Why not me?

RAGHU AT HARVARD:

From the May 15, 2000 Dissent:

A Dunce at Hahhh-vud

A few months ago, Board Majority flack and former union consultant Pam “Same Sex” Zanelli issued a press release that said:

COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT SELECTED FOR HARVARD SEMINAR

Irvine Valley College President Raghu P. Mathur has been selected to attend the Institute of [sic] Educational Management (IEM) at Harvard University. The institute provides high-quality professional development experiences to executive level leaders of colleges and universities. More than 700 colleges [sic] and university presidents have participated in a Harvard Institute for Higher Education program.

South Orange County Community College District Trustee Dorothy Fortune and Chancellor Cedric Sampson recommended Mathur to the Harvard IEM admissions committee. In Fortune’s letter to the committee she refers to Mathur’s “daunting challenges” and “remarkable accomplishments” since his appointment as president in 1997. She details his success in fulfilling the Board’s goals “to reduce IVC’s excessive expenditures on administration, cut the huge allocations paid faculty for non-instructional assignments, increase course offerings with the savings, address nepotism in hiring and expand technology offerings.”

“I feel honored and pleased to have been selected to attend this highly prestigious program. I look forward to discussing contemporary challenges of higher education with colleagues from around the country,” said Mathur.

The Harvard IEM program, to be presented July 9 to 21, takes advantage of the diverse experiences of participants to create intensive, highly interactive learning environments. IEM’s goals are to introduce useful new perspectives on institutional leadership; challenge routine thinking; help leaders anticipate critical issues; clarify institutional mission and vision; and improve the quality of the higher education enterprise….

It turns out that there’s an “Institute for [not “of”] Educational Management” website, which includes a very informative brochure. The latter explains that IEM’s goals are to

introduce useful new perspectives on institutional leadership; challenge routine thinking; help leaders anticipate critical issues; clarify institutional mission and vision; and improve the quality of the higher education enterprise.

Gosh, that sounds familiar. Do you suppose Pam works for IEM, too?

Just what goes on at this seminar? According to the brochure,

Case study discussions, formal lectures, videos, practitioner interviews, and role plays are all part of the program design…You will be expected to make a full-time commitment to the institute while at Harvard. A typical IEM day begins with breakfast at 7:00 a.m., followed by class sessions and group activities, which end around 4:00 p.m…The daily schedule often does not end until late evening, when participants complete readings, attend optional presentations, or prepare assignments for the following day.

Sounds pretty rigorous, what with assignments and readings and all. Luckily for the Gooster, “there are no writing assignments during the program.” Whew! Now, if only he can keep his trap shut!

Zanelli’s press release leaves the impression that acceptance into the program is highly competitive. Is that true? Well, the IEM brochure does tell us that “Participants are selected on the basis of their scope of responsibility, depth and breadth of experience, and potential for continued leadership. When making selection decisions, the Admissions Committee also considers the overall profile of the class and seeks to maximize learning by assembling as diverse a group as possible.” (Yeah, with Raghu, they’ve got the “liar” and “autocratic lout” categories pretty well covered. Good.)

The brochure goes on to explain that some people who apply are not accepted. Garsh, that does sound awfully competitive.


According to the brochure, “Applicants are expected to participate in IEM with the full endorsement of their institutions.” (In truth, the only “endorsement” of Mr. Goo’s participation that he is liable to get from the IVC community stems from a deep and abiding desire for his absence.) “Ordinarily, such endorsement is reflected in full financial support…The comprehensive program fee of $5,500 covers tuition, room, most meals, and all instructional materials. Payment is due following acceptance into the program.” –OK. So IEM selects only those whose institutions pony up 5 1/2 K. That is selective.

This means, of course, that IVC will be paying Raghu’s way. I sure hope that Mr. Goo’s two-week, $5,500 Ivy League adventure won’t interfere with his ceaseless efforts to address our latest budget crisis, which is occasioning a bailout by Saddleback College. You people paying attention down there?

I’ve been told that Raghu’s teaching a 5-hour chemistry course this summer, too. What do you suppose that’s all about? Maybe he’s incurred some big expenses recently. Could be. [END]


Notes:

1. I'm told that, at weekend retreats, Raghu never misses an opportunity to wear his "Harvard" sweat shirt.

2. The end remark is an allusion to Mathur's then-recent legal troubles. You see, he sued me (and former administrator T. Burgess) for invading his privacy. How so? Dissent had reported that, in a scheme to discredit an administrator, Raghu had violated a federal law by distributing a student's transcripts (that's a violation of FERPA). That, at any rate, was the determination of the district's legal advisors, who produced a legal opinion. That violation occasioned a reprimand from IVC's president.

So Raghu sued us. But that blew up in his face.

Using California's anti-SLAPP statute (i.e., protection against "strategic litigation against public participation"), we counter-sued, and won. Raghu had to pay our legal expenses ($32,000, as I recall). Who knows how much he spent on his own attorneys.