From: bfrg9732@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Brian F. Redman)
Subject: Imposters in the Temple -- (Part 7 of 7)
Summary: Intellectuals are destroying our universities
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 19:59:38 GMT
Keywords: treachery trickery deceit deception


Imposters in the Temple:
American Intellectuals are Destroying our Universities
and Cheating our Students of their Future

by Martin Anderson

Part 7  --  Culprits and Solutions

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Anderson is of the opinion that the group who bears the chief 
responsibility for the present mess in our universities is "the group 
of men and women who constitute the governing boards of our 
universities and colleges -- the trustees, the overseers, the 
regents." While it is true that we could blame the professors, in the 
final analysis this would be useless because "there is no reason, 
given their personal hubris and their strong vested interest in the 
status quo, to expect professors to clean their own house."

Because it is the trustees, overseers, and regents who have laid down 
the rules by which the game is played, they "are the ones who are 
responsible for the death of integrity in the world of higher 
education."

The author points out how the current trustees, overseers, and regents 
normally have attained their positions via the "political spoils 
system" and once they have been appointed they are immune from any 
type of control. "There is a thin thread of responsibility in the 
governing of our... universities, since most of the trustees are 
picked by a government official who is elected by the people." Once a 
trustee is appointed, the best that can be done by an upset citizenry 
to express their dissatisfaction is vote for a different governor and 
hope that he will make better selections in the future.

Thus, at present there is little democratic control over how our 
universities are run. There is also little or no market control over 
our colleges and universities. As economist Milton Friedman has 
observed, universities "are inefficient for the same reason that 
governmental enterprises are. They are not dependent on a market test, 
because they have sources of funds, like government grants."

Because, according to Anderson, most trustees are unqualified for the 
positions they hold, the current setup is "a recipe for disaster." 
Because the trustees are not doing their job, "today's colleges and 
universities are a workers' paradise where the workers, the professors 
and the administrators, are in effect the management... The practical 
power of the faculty and administrators is theirs largely by default, 
the trustees having abdicated."

The author advocates the following measures to put pressure on the 
governing boards of our universities to redress the current situation:
1) Personal lobbying -- "For those of us who happen to know [a 
trustee] personally, we can talk to them, ask them why they have not 
done certain things, why they have apparently condoned so much of what 
has occurred."
2) Public scrutiny -- we need to "turn the hot beam of the public 
spotlight upon [the governing boards]."
3) Professionalization of trusteeship -- "We could begin to treat the 
job of trustee of a multibillion-dollar university as seriously as the 
job of director of a multibillion-dollar corporation."
4) Further pressure -- The "time may be nigh when the only way to get 
[the trustees' attention] will be a lawsuit, when interested 
parties... sue university trustees for breach of their fiduciary 
responsibilities."
5) The political process -- "... certain hardy souls could take a 
political plunge and attempt to gain a seat on a governing board of a 
university or college."

Besides demanding accountability from the governing bodies of our 
colleges and universities, Anderson offers a 10-point plan for 
restoring "the integrity of the academic intellectual world." 

1) Prohibit student teaching.
2) Stop rewarding spurious research and writing.
3) Change the Ph.D. degree process. Anderson advocates letting those 
having a talent or desire for teaching do just that. He calls for a 
streamlining of the process so that candidates are not bogged down for 
years with needless research. Streamlining the process would let 
candidates get their doctorates sooner thereby freeing them to teach.
4) End faculty tenure. "...the corrupting influence of a guaranteed 
job for life outweighs any arguments in support of the idea... the 
future of American education belongs to those who are good enough to 
keep their jobs on the basis of performance."
5) Reorganize faculty titles and responsibilities. Anderson thinks we 
should separate teaching from research, with teachers being the better 
paid as well as having at least as much prestige as researchers.
6) Return to the four-year bachelors degree. "To take longer is simply 
a waste of the students' time and the parents' (or the taxpayers') 
money."
7) Take sexual harassment seriously.
8) Ban political discrimination. "... forbid political bias in either 
teaching or faculty hiring and promotion. Our universities should be 
places where all political views can be examined and discussed."
9) Stop athletic corruption. "The practice of giving unearned academic 
credit to student athletes deeply corrodes the integrity of the 
university."
10) Crack down on institutional corruption.


---------------------------------------------------------------------

Synopsis/Review by Brian Redman
"Ah yes, Armageddon. I remember it well."
End Part 7 of 7