From the Iowa Chapter of the AAUP

[mstp1992]

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS UNIVERSITY OF IOWA CHAPTER 2013-2015 Officers
President: KATHERINE TACHAU, HISTORY
Vice-President: JEFFREY COX, HISTORY
Secretary: RICHARD VALENTINE, ENGINEERING
Treasurer: KATHLEEN CLARK, NURSING
Membership: FRANK DURHAM, JOURNALISM
Press Release: For Immediate Release, September 7, 2015
Contact: Professor Katherine Tachau khtachau1@gmail.com or Katherine-tachau@uiowa.edu

The University of Iowa chapter of The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) joins the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS) and other members of our campus community in deploring the actions of the Iowa Board of Regents in appointing Mr. Bruce Harreld to be the next president of the University of Iowa. In retrospect, it is clear that the assurances of fairness and transparency in the hiring process given to us by the Regents, the chair of the search committee, the search firm, and the Faculty Senate leadership were untrue. It is our hope and belief that those assurances made by the search committee and faculty leaders were the result of representations made to them by the Regents. Only a pre-conceived determination by the Regents to appoint Mr. Harreld regardless of campus reactions to him can explain his hiring. Had the Regents, the ultimate decision makers, been the least bit concerned with the reactions of faculty, staff, and students to Mr. Harreld's campus visit, the combination of his performance at the open forum, the problems with his resume, and the conclusion of the overwhelming majority of those responding to the survey that he is unqualified to lead the university would have produced a different decision. We sincerely regret our inability to believe that the Regents are prepared to act in the best interests of the university. And we extend our heartfelt apologies to President Krislov, Provost Bernstein, and Provost Steinmetz for the treatment they received from The University of Iowa.

 

[jscott78]

I believe this came out before Branstad and Rastetter bribed the UI with 3.5 million to shut up.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS UNIVERSITY OF IOWA CHAPTER 2013-2015 Officers
President: KATHERINE TACHAU, HISTORY
Vice-President: JEFFREY COX, HISTORY
Secretary: RICHARD VALENTINE, ENGINEERING
Treasurer: KATHLEEN CLARK, NURSING
Membership: FRANK DURHAM, JOURNALISM
Press Release: For Immediate Release, September 7, 2015
Contact: Professor Katherine Tachau khtachau1@gmail.com or Katherine-tachau@uiowa.edu

The University of Iowa chapter of The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) joins the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS) and other members of our campus community in deploring the actions of the Iowa Board of Regents in appointing Mr. Bruce Harreld to be the next president of the University of Iowa. In retrospect, it is clear that the assurances of fairness and transparency in the hiring process given to us by the Regents, the chair of the search committee, the search firm, and the Faculty Senate leadership were untrue. It is our hope and belief that those assurances made by the search committee and faculty leaders were the result of representations made to them by the Regents. Only a pre-conceived determination by the Regents to appoint Mr. Harreld regardless of campus reactions to him can explain his hiring. Had the Regents, the ultimate decision makers, been the least bit concerned with the reactions of faculty, staff, and students to Mr. Harreld's campus visit, the combination of his performance at the open forum, the problems with his resume, and the conclusion of the overwhelming majority of those responding to the survey that he is unqualified to lead the university would have produced a different decision. We sincerely regret our inability to believe that the Regents are prepared to act in the best interests of the university. And we extend our heartfelt apologies to President Krislov, Provost Bernstein, and Provost Steinmetz for the treatment they received from The University of Iowa.

 

[cigaretteman]

While I don't necessarily agree with their decision to release this statement, I can certainly understand and appreciate their desire to do so.

 

[mstp1992]

While I don't necessarily agree with their decision to release this statement, I can certainly understand and appreciate their desire to do so.

Yes, at this point I'm not sure what it's gonna prove other than you made it public. To be honest, I wonder what Harreld thinks about all this. It certainly can't be a comfortable feeling knowing the vast majority of faculty, staff, and students don't want you. How are to engage in meaningful dialogue with such animosity?

 

[Joes Place]

What are some specifics with regard to:

the reactions of faculty, staff, and students to Mr. Harreld's campus visit
the combination of his performance at the open forum
the problems with his resume
the conclusion of the overwhelming majority of those responding to the survey that he is unqualified to lead the university
​

???

The reason I ask is that simply putting in a career 'academic' type isn't necessarily the most appropriate avenue at a time when education and educational technologies are changing very very rapidly.

For instance: MANY schools (Harvard, etc) now have MOOCs for many of their entry-level/basic courses (Massive Open Online Courses). Thus, there is a sea-change in how many undergraduate courses can be taught, by simply using available technologies vs 'the old way'.

Additionally, every year, undergrads taking '101' level (i.e. Intro To) courses have to purchase new textbooks at $100-150 a pop, for courses and coursework which has remained virtually unchanged in decades. Why? To give some Ph.D. in chemistry from UI or Texas a bunch of royalties on his new textbook? A university could FAR better serve its students by having online or PDF-generated texts and avoid all the costs of new print editions of texts - simply alter the homework problems etc. each year so that students cannot just copy/paste their homework. Phasing out many 'textbooks' could save some students $500-1000 a year in direct education costs.

Furthermore, the UI, along with countless other institutions, has vast amounts of inefficiency and waste within its bureacracy; generally, academic types aren't really tuned into 'fixing' those kinds of things, but business types thrive on it.

Not saying that Harreld might or might not turn out to be a horrible decision, but without some sound core evidence (and not just random complaints that he came from a business/corporate background), there are some reasonable cases to be made that a 'corporate type', with teaching experience/connections may be a fairly decent choice during a time of significant change in current educational models....

 

[ICWestfan]

Yes, at this point I'm not sure what it's gonna prove other than you made it public. To be honest, I wonder what Harreld thinks about all this. It certainly can't be a comfortable feeling knowing the vast majority of faculty, staff, and students don't want you. How are to engage in meaningful dialogue with such animosity?

I am willing to wager that a "vast majority" of staff and students have no clue as to who Harreld is.

 

[pablow]

What a bunch of whiny babies.

 

[22*43*51]

If Herreld was given the appointment to make tough decisions, then I wouldn't expect the faculty/staff to like him.

It shouldn't be a popularity contest.

 

[mstp1992]

I am willing to wager that a "vast majority" of staff and students have no clue as to who Harreld is.

I would qualify that by saying those who know the situation. You could probably limit that statement to faculty and administration, too.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Additionally, every year, undergrads taking '101' level (i.e. Intro To) courses have to purchase new textbooks at $100-150 a pop, for courses and coursework which has remained virtually unchanged in decades. Why? To give some Ph.D. in chemistry from UI or Texas a bunch of royalties on his new textbook? A university could FAR better serve its students by having online or PDF-generated texts and avoid all the costs of new print editions of texts - simply alter the homework problems etc. each year so that students cannot just copy/paste their homework. Phasing out many 'textbooks' could save some students $500-1000 a year in direct education costs.
.

Your other ideas aside, you want the University to simply take the text from a textbook and make it available, for free, to all of its students....and not pay for the royalties?

 

[mstp1992]

If Herreld was given the appointment to make tough decisions, then I wouldn't expect the faculty/staff to like him.

It shouldn't be a popularity contest.

I'm not saying I agree with the faculty statement, but anyone familiar with the circumstances has to realize the Board of Regents really screwed up this presidential selection process. Note: not the selection itself; his success or failure remains to be seen, and I would hope cooler heads prevail and allow the man a chance to prove he was the right selection. But, don't go out and try to make him fail. Let's not be like democrats and republicans who don't like whoever wins the presidency.

 

[theIowaHawk]

What a bunch of whiny babies.

Do you think it was a "fair", "open", and "transparent" process?

 

[pablow]

Do you think it was a "fair", "open", and "transparent" process?

Probably not. But they should still behave like adults.

 

[Joes Place]

Your other ideas aside, you want the University to simply take the text from a textbook and make it available, for free, to all of its students....and not pay for the royalties?

You can conglomerate text from various textbooks, pay the royalties, and generate secure PDFs which cannot be reprinted and can only be used on a system with a single-use password - most standards agencies (e.g. UL standards) have gone this route for their 100-200 page standards documents that can cost $200-500 per document to prevent unlawful copying and theft. I download that document and the system I download it to is the only one I can access it or open it from.

You can include those royalty costs with specific course signups, or regular tuition. There are all kinds of options vs. the 'status quo', where a new print book is required every year or two, which serves the publishers far more than the students. For some classes, standard textbooks may still be the best option, but many leading universities are offering completely 'online' options with video lectures. How much of your faculty teaching time can be freed up by having them record an entire semesters' worth of lectures, and then just run 'chats' to take Q&A during specific break points?

My point is, the old 'full classroom lecture' with paper texts is a model that has been around for many many decades, and there are now more efficient ways to teach and convey information which are just as effective AND do not require 'brick and mortar' lecture halls. Can you drop tuition costs 5%, 10%, 20% if you start to implement those? And still provide competitive faculty salaries? That's a business question and case, which an individual with a sound business and education background may be more qualified to answer.

 

[pablow]

You can conglomerate text from various textbooks, pay the royalties, and generate secure PDFs which cannot be reprinted and can only be used on a system with a single-use password - most standards agencies (e.g. UL standards) have gone this route for their 100-200 page standards documents that can cost $200-500 per document to prevent unlawful copying and theft. I download that document and the system I download it to is the only one I can access it or open it from.

You can include those royalty costs with specific course signups, or regular tuition. There are all kinds of options vs. the 'status quo', where a new print book is required every year or two, which serves the publishers far more than the students. For some classes, standard textbooks may still be the best option, but many leading universities are offering completely 'online' options with video lectures. How much of your faculty teaching time can be freed up by having them record an entire semesters' worth of lectures, and then just run 'chats' to take Q&A during specific break points?

My point is, the old 'full classroom lecture' with paper texts is a model that has been around for many many decades, and there are now more efficient ways to teach and convey information which are just as effective AND do not require 'brick and mortar' lecture halls. Can you drop tuition costs 5%, 10%, 20% if you start to implement those? And still provide competitive faculty salaries? That's a business question and case, which an individual with a sound business and education background may be more qualified to answer.

Great points in this and prior post. A public university has an obligation to make education affordable. Somebody has to slow the gravy-train. The book racket is a great place to start.

 

[JRHawk2003]

You can conglomerate text from various textbooks, pay the royalties, and generate secure PDFs which cannot be reprinted and can only be used on a system with a single-use password - most standards agencies (e.g. UL standards) have gone this route for their 100-200 page standards documents that can cost $200-500 per document to prevent unlawful copying and theft. I download that document and the system I download it to is the only one I can access it or open it from.

You can include those royalty costs with specific course signups, or regular tuition. There are all kinds of options vs. the 'status quo', where a new print book is required every year or two, which serves the publishers far more than the students. For some classes, standard textbooks may still be the best option, but many leading universities are offering completely 'online' options with video lectures. How much of your faculty teaching time can be freed up by having them record an entire semesters' worth of lectures, and then just run 'chats' to take Q&A during specific break points?

My point is, the old 'full classroom lecture' with paper texts is a model that has been around for many many decades, and there are now more efficient ways to teach and convey information which are just as effective AND do not require 'brick and mortar' lecture halls. Can you drop tuition costs 5%, 10%, 20% if you start to implement those? And still provide competitive faculty salaries? That's a business question and case, which an individual with a sound business and education background may be more qualified to answer.

I am not sure about that. Back in the day profs used what they called "Course packs" which were articles put into concise booklets at Kinkos,back when Kinkos was downtown below Jakes. They got sued on that an lost and course packs were no more.

 

[JRHawk2003]

Its a valid point about the low level classes. The UI and many other schools are well on their way to becoming 2 year schools. I have 3 kids getting near college, and I have told them its a good plan to take 2 years of Kirkwood, DMACC, etc and then go to Iowa if you want to go to Iowa. Kirkwood is a better alternative for rhetoric, elem psych, etc.

 

[Joes Place]

I am not sure about that. Back in the day profs used what they called "Course packs" which were articles put into concise booklets at Kinkos,back when Kinkos was downtown below Jakes. They got sued on that an lost and course packs were no more.

IIRC, they were copying sections of copyrighted materials w/o paying royalties/copyright fees on them for course packs. That doesn't mean you cannot make 'course packs', you simply need to cover the copyright fees when you do it. The Profs in question thought that they could avoid those fees when using the material for 'educational use only'; however, they were collecting some $$ for those course books using the copyrighted materials w/o paying copyright- that was the 'no-no'.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Kirkwood is a better alternative for rhetoric, elem psych, etc.

No, no, no it is not. It is cheaper, yes.

 

[theIowaHawk]

You can conglomerate text from various textbooks, pay the royalties, and generate secure PDFs which cannot be reprinted and can only be used on a system with a single-use password - most standards agencies (e.g. UL standards) have gone this route for their 100-200 page standards documents that can cost $200-500 per document to prevent unlawful copying and theft. I download that document and the system I download it to is the only one I can access it or open it from.

You can include those royalty costs with specific course signups, or regular tuition. There are all kinds of options vs. the 'status quo', where a new print book is required every year or two, which serves the publishers far more than the students. For some classes, standard textbooks may still be the best option, but many leading universities are offering completely 'online' options with video lectures. How much of your faculty teaching time can be freed up by having them record an entire semesters' worth of lectures, and then just run 'chats' to take Q&A during specific break points?

My point is, the old 'full classroom lecture' with paper texts is a model that has been around for many many decades, and there are now more efficient ways to teach and convey information which are just as effective AND do not require 'brick and mortar' lecture halls. Can you drop tuition costs 5%, 10%, 20% if you start to implement those? And still provide competitive faculty salaries? That's a business question and case, which an individual with a sound business and education background may be more qualified to answer.

Thank you for clarifying.

 

[JRHawk2003]

No, no, no it is not. It is cheaper, yes.

Sure it is if the end result is a transfer to the UI and a BA degree. No one will care that you took Elem Psych at Kirkwood rather than the UI. I took Elem Psych at the UI, me and 1,000 or so others in the McBride Auditorium. We had to sign up to be test subjects for experiments as well. You can't tell me the quality of that class vs taking it at Kirkwood is very great. It just isn't. Rhetoric is taught by TA's. Same with Micro or Macro Economics.

 

[theIowaHawk]

Sure it is if the end result is a transfer to the UI and a BA degree. No one will care that you took Elem Psych at Kirkwood rather than the UI. I took Elem Psych at the UI, me and 1,000 or so others in the McBride Auditorium. We had to sign up to be test subjects for experiments as well. You can't tell me the quality of that class vs taking it at Kirkwood is very great. It just isn't. Rhetoric is taught by TA's. Same with Micro or Macro Economics.

Some people actually learn in college. Apparently you disagree, you think it is just about earning the paper.

 

[Joes Place]

Thank you for clarifying.

The other thing they do w/ those secured PDFs is when you print, it prints out a copyrighted material watermark over the pages; on each page it includes numbered information along margins which I believe identifies which 'user' or 'license' the particular file (i.e. the file I downloaded) is associated with. That makes it pretty much impossible to make illegal copies w/o either unique identifiers or 'copyrighted material' watermarks or both.

 

[Wendy79]

No, no, no it is not. It is cheaper, yes.

My Kirkwood experience has been relatively limited, but quite positive. I had a tremendous professor this summer.

 

[JRHawk2003]

Some people actually learn in college. Apparently you disagree, you think it is just about earning the paper.

No, I don't at all. The main thing I got out of college was critical thinking. I had some great teachers at the UI and some great classes. However, those were mainly the 100 level advanced undergrad classes. My experience would not have been substantially different if I had taken elem psych, rhetoric or micro from Kirkwood. In fact Micro was one of my worst experiences at the UI. I had a TA who could speak very little English. It was awful.

 

[theIowaHawk]

My Kirkwood experience has been relatively limited, but quite positive. I had a tremendous professor this summer.

I didn't, and don't, intend to insult or diminish Kirkwood, or any other JC in any way. I was simply resisting the idea that Kirkwood is a BETTER option for those, or really any, classes than the UI.

 

[Wendy79]

I didn't, and don't, intend to insult or diminish Kirkwood, or any other JC in any way. I was simply resisting the idea that Kirkwood is a BETTER option for those, or really any, classes than the UI.

And I'd disagree. Having taken the 250 student science lectures at UI, having little/no contact with the professors (even during office hours because of the dozen or more other students with questions), professors who resented having to teach, professors (and TAs) who struggled with English, I would have been much better off taking those classes at a smaller college or a juco. And it's not like I was dumb...I graduated high school with a semester's worth of college credits (not bad at a small Iowa school system way back in the day) near the top of my class and I graduated from UI with honors. I just do much better in small lectures/classes, with more direct contact with the professor. It's tough to get that at big universities with the big classes (bio, chem, physics in particular in my experience).

 

[Lone Clone]

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS UNIVERSITY OF IOWA CHAPTER 2013-2015 Officers
President: KATHERINE TACHAU, HISTORY
Vice-President: JEFFREY COX, HISTORY
Secretary: RICHARD VALENTINE, ENGINEERING
Treasurer: KATHLEEN CLARK, NURSING
Membership: FRANK DURHAM, JOURNALISM
Press Release: For Immediate Release, September 7, 2015
Contact: Professor Katherine Tachau khtachau1@gmail.com or Katherine-tachau@uiowa.edu

The University of Iowa chapter of The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) joins the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS) and other members of our campus community in deploring the actions of the Iowa Board of Regents in appointing Mr. Bruce Harreld to be the next president of the University of Iowa. In retrospect, it is clear that the assurances of fairness and transparency in the hiring process given to us by the Regents, the chair of the search committee, the search firm, and the Faculty Senate leadership were untrue. It is our hope and belief that those assurances made by the search committee and faculty leaders were the result of representations made to them by the Regents. Only a pre-conceived determination by the Regents to appoint Mr. Harreld regardless of campus reactions to him can explain his hiring. Had the Regents, the ultimate decision makers, been the least bit concerned with the reactions of faculty, staff, and students to Mr. Harreld's campus visit, the combination of his performance at the open forum, the problems with his resume, and the conclusion of the overwhelming majority of those responding to the survey that he is unqualified to lead the university would have produced a different decision. We sincerely regret our inability to believe that the Regents are prepared to act in the best interests of the university. And we extend our heartfelt apologies to President Krislov, Provost Bernstein, and Provost Steinmetz for the treatment they received from The University of Iowa.

News flash: Inmates denied control of asylum, hold sit-down strike.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

And I'd disagree. Having taken the 250 student science lectures at UI, having little/no contact with the professors (even during office hours because of the dozen or more other students with questions), professors who resented having to teach, professors (and TAs) who struggled with English, I would have been much better off taking those classes at a smaller college or a juco. And it's not like I was dumb...I graduated high school with a semester's worth of college credits (not bad at a small Iowa school system way back in the day) near the top of my class and I graduated from UI with honors. I just do much better in small lectures/classes, with more direct contact with the professor. It's tough to get that at big universities with the big classes (bio, chem, physics in particular in my experience).

I agree very much with this. ^^ Although my experience is way, way back now...I went to Kirkwood for 2 years and then the U of I and overall, I had better teachers at Kirkwood...by far. My very best teachers were at Iowa, but so were my worst...and they were way below anything I experienced at Kirkwood. Class sizes were smaller at Kirkwood than they would have been at Iowa for what amounts to the same class, which I saw as a benefit too.

I never recall having difficulty understanding the teachers at Kirkwood, and that was not uncommon at Iowa, more so in my first year there. Not only did I have a poor English speakers on multiple occasions, I had two Iowa native white guys who were scared s...less to talk in front of a group. It was painful to sit in their classes, while they stumbled and bumbled through the lectures. One got better through the semester and wasn't too bad by about the mid-point...the other was still unlistenable at the end of the semester.

I went to Kirkwood for financial reasons, but I have never regretted it and on balance, I feel like I came out ahead by doing so. Also, several of my teachers at Kirkwood also taught at Cornell in Mt. Vernon, the U of I, Mt. Mercy, and probably other higher learning centers that I either don't remember or never knew.

Things could have changed by now, but based on my own experience, I would never discourage someone from going to a good community college.

 

[MikeyHawk]

Great points in this and prior post. A public university has an obligation to make education affordable. Somebody has to slow the gravy-train. The book racket is a great place to start.

Is the faculty on board with lower salaries to make education affordable?

 

[mstp1992]

Is the faculty on board with lower salaries to make education affordable?

You would have to compare salaries of Iowa faculty with those of similar educational attainment in the private sector.

 

[Metuo Accipiter]

You would have to compare salaries of Iowa faculty with those of similar educational attainment in the private sector.

If teaching is considered public service - why should they have to be paid at a private sector salary? Plus, private sector employees don't enjoy job perks like tenure.

 

[Joes Place]

Is the faculty on board with lower salaries to make education affordable?

FYI: the cost of a college education has gone up WAY faster than faculty salaries....

I believe typical tuition costs have risen 7-8% annually, on average; Faculty salaries have risen at best 3-4%/year. Where is all that money going?...as it's clearly not going to the faculty...

Let's assume in 1980, tuition was $2500/yr and a faculty position was paying $25,000 at Nowhere College. That is a 10:1 ratio of faculty pay-to-individual-student-tuition. (Or, it took 10 student tuitions to pay a full faculty position salary).

A 4% annual increase for that faculty position means today the same prof/position makes $98k today.
The 8% increase in student tuition means Nowhere College now charges $37,000 annually for tuition!!!

What used to be a ratio of Faculty Salary to Student Tuition of 10:1 is now only 2.7:1. (Or, it takes just 3 student tuitions to pay a faculty salary - WHY IS THIS SO INEFFICIENT NOW?)

Another way to look at it is that faculty salaries are 4x what they were in 1980, but tuition is 14x!!!

The rate of eduction-cost inflation is WAY out of line with normal CPI, or faculty salaries...claiming that we're going to 'limit the cost of tuition by lowering faculty salaries' is looking in the wrong place for where the money is disappearing...

 

[JRHawk2003]

Its going to administration. At the UI every department has an administrator now. The Chair does very little actual administration.

 

[Metuo Accipiter]

A 4% annual increase for that faculty position means today the same prof/position makes $98k today.
The 8% increase in student tuition means Nowhere College now charges $37,000 annually for tuition!!!
.

Where are you getting $98,000 as the average salary at the university of Iowa for faculty? The link below shows Iowa's full time faculty/full professors earning an average of $169,000 in compensation for the 2012/2013 academic year. The average faculty salary for the UIowa is $134,000 according to this report.

https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/2013-14/Peers/FacSalaries.html

 

[JRHawk2003]

Where are you getting $98,000 as the average salary at the university of Iowa for faculty? The link below shows Iowa's full time faculty/full professors earning an average of $169,000 in compensation for the 2012/2013 academic year. The average faculty salary for the UIowa is $134,000 according to this report.

https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/2013-14/Peers/FacSalaries.html

The Med School and Law school skewer that number. There is no way some History Prof is pulling that much,

 

[Joes Place]

Where are you getting $98,000 as the average salary at the university of Iowa for faculty? The link below shows Iowa's full time faculty/full professors earning an average of $169,000 in compensation for the 2012/2013 academic year. The average faculty salary for the UIowa is $134,000 according to this report.

https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/2013-14/Peers/FacSalaries.html

Did you read my post? It is merely providing an example of how much faster tuitions have risen vs faculty salaries. The 4% and 8% annual increases for each are easily verifiable with Google.

 

[Chewback]

I asked this in another thread and was ignored so I'm going to ask again - if he was so unacceptable, why did the Committee of 21 put him in the final four?

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Dude is going to be there for a whopping 5 years (he's 64 already) and the school is coming out of a major natural disaster and a shift in funding. the faculty need the STFU and give him a chance to do his job.

 

[JRHawk2003]

I asked this in another thread and was ignored so I'm going to ask again - if he was so unacceptable, why did the Committee of 21 put him in the final four?

Its a good question. It depends on how the committee operated. It could be that a part of the committee pushed to have a non-traditional candidate in the finalists and the others went along thinking he would never actually get the job. Just a hunch.