Maggie's Farm

Re "I'm a professor from an immigrant community" - that's my alma mater, though many years ago. Have passed the article oin to our offsprings, who also graduated from that uni.

That bein said, back in early March (just before all shutdowns) had the honour of assisting at the funeral of a long-time member of our parish who had also been on the U of C faculty. Heading out after my duties, was confronted by our priest who said that there was someone who wished to see me. Was confronted by a professor from back in the day whom I had much respected; was seriously glad to see him again. We had a really good talk at the church "reception", though discussion was not about the deceased, whom we both admired, but on present realities. He had come because - back in his tenure as Department Head - the deceased had been head of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and this he remembered and honoured. Even during my short tenure as a student, I had noticed that there was no professor in my particular faculty who took that position for more than a couple of years, and got the affirmation that is was being schlepped around as in someone has to do this so we will all take turns.

As he tells it, the situation is currently much worse. There has been an obscene proliferation of senior level administration bodies - each commanding serious remuneration - with the commensurate demanding of numerous (though largely ignored) reports from the department head. No wonder many department are finding increasing reluctance from their professors to take on the department head; the bureaucratic requirements are so onerous that any serious work (such as research leading to grants) would be seriously compromised.