx of cash that came with SB 70, and it looks like the biggest chunk will go to hiring 90 new employees, about 40 of which will be new full-time faculty.

Sederburg said one of the school's weaknesses when it comes to assessment has always been its dependence on adjunct faculty. He anticipates that these new hires will help those full-time to adjunct ratios and possibly reduce teaching loads across the board.

Sederburg also committed to keeping enrollment open and promised that the school "will not move away from its roots" as the transition to university is made. One must assume he was talking about the often maligned trades program that the school was original built on. The official talking points from the school have always been that trades will be around and that UVU would "continue to work with Mountainlands Apllied Technology Center" to make sure the program runs efficient.

In other words, the trades program will probably move piece by piece to MATC as UVSC matures into UVU. Particularly as Sederburg tries to reduce the dependence on adjunct faculty and tries to increase the number of faculty members with terminal degrees.

The administration may say they are committed to trades, but The Pipeline thinks that in 5 years trades will be reduced to only the most technical degrees. There is a reason some staff call it "Baloney with Bill" instead of "Sandwiches with Sederburg".

Sederburg names new VPAA

This morning Utah Valley State president Bill Sederburg announced his pick for the vacant VPAA position. Here is the e-mail he sent out to employees this morning:

I am pleased to announce my selection of Dr. Elizabeth J. Hitch as the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Hitch joins UVSC from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse where she currently is serving as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. For your reference, a copy of the press release with additional information about Dr. Hitch and UW-LaCrosse is attached.

As I reviewed the finalists, I decided that Dr. Hitch provides us with the experience needed to move the institution to the next level. She is the academic leader of one of the most respected regional universities in America. She oversees a school of 20 graduate programs, with impressive graduate programs in education, science and health, and business. She has experience as an academic administrator with having served for seven years as a Dean and five years as a Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Finally, I felt that I and our leadership team would enjoy working with her and gaining from her experience, enthusiasm and leadership.

Dr. Hitch will assume this assignment July 1, 2007; however, she will be on-campus several times between now and then. Plans for a reception late afternoon of Friday, March 9 are underway; more information on this will be forthcoming.

I greatly appreciate the fine work of the search committee lead by Dr. Numsiri Kunakemakorn and Dr. Ian Wilson. I encourage all members of the UVSC community to join with me in warmly welcoming Dr. Hitch to campus and offering her your enthusiastic support. I am confident she will provide outstanding support and leadership to Academic Affairs and Utah Valley State College.

Of course this announcement will no doubt launch a thousand e-mails, with a very vocal majority of faculty having been such staunch supporters of in-house candidate Bill Evenson. You can count on some backlash.

The Pipeline has heard that at a recent Dean's council meeting the deans expressed their unanimous support for Evenson. At the end Sederburg stood up and said something to the effect of "well it sounds like you all agree that all three candidates are qualified, so it doesn't matter who I choose."

It is The Pipeline's humble opinion that Sederburg had to hire a woman for this job. When he came in three years ago he received flack for "re-assigning" female VPs and since then hiring white males for top positions. This perception that Big Bill took care of the boys no doubt rubbed plenty of faculty the wrong way. The fact that so many faculty members backed Evenson indicates that he was supremely qualified, so much so that professors who might normally have preferred to see a woman in this post chose Evenson over Hitch. This probably also speaks to how unimpressed many professors felt during last week's meet-and-greets with Hitch.

Hitch had been recently censured by her own faculty senate at her current position at University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. To her credit Hitch was quite up front about the incident, which she said came about because of a botched hiring process that hadn't followed school procedure. She told professors to feel free to call the faculty senate president at UW-L and ask about the censure.

What has to be in the back of most professors' minds is how Hitch will handle the often sticky issue of academic freedom, particularly in an environment that has had its share of town-and-gown issues. It is clear from the e-mails that have been circulating around that the faculty at UVSC are wary of someone who appears to be more of an administrator and less of a scholar. Will she fight for academic freedom or will she bend to pressure from donors, community members, and legislators? We will have to see.

It will be interesting to see if a real fuss is made over the issue before Hitch steps up in July. Sederburg has made it clear that he wants the troops to rally behind his choice. Who will stick their neck out?

UVSC faculty voice their opinion on VP hire

E-mails are piling up in UVSC faculty inboxes lately, and they aren't forwarding the latest funny movie on YouTube. Instead faculty are buzzing over President Bill Sederburg's upcoming hiring
of a new VP of Academic Affairs. Here is the one e-mail that is getting the most attention:

Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:56:21 -0700
Subject: Re: VPAA Search, serious concerns about the process and criteria
Dear President Sederberg,

Yesterday I sent you my email comment about Bill Evenson as the most qualified candidate, in my opinion, for the position.

Your message this morning laying out the criteria you intend to employ as you make the final decision leaves me wondering about the criteria I had in mind as I read the vitae of the candidates and listened to their presentations.

You noted the following: "The first is the candidate's concurrence with the mutually-developed institutional mission and vision identified through the Strategic Planning Process, PBA process, master plans, and institutional work plans. The second is the candidate's compatibility and partnership with our institutional leadership team. Finally, given the scope and amount of work facing UVSC and Academic Affairs, the candidate's ability to provide the dynamic, energetic leadership required."

As a faculty member for whom this appointment is crucial (as I teach and do research and build academic programs through curriculum and hiring -- all directly affected by this Vice President), I have a few thoughts that I hope will expand your set of criteria:

1. What is the candidate's experience with academic freedom? Does the candidate have a record of dealing with difficult academic freedom issues? Can the candidate speak with depth and insight about academic freedom? In terms of two of the candidates rather tepid responses to questions about academic freedom, and in light of Bill Evenson's robust discussion of the issue and his experience with and active membership in the AAUP, he is the clear choice by this criterium.

2. Is the candidate a scholar engaged in research in his or her discipline? Was the Ph.D. a means to a scholarly or to an administrative end? Does he or she understand what it is faculty members do? What is the scholarly record? Is the candidate equally interested in working as a professor in a discipline and in working in administration? Did the candidate emphasize this kind of academic work in his or her
presentation? Bill Evenson is far above the other two candidates in this area.

3. Can the candidate relate well with fellow faculty members (I'm phrasing this differently from your "dynamic, energetic leadership" on purpose, to indicate that university faculty see this issue through a very different lens.) Another way of asking this is whether the candidate has the academic/scholarly experience to lead a faculty of increasing intellectual ability or whether the candidate will be at a
lower academic level than the faculty he or she is required to lead and thus always at a disadvantage. Does the candidate read widely inside and outside his or her discipline (and I'm not talking about books about leadership). Again, no question but that Bill Evenson is the better candidate.

4. Does your sense for the "candidate's compatibility and partnership with our institutional leadership team" take into account the Deans of HASS, Science and Health, General Academics, Business, etc. -- the Academic Deans? Does it take into account the Chairs of all the academic departments? If you were to ask these Deans and Department Chairs (and they are certainly critical parts of the "institutional leadership team") which of the three candidates was most compatible with them, you
would find overwhelming support for Bill Evenson.

5. Will the candidate bring skills into the administration that are different from the ones already present? Will he or she broaden the scope of the administration or simply add more of what we already have? It seems to me that our current strengths are in reaching out to our legislators and to the public. Will the new VPAA be able to complement that with outreach to other academic vice presidents at the U of U and
USU, to the strictly academic constituency that responds best to the speech and arguments and demeanor of a fellow scholar and teacher? Candidates Hitch and Hanks have good skill, but they seem to overlap largely with those already present on campus. Bill Evenson has many of those skills himself, and also the important academic skills that will represent us well in the company of other academic vice presidents.

Thank you for considering these thoughts. I'm sending them also to many of our colleagues across campus, hoping there will be the kind of continuing discussion that will bring us the best possible VPAA.

all the best,
Scott Abbott

Clearly Big Bill's e-mail from earlier in the day struck a chord with Abbott and other faculty members...and perhaps it was a line like this "When the decision is announced, I ask everyone to rally around whomever I select." that rubbed them the wrong way.

This is where it gets surreal. Monday morning on nearly every bulletin board on campus you could find a cartoon featuring Sederburg in a track suit with the message "Follow Your Leader". There are some different versions of this poster...all with VPs like Cory Duckworth, Val Peterson, and Val Hale....all with the same "Follow Your Leader" message.

If you get a little Orwellian shudder going up and down your spine, that is totally normal. Just take another swig of Victory Vodka and throw Brad Cook's legacy down the memory hole.