Busy weekend....

Maryanne and I managed to both get a day off on Friday, which we used to run errands. We used the loaner car. I don't know how many miles we put on it, but since many of our stops were on the west side of town at places we'd never been to, it must have been quite a few.

We stopped for lunch at Qdoba. We wanted to go to Outback, but they're only open for dinner. Qdoba was OK. It's a chain, so it won't go on my restaurant review page. The food was tasty enough. The atmosphere, in some respects, reminded me of Panera, except much louder. There are no soft surfaces in the place, so the acoustics were terrible, and the staff didn't speak very clearly. Not only did Maryanne have a hard time of things, but so did I.

Saturday was busy as well. Maryanne went with her friend Bernadette and another girl, Karen, to look at bridesmaid's dresses in Janesville. I hung out with Brad and Ryan at State Street Brats, watching Marquette open a can of whoop-ass on Kentucky. The six of us had dinner at the Prime Quarter, another chain. It was my first time there, but it certainly won't be my last.

We spent much of Sunday morning cleaning before having to go to Stoughton so that Maryanne could make choir rehearsal. We did some grocery shopping when we got back to Madison. It was nice to get home.

The right to an opinion....

An interesting opinion piece, courtesy of Maryanne, from Andy Rooney....

You can't beat the French when it comes to food, fashion, wine or perfume, but they lost their license to have an opinion on world affairs years ago. They may even be selling stuff to Iraq and don't want to hurt business.

The French are simply not reliable partners in a world where the good people in it ought to be working together. Americans may come off as international jerks sometimes but we're usually trying to do the right thing.

The French lost WW II to the Germans in about 20 minutes. Along with the British, we got into the war and had about 150,000 guys killed getting their country back for them. We fought all across France, and the Germans finally surrendered in a French schoolhouse.

You'd think that school building in Reims would be a great tourist attraction but it isn't. The French seem embarrassed by it. They don't want to call attention to the fact that we freed them from German occupation.

I heard Steven Spielberg say the French wouldn't even let him film the D-Day scenes in Saving Private Ryan on the Normandy beaches. They want people to forget the price we paid getting their country back for them.

Americans have a right to protest going to war with Iraq. The French do not. They owe us the independence they flaunt in our face at the U.N. I went into Paris with American troops the day we liberated it, Aug. 25, 1944. It was one of the great days in the history of the world.

French women showered American soldiers with kisses, at the very least. The next day, the pompous Charles de Gaulle marched down the mile long Champs Elysee to the Place de la Concorde as if he had liberated France himself. I was there, squeezed in among a hundred tanks we'd given the Free French Army that we brought in with us.

Suddenly there were sniper shots from the top of a building. Thousands of Frenchmen who had come to see de Gaulle scrambled to get under something. I got under an Army truck myself. The tank gunners opened fire on the building where the shots had come from, firing mindlessly at nothing. It was a wild scene that lasted, maybe, 10 minutes.

When we go to Paris every couple of years now, I rent a car. I drive around the Place de la Concorde and when some French driver blows his horn for me to get out of his way, I just smile and say to myself, "Go ahead, Pierre. Be my guest. I know something about this very place you'll never know."

The French have not earned their right to oppose President Bush's plans to attack Iraq.

On the other hand, I have.

Making things right....

Well, yesterday went OK after all.

I was a little neverous about the situation with my truck, being unsure of what Kayser would do about it. It all stemmed from a statement made by Jon, the salesman, to Maryanne. She had asked who was going to pay for the repairs. He replied he didn't know yet. As it turns out, we didn't have anything to worry about. It was all a question of who would be billed internally at Kayser: the dealership, or the service department.

I'll reserve final judgment until everything is over, but things have gone well so far. I have a loaner that's in pretty good shape. The dealership has been good so far. They acknowledged their mistake, and they are going to "make this right."

Alone....

Yesterday, March 23, would have been my father's 56th birthday.

Saturday, the day before, was probably roughest. After my rough day Friday, it would have been nice to talk to him and get some advice. Maryanne was busy most of the rest of the day, leaving me alone, without a vehicle. I was stuck in the house, which wouldn't have been bad, except that between what happened to my truck, and thinking about the fact that Sunday would have been Dad's birthday, I was feeling a bit depressed. I was becoming bored, since I wasn't really motivated to do anything constructive. Luckily Mom spotted me online and we were able to chat over Yahoo Messenger for a bit.

On a different note, tonight Maryanne and I will pick up the loaner car from the dealership. We'll see what they do about the repairs. I'll know more tonight after I talk to them.

Downhill....

Yesterday started off well enough, but it was all downhill after that.

I had slept very poorly Thursday night. I didn't fall asleep until after midnight, and woke around 5:30. I was tired all day.

The morning commute was fine. But then the morning at work was unusually busy. Little did I know things would get worse. The afternoon lightened up, and finally it was time to go. On my drive home, before I had even left the American Family campus, I heard a strange sound in my truck, and felt an unusual vibration. Just after I had turned down the radio my left front wheel came clean off. It went one direction, and nailed a sign on the opposite side of the road. I was able to pull the truck off onto the shoulder, and call for a tow.

There is now some serious damage to the front of my truck. Hopefully that's the end of it. We will be contacting the dealership today. More news will be posted as it happens.

Rants....

Check this out. It's pretty cool.

Trying To Help
By Dennis Miller

All the rhetoric on whether or not we should go to war against Iraq has got my insane little brain spinning like a roulette wheel. I enjoy reading opinions from both sides but I have detected a hint of confusion.

As I was reading the paper recently, I was reminded of the best advice someone ever gave me. He told me about the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) so, with this as a theme, I'd like to apply this theory for those who don't quite get it. My hope is that we can simplify things a bit and recognize a few important facts.

Here are 10 things to consider when voicing an opinion on this important issue:

1. Between President Bush and Saddam Hussein, Hussein is the bad guy.

2. If you have faith in the United Nations to do the right thing keep this in mind, they have Libya heading the Committee on Human Rights and Iraq heading the Global Disarmament Committee. Do your own math here.

3. If you use Google search and type in "French military victories" your reply will be "did you mean French military defeats?"

4. If your only anti-war slogan is "no war for oil," sue your school district for allowing you to slip through the cracks and robbing you of the education you deserve.

5. Saddam and Bin Laden will not seek United Nations approval before they try to kill us.

6. Despite common belief, Martin Sheen is not the president. He plays one on TV.

7. Even if you are anti-war, you are still an "infidel!" and Bin Laden wants you dead, too.

8. If you believe in a "vast right-wing conspiracy" but not in the danger that Hussein poses, quit hanging out with the Dell computer dude.

9. We are not trying to liberate them.

10. Whether you are for military action or against it, our young men and women overseas are fighting for us to defend our right to speak out. We all need to support them without reservation.

Carroll Tech?

A plethora of letters to the editor can be found here in The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The three at the top are all about the situation at, you guessed it, Carroll College. They didn't print my letter though. I think it was too long.

The Carroll saga....

Another illuminating letter in the continuing saga at Carroll College. It is a little out-dated, but interesting nonetheless.

Dear Colleagues:

I think we can agree that the Faculty Meeting on Monday could prove to be
important. I, for one, am looking forward to hearing from the FEC and the
exchange of views.

For what it's worth, I'd like to offer the following thoughts in advance of
this meeting.

This is my fifth (and final) year working at Carroll College. Five years ago
I was pleased to accept an offer to teach at "Wisconsin's Oldest College."
Like others who have agreed to offer their services to Carroll, I was eager
to join the faculty of an institution which was publicly proud of its
Liberal Arts heritage, "the Princeton on the Prairie" (I was told).

My own story is not unique: I uprooted my family to move some 3000 miles
from Oregon to take advantage of this opportunity. My wife gave up her law
practice so that I might pursue my career in teaching. My two kids were
thrown into a new community.

I remember very well arriving at the College in a Ryder truck, parking it in
the lower lot because I had no other place to put it. I remember, too, the
generosity of Gary Stevens, John Clausz, Tim Fiedler, and others, in helping
me move our stuff into our rental in the Pebble Creek development. I felt
welcomed by Carroll. (The only discordant note was the fact that, upon my
arrival, I learned that the man who had actually hired me, Bob Black, had
been replaced, seemingly while I was on the road.)

So, like all of us, I threw myself into my teaching and my scholarship and
tried to make a positive contribution to the College. The first hint of
serious trouble came in the Spring of 2000. The English Department had its
annual meeting with the Administration, this time with both Dennis Mick and
Lynne Bernier. My English Department colleagues and I had spent a great deal
of time in advance of this meeting coming up with ways to "contribute
significantly to our goals of strengthening Carroll College," to quote from
Frank's most recent missive. We hadn't gotten more than four words out when
Dennis and Lynne responded, in unison, that there was simply no money
available to support our ideas. (Remember: this was the Spring of 2000, at
the height of our recent economic fortunes.) I was concerned enough about
their reaction that I formulated the "Draft Resolution on Institutional
Priorities and Liberal Arts Instruction at Carroll College." In order to
underline the concern over the direction of the College, I circulated the
Resolution only among junior faculty members, more than a dozen of whom
signed the thing. You will recall, too, that I approached all three academic
divisions with this Resolution in an attempt to spark a discussion
concerning the priorities and values of the College.

Since the Spring of 2000, the agenda of Tom and Frank has become
increasingly clear. While mouthing platitudes about "a strong, broad-based
liberal education" at Convocations, Commencements, and in directives from
Voorhees, this Administration has actively pursued policies which serve only
to downsize the College's commitment to offering a strong Liberal Arts
curriculum. The recent Strategic Directions Task Force report, clearly
manipulated by the Administration's data inputs, rubrics for manipulating
data, and choice of participating members, is merely a final, and public,
unveiling of its unfortunate Master Plan for the College.

I would like to suggest that we would do well to distinguish between the
different issues which are in play at the moment.

The first issue concerns what it might mean to be a "Liberal Arts College,"
or a College with "a strong Liberal Arts core," or some such. As a community
we have batted this ball around quite a bit since I got here five years ago
(and I'm quite sure that ball was in play well before). Tom and Frank and
their minions have argued over and over again that the changes they have in
mind do not represent a threat to our definition as a [strong] Liberal Arts
College. Indeed, they have even argued that these changes actually
strengthen the College's commitment to its Liberal Arts "core."

The fact that the Faculty of the College has, to its credit, consistently
rejected these claims has not dissuaded Tom & Frank & Co. Thus one stasis
point: the Administration arguing for one definition (as it "downsizes" and
"reallocates"), the Faculty insisting on a different definition.

The second, and more important, issue concerns the processes we have engaged
in working out our notions of what Carroll is, or ought to be. I think it is
fair to say that this Administration has claimed a tremendous amount of
authority in charting our common course. I have read the edicts handed down
from Voorhees. I have tried to work with representatives of this
Administration on governance committees. The clear message has been: it's
the Administration's way or the highway.

I understand that there are relevant historical reasons for the posture of
the Administration (and the Faculty). For good or ill, a Devil's Bargain was
agreed to in the early 1990s in response to very real economic problems at
the College. In this Bargain the Faculty ceded authority over curricular
decisions (and thus the status and direction of the College) to the Board of
Trustees (and ultimately to the Board's designee, the President).

Those of us who signed on to the College after this Bargain was struck have
never been comfortable with its terms (and, generally speaking, have not
felt bound to it). (We are not alone.)

Given all of this, I think it is understandable why many (Junior and Senior)
Faculty members have reacted negatively to the Administration's exercise of
its power.

We can argue until the cows come home whether or not Carroll, in whatever
guise, qualifies as a [strong] Liberal Arts institution. For myself, and for
many of my colleagues, I suspect, the real question concerns HOW we come to
answer this question.

If I may speak bluntly: until this Faculty decides collectively to challenge
this Administration's exercise of power and authority, nothing will change.
As we have seen, the Administration is quite eager to redefine the College
(bolstered by wonderful new books on setting our priorities, ecstatic
visions of the Promised Land, etc.) If this Faculty doesn't have the stomach
to challenge this power and authority, I don't think there's much to discuss
on Monday; we ought better to shut up and proceed with our jobs as
"employees" of the Board and its Administration.

The alternative, of course, is to reclaim our historic (and, I would argue,
appropriate) authority to chart the academic life of this institution.

Until recently, even the Board and Frank acknowledged this authority (or at
least paid lip service to it). If you read carefully the statement released
by Frank today, however, you will notice that some slippage seems to be
occurring even as we speak. Frank notes that the Board "cannot agree to
relinquish final authority for all decisions." This is a logical fallacy, of
course, and one with pernicious import. To my knowledge, the Faculty has
never expected, or demanded, "final authority for all decisions."
Rhetorically, this establishes an unreal opposition: either we agree with
Tom & Frank's Master Plan (and are thus moderate and reasonable) or we
disagree (and are thus placing extreme demands on the College and its Board
of Trustees, demands which will implicitly ravage the College economically).


Let us state the case clearly: the real threat to the economic (if not
intellectual) livelihood of the College has NEVER been posed by those who
have advocated a continued (even increased) commitment to our Liberal Arts
core. All the talk of "entrepreneurial nimbleness" notwithstanding, Tom &
Frank's Master Plan has represented, and continues to represent, the single
greatest threat to the continued viability of Carroll College. Ask your
students. Ask their parents. Ask yourselves . . .

But I am speaking of process here. Process matters. Some questions I would
like to have answered at Monday's meeting:

1) If what we are engaged in is a rational (let alone ethical) process, how
can we explain the fact that about 18 months ago (well in advance of the
"Prioritization" analysis) the chair of the Chemistry Department was told by
Lynne Bernier that only two of its three junior members would, a priori,
stand a chance of being granted tenure?

2) Why did Lynne Bernier explicitly threaten my own position during my
4-year review last Spring (again, well in advance of the supposedly
objective "Prioritization" effort)?

{these were NOT boiler-plate, cover-the-College's-behind statements--ask
your colleagues in the Chemistry and English departments, or members of the
T&P committee}

3) What business does the Strategic Directions Task Force (or Frank, for
that matter), have in dictating how ENG 170 ought to be taught? You will
recall that the proclamation has gone out across the land that forthwith ENG
170 will henceforth focus on "basic skills." No more mucking about with,
e.g., fostering written reasoning or critical thinking (which can only yield
citizens who might, e.g., object to the brazen and egomaniacal exercise of
raw power by our President (which one, you ask? I, too, grow more confused
by the day . . .)

4) Are we doomed to repeat history? It's time to recognize the facts of the
case. Which of these claims is in dispute?:

a) Frank Falcone lost his previous job after alienating key constituencies
(including
Faculty and Students)
b) Frank Falcone lost his previous job by attempting to "reshape" his
College according
to his unique vision
c) Frank Falcone was hired by Carroll College because nobody else would take
the job
d) Frank Falcone has completely alienated key constituencies at Carroll
College (including Faculty, Students, Alums, Emeriti, Parents, etc.)
e) Frank Falcone has completely alienated key constituencies at Carroll
College by attempting to "reshape" it according to his unique vision
(reified by the power handed him upon his ascension to the throne)

We all know, however, that should Frank abdicate, Carroll College would not
be out of the woods. Frank is Tom's creature. As long as Tom exercises his
power on the Board of Trustees, Carroll will be graced by the Frank
Falcone's of the academic backwash. Doesn't Carroll College deserve better?
Don't you, and your partners, and your kids, deserve better? More to the
point, don't the students (and their parents) who pay $22,000 for the
privilege of attending Carroll College deserve better?

As I said, nothing will change at the College until the basic distribution
of power and authority is challenged (and "reallocated," to use the word of
the moment). Looking at the agenda for Monday's meeting, I can't really
predict what will happen. But I'm eager to find out.

Dave

David W. Gilcrest
Assistant Professor of English
Carroll College
Waukesha, WI 53186
262.524.7262 (office)
gilcrest@cc.edu

Paper trail....

I thought I would post a somewhat illuminating document regarding the happenings at Carroll College. It is an Adobe Acrobat document, and is a collection of some correspondence from members of the faculty to the president or to the board.

Check out this editorial cartoon from The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Thanks to Pauline and, in turn, Leanne, for bringing this to my attention.

Whack-job Alert!

The PETA drought ends. Fashion designer has the last laugh as whack-job demonstrators' plan backfires. Check out the story.

Propaganda....

More propaganda from the Carroll College Alumni Office:

Summary of Carroll College Board of Trustees Action

March 7, 2003

The Carroll College Board of Trustees met today to review recent actions on
campus, including the faculty vote of no confidence in President Frank S. Falcone
on March 3, 2003.

Thomas F. Badciong, Chairman of the Carroll College Board of Trustees and a
1962 graduate of Carroll, said the board thoroughly reviewed the faculty rationale
for its recent action.

"These are important issues that concern all of our students, alumni, faculty
and staff," Badciong said. "The trustees remain committed to ensuring the
long-term success of Carroll College and to providing the very best educational
experience for our students."

To address issues identified by students, faculty and alumni, the board
approved the following resolutions:

RESOLUTION 1: The Board of Trustees reaffirms the Carroll College Mission
Statement and Vision Statement, both adopted in May 1995, and its Statement of Roles
and Responsibilities, adopted in May 1996.

RESOLUTION 2: The Board of Trustees requests the continuation of the
prioritization process. The Board endorses the inclusion of students and alumni, along
with faculty, in the subsequent review and study of recommendations to take
place during the 2003-2004 academic year.

RESOLUTION 3: The Board of Trustees instructs the president to lead the
appropriate constituencies of the college to once again address issues of shared
governance. This process should include a clarification of the Statement of Roles
and Responsibilities.

RESOLUTION 4: The Board of Trustees reaffirms the liberal arts as the basis of
study for all students. Faculty, staff, alumni and student views should be
considered in an examination of the liberal arts core experience.

The Board of Trustees, which includes 27 Carroll College alumni, also
unanimously approved the following resolution, proposed by Mr. P.E. MacAllister,
chairman emeritus and a 1940 graduate of Carroll College:

Resolution of Support

Whereas:
the progress of the College since 1993 has been evaluated, and is both
noteworthy and exemplary, and

Whereas:
the issues raised by the faculty have been reviewed and considered, and

Whereas:
the strategic direction of the College as currently outlined is supported, and

Whereas:
careful deliberation has been given to the record of the President over the
last 10 years, including:

10 successive years of balanced budgets.

Tuition increases averaging only 3.76 percent per year, below the average for
Wisconsin and the nation.

Enrollment increases of 50 percent, from 1,336 in 1992-93 to 2,009 in 2002-03.

Annual student financial aid increases from $6 million to $14.3 million.

Expanded educational offerings, including 9 new undergraduate majors and two
new master's degree programs.

Expanded student housing to accommodate rising enrollment.

An increase in total faculty positions, from 120 to 230.

The creation, through donor funds, of six new endowed faculty positions.

A successful capital campaign, which had an original goal $25 million, but
raised more than $36 million.

The completion of more than $30 million of campus improvements.

Be it resolved that the Carroll College Board of Trustees hereby strongly
affirms the leadership of Dr. Frank S. Falcone and authorizes the board chairman to
extend his contract.

The Board of Trustees expressed its desire to have the entire Carroll College
Community work together in a collaborative fashion to advance the college and
serve our students.

"We hope that together, we can all move forward in the spirit of cooperation to
ensure Carroll's future," Badciong said.

Propaganda....

I never knew Carroll College was in the propaganda business. Check this out:

Dear Carroll College graduate,

We have recently received several inquiries from alumni regarding planning initiatives at Carroll. We want to provide you, our alumni, with access to information on these issues.

Please be assured that all of us who are members of the Carroll College community - alumni, students, faculty, staff and the Board of Trustees - remain committed to the liberal arts foundation on which this college was founded. No one has proposed moving away from our traditional liberal arts core experience for all students. In fact, we are considering ways to strengthen it.

The issue is not whether to preserve the liberal arts, but how to support them.

Please go to our web site and click on alumni for more information.


Sincerely,

Erin L. Brauer '00
Director of Alumni Relations

Tooth and nail....

More information comes to light in the recent events at Carroll College. I found this article today online, from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I wish there was a little more information available. While it is true ousting Frankie may not be a long-term solution, I think the fact of the matter remains that control of the curriculum should lie with the faculty alone. If it takes ousting Falcone to do that, then so be it.

No confidence....

Amy brought this article to my attention. It is, of course, in regards to the continuing fracas at Carroll College. I think it is a step in the right direction. I certainly hope that the faculty can continue on the path they're on, the path of regaining control of the curriculum. It's a shame that they should have to do this at all. At a private college, why should anyone but the faculty be in control of the curriculum?

Trading up....

Friday I had a day off, so I was able to take care of some errands and some other things I wanted to do.

I had called my credit union, where my auto loan is, in the hopes of getting it refinanced at a lower interest rate. After talking to a lady there, I found out she could do it, but because of Wisconsin laws, she needed more information about Maryanne. I got the requisite information, and tried calling back. I wasted a good portion of the afternoon trying to return her call and wait for her to call back, leaving her three voicemails in the process. She never did call back.

Thus I got a much later start than I wanted to in heading out to Stoughton and checking out Kayser Dodge. It turned out it was worthwhile, though. While I wasn't able to trade up to a new vehicle, I was able to trade up to a truck that's two years newer, and the payments won't be much more than what I've been paying. It was a productive day.

Blog!

Well, it look like at long last I may have this blog thing working. Took a little bit of effort, as I had to somehow circumvent the lack of FTP capabilities on Yahoo. Thanks to Charter Pipeline, though, I was able to work around it.

More news forthcoming!