Take Your Resolution and Shove It

Seems like Alfred State President Uma Gupta is telling the faculty senate (with apologies to Johnny Paycheck) to "take this resolution and shove it".

As noted in a reader's comment yesterday, the newsletter on Announce included this interesting section on the reorganization of academic affairs. The second paragraph is of particuarly interest -- and concern.

Academics
Reorganization Update

Discussions were far ranging and included consideration of realignment of departments within schools, redefining the role of deans, and reorganizing deans by function in addition to discipline. Some plans called for five deans while others called for three.

For now, decisions on many of the possible changes have been postponed. However, a national search for the dean of SMET (School of Management and Engineering Technology) will commence in the fall. That search will fulfill all the requirements of campus and Board of Trustees policies. Recommendations of the last search committee will be reviewed as well. Of course, the search allows for internal candidates.

It seems that Alfred State will be looking for a replacement for an interim dean but there's nary a word about our beloved Bob Albrecht moving out of the office of VP for Academic Affairs any time soon. Given the clues we've picked up -- among them the fact he is moving the VPAA's office out of the location his predecessors occupied, comments from Albrecht himself that he's cut a deal with Gupta, and the removal of the word "Interim" from his title on the campus directory -- it looks like Albrecht is planning to settle in for a while.

As for the comment that the search for the dean of SMET will "fulfill all the requirements of campus and Board of Trustees policies"...well, it's nice that Gupta and Albrecht are willing to follow the rules on the selection of a dean, even if they figure they can ignore them when it comes to appointing an interim VP or two.