Sifting and Winnowing

After speaking to faculty across the university, it is clear to me that opposition to the Provost’s plan to dismantle the Graduate School is widespread. However, many faculty members seem hesitant to speak up, and I have even heard rumors that reporters are having trouble finding faculty sources willing to go on the record. Feeling intimidated is human, but the health of our research enterprise, and indeed of our institution itself, is on the line here. This is not the time for timidity.

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(This contribution originally appeared as a Reader Reply on October 1, 2009 and was subsequently upgraded to an Article. – Ed.)

I also attended the “town meetings” in Science Hall on 30 September and in the Health Sciences Learning Center on 1 October. On each occasion, the Provost made a presentation and responded to questions and comments from the floor about his proposal to create a new office of research headed by a vice chancellor and to eliminate almost all research functions from the Graduate School. This would mean that the Dean of the Graduate School would no longer have the second function and working title of Vice Chancellor for Research. I agree fully with the previous post, “A skeptical audience for restructuring.”

There is pretty good evidence — from earlier presentations that were later retracted — that the Provost made an effort to push a reorganization through with no written plan and no faculty input by the end of September. Early in October he would have gone straight to UW System to get permission for his new Vice Chancellor for Research position. At that point the game would have been up.

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