sellout
Some nice undergrad from my alma mater called me up this week for an alumni fund-raising drive. Uh-oh. Well, I’d already said I had time to talk when she just asked to confirm my address, so I got to hear all about how a higher percentage of alumni making donations will boost the school’s ranking and make lots of students want to go there and basically further the current president’s ambition to triple the size of the school without actually improving the quality.
I wasn’t particularly interested in giving them anything, since I don’t particularly like the bigger-is-better direction… then again, a few bucks isn’t going to affect anything and technically it does boost their ranking for alumni donors, right? She confirmed this. Can I specify how it gets used? Sure! OK, then put me down for a couple bucks to go to the chemistry department. Dr. Pickard will roll his eyes and wonder what someone thought could be done to improve the department with five bucks, but hey, it’s the thought that counts.
If I can’t give enough to save the physics department from closing down due to attrition, at least it’s something… Oh wait, of *course* it can become a nationally renowned liberal arts college (no! a university!) without a physics department. ‘Cause none of the good schools have physics departments at all. Instead, we need a forensics major. Yes, for undergrads. Oh, and biotechnology, too, ’cause (1) there’s a lot of *that* in NE Tennessee, and (2) a biotechnology curriculum is such a clearly-defined target right now.
So, I’ve either sold out and furthered Dr. Jordan’s nefarious plan, or I’ve done my small part to boost a part of the school left out of the “hire! recruit! expand!” machine…. The 50th annual Science Open House is next weekend, seriously thinking about going if it weren’t 9 hours’ drive…
