Rats aspire to be Pigs too, and become more equal
I’m a huge fan of the University of California, and particularly proud of my alma mater, the Berkeley campus. Poor management and budget cuts are certainly taking their toll on the system, but I still believe it is one of the world’s best university systems, and includes what is probably the best public university in the world. Budget cuts are painful for everyone, and there’s been plenty of pain spread around for nearly all the students and staff. I’d certainly argue the Regents themselves haven’t borne much of the pain, but that’s for another day.
I was very disappointed today to see an article in the Union-Trib on a proposed response by some of the UC San Diego faculty. Basically the proposal boils down to ‘not us, them.’ Them being campuses that are not like theirs. Some campuses are more equal than others, in the proposal’s author’s minds. I suppose that in a better job market they’d be the rats on the sinking ship. Stuck on the ship though, they’re looking for higher ground. Research is clearly their priority, so they’re scurrying to the top of their ivory towers and looking down on what they call the “teaching institutions.”
Let’s get something straight: teaching the next generation of California’s leaders in the most important thing the UC does. If it’s supported by excellent in-house research and taught by excellent researchers with practical experience, so much the better, but any member of the faculty that thinks they’re above teaching needs to move on.
A couple of months ago I was at a retirement party for a local teacher who made an excellent point when it came time to respond to the accolades. The teaching goal of a public academic institution is not the traditional three Rs, but the three As of academics, athletics and the arts. The three Rs together are merely one-third of a complete program. They should be producing well-rounded citizens fit to excel in all aspects of their lives. Maybe Dean (the retiring teacher mentioned above and a Cal alum) could go over to UCSD now that he has some time free and show them how a complete program works.
I agree with you, Chuck. But they could probably shut down UC Riverside without too many tears.
I think the problem is that once you get into those kind of cuts, too many factors like trendy programs and good press come into play. Personally, I’d probably close UCSB, fold UCSF into Berkeley, and take a good look at whether SDSU and UCSD are too overlapping and just competing for the same students and resources, but I really like the UC / Cal State hierarchy and think the system can be preserved as it is.