From the archives: 1982

Attila and Ildy, in Oregon

Ray, Attila, Ildy, me

The magnificent Ildy Pie

Playin' with my bro Ray, '84

The Marvelous Moon Unit, cat, '84

Brother Ray, Washington or Oregon, '82

Independence Day!

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     Less than a week before his Final Exit, the Chancellor of the South Orange County Community College District, Raghu P. Mathur, has issued an email "goodbye" to members of the district community:

Dear Colleagues,

     I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to all of you, my colleagues over these past thirty-four years in the South Orange County Community College District. We have accomplished so much together: new buildings, newly renovated buildings and a new campus, so many new faculty and staff members, significantly expanded online education and services, deployment of new technology in instructional, student and administrative services, phenomenal enrollment growth and our greatest hallmark: high quality education in the classroom and services for our students.
     Education is the most noble profession and we are all educators, each in our own way. The education and learning at our three campuses is making a wonderful difference for our students and enabling them to make changes in their lives so they can make changes in our region, State, nation and the world. In many ways, change that students make in the world is our greatest reward.
     I have loved serving as a faculty member, a college president and your chancellor. I look forward to learning about your continuing accomplishments in the months and years ahead. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your hard work and dedication in serving our students.

With Warmest Regards,

Raghu

     Meanwhile, IVC President Glenn Roquemore and his crew have announced a special "Independence Day" celebration. It's scheduled for the day immediately after Mathur's exit!

Something tells me that there's more than one kind of independence goin' on here.

Wendell Berry bolts; wacky master's degree thwarted; Cal CC tuition to be upped?; librarians have crystal balls

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Wendell Berry Pulls Papers from U. of Kentucky (Inside Higher Ed)

The author Wendell Berry is withdrawing his personal papers from the University of Kentucky to protest several university policies, including the naming of a basketball dormitory in honor of the coal industry and an emphasis on becoming a top research university in a way that Berry believes will detract from the institution's traditional land grant mission, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported. In a letter obtained by the newspaper, Berry wrote: "The university's president and board have solemnized an alliance with the coal industry, in return for a large monetary 'gift,' granting to the benefactors, in effect, a co-sponsorship of the university's basketball team.... That — added to the 'Top 20' project and the president's exclusive 'focus' on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — puts an end to my willingness to be associated in any way officially with the university”….

U.S. Court Rejects Creationist School's Lawsuit Over Bid to Offer Master's Degree (Chronicle of Higher Education)

A federal judge has tossed out the Institute for Creation Research Graduate School's lawsuit against the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board over the board's decision, in 2008, to reject the institute's bid to offer a master's degree in science education. In a ruling issued last Friday, Judge Sam Sparks of the U.S. District Court in Austin, Tex., dismissed the institute's lawsuit summarily, writing that it "has not put forth evidence sufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact with respect to any claim it brings." According to the institute's Web site, its mission is to equip "believers with evidence of the Bible's accuracy and authority through scientific research, educational programs, and media presentations, all conducted within a thoroughly biblical framework."

$40 per unit community college fee gets some support (California Watch)

A move to increase the fees that California Community College students pay from $26 per unit to $40 per unit is getting some support in lawmakers' budget discussions. ¶ Unlike costs to attend UC and CSU campuses, the fees at California's 112 community colleges have managed to resist dramatic hikes. This makes California's two-year colleges the most affordable in the nation, according to the College Board's annual Trends in College Pricing report. The second most affordable state is New Mexico. ¶ The state Legislative Analyst's Office is recommending a 54 percent fee hike to $40 per unit – an increase that would still maintain the state's position as the least expensive, the LAO says.
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Scott Lay, president and chief executive officer of the Community College League of California in Sacramento, said an increase in student fees may have to be part of the budget solution, but that the LAO's proposal was misguided….

The Librarian's Crystal Ball (Inside Higher Ed)

Colleges with lucrative online arms will get their nonprofit statuses revoked! All library functions will be outsourced! Campuses will be replaced by temporary versions in rented spaces that are built and disassembled at the beginning of each term! Scholarship will become more efficacious than ever before – or will stagnate entirely! ¶ Welcome to the future – or, rather, to a series of many of possible “futures” posited in a new study released this month by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)….