Thursday, October 21, 2021

New directions in academia

In the news:

Staff shortages at Michigan State University prompted an unusual request this week: A senior administrator asked colleagues to volunteer to clean tables and prepare and serve food in the cafeterias.

“Faculty and staff from around campus are invited to sign up to assist in the dining halls!” wrote Vennie Gore, senior vice president for residential and hospitality services and auxiliary enterprises, to an email list of deans, directors, and chairs. “We have specific needs during evenings and weekends. I ask that you share this message with your departments and units.”
“Faculty and staff from around campus are invited to sign up to assist in the dining halls!”: I like the cheerful exclamation point, which is obligatory in missives trying to make what’s unappetizing seem appetizing. No pun intended.

“Senior vice president for residential and hospitality services and auxiliary enterprises”: in other words, he is one of the people who run food services. His salary in 2020: $292,857, “274 percent higher than average and 354 percent higher than median salary in Michigan State University.”

Will time in the dining halls (eight hours a week!) count as university service, to be applied toward retention, promotion, or tenure?

Thanks, Diane! (Yes, that’s a cheerful exclamation point.)

[A longer article in The Chronicle of Higher Education requires an account.]

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