As you know, Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur makes it a practice to occasionally meet with each of the Schools and Divisions of Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges. He does this, one might suppose, to establish relationships and to start dialogues.
That's a bad idea. That's because Raghu is the sort of “leader” who is incapable of dealing openly and honestly with people. Working with Raghu means giving him what he wants. And, ultimately, he wants respect, flattery, obeisance. Give ‘im that, and you can do business. Otherwise, forgetaboutit.
Today, Mathur met with Irvine Valley College’s School of Humanities and Languages. It was a mildly unpleasant meeting. Faculty—there were maybe twenty—were mostly silent, reserved, unhappy to be there.
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| From DtB file M |
Years ago, Raghu visited our School, and some faculty made the mistake of “dialoguing” with him about this issue. His face lit up. He immediately took advantage of the situation. “Ah,” he thought. “They want something!” Suddenly, it seemed, Raghu was our friend. He would advocate for us.
We never heard from him again. That was probably because we didn’t immediately sing his praises.
We didn’t understand the deal.Today, in the course of the latest discussion of this issue, Raghu suggested—more than once—that a reason that H&L isn’t slated for a new building is that its faculty do not “participate” in the process.
I heard this as, “It’s your own damn fault you don't have enough classrooms to teach in.” Raghu was wagging his finger at us. He loves to wag that finger--especially at us, his most vocal and persistent critics.
Naturally, some of us were pissed. One instructor got up and left the room.
If Raghu’s word “participate” were to refer to sharing in the work of making IVC a better college, then no one would suggest that H&L does not “participate.”
In Raghu-world, “participate” is code. It means: lobby me. Tell me what you can do for me.
I sat there thinking that it would be lovely to work in a district where decisions about the construction of new facilities and buildings would be based on need and effectiveness and bang-for-buck. In such a district, probably, the School of H&L would have had its own building long ago.
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| From DtB file G |
But I can’t see any of us ever working with Raghu P. Mathur. We're just not corrupt enough.
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| From DtB file G |
18 comments:
Did Rebel Girl ask those three fellows about feminine hygiene products? I would had loved to see THAT!
So, it's not how do our decisions affect the students, it's how do our decisions affect moi, Raghu?
Don't the managers of your college look at FTES in order to figure out the need for dedicated classrooms?
At our college it's not the faculty's responsibility to figure this out but the administration's duty.
I don't know a college in California that lacks a classroom building for such bread and butter classes as English and History and Foreign Languages.
I distinctly remember pouring over building plans with that neck-tickler of a dean they hired a few years back? Remember him? The one that made alarming comments, mostly to women?
Well that dean had all of us in some shabby room for a big meeting and brandished plans for an H & L building and made us choose our office space? What ever happened to that? Or did that crazy dean trade our building in for that hotel he wanted to build on the strawberry fields?
How hard is it to understand that one must give to get? Going in there all arrogant won't win any points. As I understand, there's a shiny new PAC there. Isn't that part of H&L?
So why not “play ball” and give him some "respect, flattery & obeisance?” Just play along. Is that too difficult and beneath you? By calling a meeting he has demonstrated inclusiveness and respect for your participation. Why not just grab-on and run with it?
What more do you want the guy to do – get down on bended knee, kiss your hands and beg your forgiveness? From what I understand he regularly reminds you of how wonderful you all are.
If you don’t accept his ways, just put your stubborn pride aside for several minutes, accept him for whom he is and move forward. If in the long run it provides a new facility for your students - isn’t that worth it?
Is the PAC really ours?
Cool.
I'll move in immediately!
Yeah, the PAC has LOTS of classrooms. Go for it!
I am resigned to my office space and my building. Unwilling to kiss ass, (Dean Creepy tried that with me when I needed to order a storage cabinet, so I bought my own and moved it in on a Sunday), I have learned to love the dingy digs we share with faculty from other schools, Soc Science and Biology, in particular. I am not even sure I want to be a Humanities and Languages only building. I wonder why I continue to waste my time and show uyp at a meeting where Raghu will be present.
Yeah, everyone knows those H & L folks have done nada for the college - no work on Curriculum or Senate, Academic Affairs or Student Services or the Union or Program Review - besides they never show up at meetings and their classes hardly fill.
Plus, there is so few of them. It's the smallest school on campus!
We'd be better off without them. I suggest that the few of them who do do committee work should just resign.
The PAC is associated with the School of Fine Arts, not Humanities & Languages. The corruption is not the act of walking through Raghu's door to deal with him; it gradually envelopes you as you proceed. To flourish, one must be a member of the team. Team Mathur.
To the writer of the dissent,
Did you speak up and talk to the admins of your point of view? Or did you sit there and twiddle your thumbs?
Dear "anonymous." What is your point? Mathur knows what I think. I've expressed my view to him often enough, in meetings, in private conversations, in the press, etc. Occasionally, he sues me over my reports (albeit unsuccessfully). Nevertheless, I keep reporting.
And you? You write brave remarks signed "Anonymous."
You people never fail to amuse.
Nothing but juvenile dribble. Will you people ever grow up?
"Dribble" or "drivel"? There seems to be a diference.
whether it's "drivel" or "dribble", it's entertaining.
here's a philosophical question for the astute H&L folks out there:
What if all the vocal H&L criticisms over the years actually helped Raghu become president then chancellor?
Did Raghu create the dissenters, or did the dissenters create Raghu?
happy holidays :)
"Did Raghu create the dissenters, or did the dissenters create Raghu?"
That blew my mind.
Here’s the comment I posted a few days ago that was conveniently deleted. It must have struck a nerve:
How hard is it to understand that people are really hurting right now because of the economy and loss of their jobs? Do you really think the community cares about your armchair quarterbacking every move the college and its leaders make? Here’s this pompous guy (rOY) who can just kick-back in his cush job as a college professor and behave this way while people are suffering. It’s simply hubris and abominable! I know your little choir does, but do you honestly think the community agrees with your views?
BTW, I looked at the student comments about rOY on ratemyprofessors.com. I think the community would be enlightened if they also had a look. Here’s the direct link: http://ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=160422&page=1
rOY, why not post your picture there?
Dear brave "Anonymous,"
I don't doubt that your comment was deleted, but I did not delete it and I did not ask that it be deleted.
It is likely that my partner on this blog deleted it. She probably did that because you're an idiot with nothing to say.
People are hurting, you say. Yes they are. And what connection do our efforts all these years to combat the corruption of our district have to that? God only knows. People are hurting. I wish they weren't hurting. What on earth is your point? Do you even have one?
The people you are defending--people like Mathur--are corrupt. Mathur and his cronies took over a union and, using union the union's warchest, elected a board majority in 1996--one notorious across the state for incompetence and misconduct. The quid pro quo between union and trustees yielded many things, including the promotion of several of the key unionists. One of them was Mathur, who was (illegally) appointed President of IVC in 1997. Later, he was appointed again, and that too was illegal (according to the courts). No problem; the board simply appointed him again.
I won't go through the litany of Mathur (and Co.'s) crimes. But I do not for a moment feel any guilt about reporting Mathur's unsavory activities or the activities of his allies--activites that include the fixing of hiring, violation of faculty rights, fiscal incompetence, and threatening the accreditation of the colleges.
That some students who post on "rate my professor" dislike me is utterly meaningless, as anyone who knows the first thing about academia would understand. I would invite you, however, to read all of the comments on that site, not just the ones you wish to agree with.
I know this district very well. I go to the board meetings. I attend senate meetings. I keep up with all of the stories concerned with our two colleges. I have done so for more than a dozen years. If we are misreporting anything, we would certainly like to hear about it.
So, my cowardly anonymous friend, identify the errors; point out the mistakes. Show us something, anything, that might incline us to suppose that you are not the ignorant gasbag that you seem to be.
Otherwise, please go elsewhere. This is a college blog, and we have standards.
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