Do you know of someone who has recently retired? Has that person received a copy of our Newsletter? If not, please tell the retiree all about the Emeritus Assembly: when and where the first meeting of this academic year will be held, (October 4, 2007 1:00 PM at Zenny's. Storrs. 2:45 PM a guided tour of the Dodd Center, UCONN with Betsy Pitman, and 4:00 PM at Konover Auditorium, Dodd Center, UCONN for an address by Michael J. Bean, Esq.), how to reach one of the officers (see list of officers on the home page of this site), and obtain a copy of the Newsletter,(contact Timothy Killeen, membership chair at Killeen3@charter.net), and how to reach this website (www.CTemeritusassembly.org or www.eact.info). Membership and reservation forms can be printed from the web site's reservations.
The founding members decreed that all retirees receive two years - four copies - of the Newsletter even if they do not send in that massive dues payment of six dollars. All retirees for the entire state, with its twenty private and public universities, often means two or three hundred new emeriti in one year. Some institutions keep such strict privacy rules that addresses can be difficult for the Assembly's membership officer to obtain.
As suggested above; - you will be helping the Assembly by keeping up its membership, and you will be helping your former colleague by keeping her or him in touch with the academic scene
Remember the Assembly's MISSION STATEMENT:
The Emeritus Assembly of The Connecticut State Conference of the AAUP is committed to the following pursuits: promotion of the social, professional and general welfare interests of emeritus professors of institutions of higher education in Connecticut and the support of the professional and economic interests of the active faculties of the Connecticut institutions of higher education wherever possible and appropriate.
Mary Rogers
September,2007
Reflections on the Primary Elections
The voting in early primary states is much easier to understand than many of its commentaries. That young people are voting for Senator Obama is easily comprehensible; similarly, voters above a certain age are favoring Senator Clinton. No mystery.
Where the mystery arises is in the analysis - or the failure thereof - which some commentators are making. Remarks have emphasized the change in attitude toward nonwhite candidates. Why not toward non-male candidates?
The constitutional amendment which says that “The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, “ was enacted March 30, 1870. The nineteenth amendment which says “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States of or by any state on account of sex” did not take effect until August 26, 1920. Half a century later!
From the constitutional point of view, it is more remarkable that a woman is running for president than it is that an African American is running for president. Yet we find many commentators full of criticism for the woman, while showing much admiration for the talented young biracial senator.
Is it possible that this country is ready to accept a biracial male for the Oval Office, but not yet ready to accept any female? Are American voters unaware of Margaret Thatcher, Benezir Bhuto, Angela Merkel, Indira Gandhi, Golda Meier and so many other women who have been national leaders in various countries? Please, guys, don’t feel threatened. Let those of us whose mothers could not vote have a candidate whose success will do honor to our deprived parents.
Mary Rogers
January 2008
re: upcoming schedule
The recent EA planning meetiing on July 16, 2009 moved Mary Rogers to search for inspiration in her collection of EA newsletters, of which she was the founding and only editor for 18 years. She was, however, unable to attend the meeting due to conflicts in scheduling. Therefore, she forwarded some interesting writeups to Tim Killeen, EA President, and us. Each heading includes the issue(s) to be discussed, the topic's relevancy, background information of the invited guest speaker(s), and event details. Really good stuff. Here are two:
Higher Education In Connecticut: Pressures and Principles
Monday, October 20, 2003
When the executive board of this Emeritus Assembly met to plan the programs for '03-'04, it showed no fear:
Commissioner of Higher Education? Yes, let's invite her. Who best can give us the complete picture of the pressures now being exerted in higher education in this state?
In 1998, the Public Agenda Advisory Council released its report entitled "Transforming Connecticut Higher Education: An Agenda for Excellence into the 21st Century."
At the time, the Courant criticized the plan in an editorial titled "Higher Education Plan Flunks." Was the newspaper correct in its assessment? Is the "Agenda" still influencing higher education? Has it been revised or abandoned?
Commissioner Lewis can tell us about today's agenda, and how it is being implemented.
What will the Emeritus Assembly do with the ideas generated at this meeting? How can we continue to contribute to our universities?
Central CT State University, New Britain, Monday October 20 at 10:30 Commissioner Valerie Lewis.
Dine with fellow retirees at the Faculty Dining Room, add your comments at the Business Meeting.
David DeNuccio in charge of local arrangements. Reservation form on back page. See map page for directions including parking
Universities and Their Retirees: Present and Future
Tuesday, November 18
A panel of four university presidents will discuss this topic.
Each of the Presidents has a special message to bring:
At the University of Hartford., President Walter Harrison continues "The President's College" - a special event for all adult learners.
At Central, President Richard Judd presides over an institution which has been designated "a role model for undergraduate education for the country".
At the Capitol Community College where there is a CCC-UCONN Urban Studies program, President Ira Rubenzahl has been working to uncover pathways forward for Hartford.
At Storrs, the University of Connecticut under the leadership of President Philip Austin offers to senior citizens a flourishing "Center for Learning in Retirement" and is considering an assisted living project.
What will the Emeritus Assembly do with the ideas generated at this meeting?
How can we continue to contribute to our universities?
University of Hartford, West Hartford, Tuesday November 18 at 10:30 the Four Presidents Emeritus Assembly V.P. Fred Cazel, panel moderator. Buffet lunch at the 1877 Club, business meeting follows. Local arrangements by Cecilia Welna. See map page.cause it's relevant to a possible coming program.
Posted by eact at 11:09 AM
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Mary also forwarded her notes on the Nov 15, 2004 EA meeting at St Joseph College, McGovern Hall, with speaker Mary Marcy, Director Project on Future of Higher Education, on the topic of New Models and Possibilities for Higher Education.
Project on the future of Higher Education
How do we enhance student learning and maintain quality faculty work-life in the midst of austere budgets?
The Project on the Future of Higher Education has brought together, at the Project’s Institute on Higher Education , some of the most creative and successful practitioners and thinkers to wrestle with this challenge. Their most recent work is expressed in 3 Organizing Principles and 7 Transformative Actions, which offers ideas for organizing our campuses for learning in a time of restricted resources. These principles and actions are explained in “Dealing with the Future Now: Principles for Creating a Vital Campus in a Climate of Restricted Resources,” which is in Change—The Magazine of Higher Learning, July/August 2003. (Web note: Currently this study It is available at: http://www.westminstercollege.edu/strategic_planning/aacu.pdf)
The responses generated by this question have yielded innovative ideas about how faculty teach, students are educated, and campuses are organized.
The Project on the Future of Higher Education is a focused initiative that brings together leaders in American higher education to answer the question: Given what we know and likely future social, technological and economic realities, if we were creating a college or university today, what would it look like?
The Institute on Higher Education is the Project's arena for generating responses to this question. This group is developing models which maintain faculty vitality and enhance student learning in a climate of restricted resources. Their work—in the form of publications ,working papers ,presentations , and campus initiatives —can be found throughout their website.
Made possible by grants from the Pierson-Lovelace Foundation and the California Community Foundation to Antioch University, this national initative is led by Alan E. Guskin , Distinguished University Professor and President Emeritus of Antioch University, and Mary B. Marcy , Co-Director and Senior Administrator of the Project.
The 3 Organizing Principles and 7 Transformative Actions are:
Organizing Principle I
Create a Clear and Coherent Vision of the Future Focused on Student Learning Quality of Faculty Work-life and Reduced Costs/Student
Organizing Principle II
Transform the Educational Delivery System Consistent with Vision of the Future
Transformative Actions
1. Focus on assessment of institution-wide common student learning outcomes as basis for undergraduate degree
2. Restructure the role of faculty to include faculty members and other campus professionals as partners in student learning while integrating technology
3. Integrate and recognize student learning from all sources
4. Audit and restructure curriculum to focus on essential academic programs and curricular offerings
Organizing Principle III
Transform the Organizational System Consistent with Vision of the Future
Transformative Actions
5. Use Zero-Based Budget Process to Audit and Redesign the Budget Allocation Process while Involving Faculty and Staff as Responsible Partners
6. Audit and Restructure Administrative and Student Services Systems while using Technology and Integrated Staffing to Reduce Costs
7. Audit and Redesign Technological and Staff Infrastructure to Support Transformational Changes
Copyright © 2002-2004 Project oN THE FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
At the EA meeting on November 15, 2004, Mary Marcy, Ph.D. also shared with the audience some of the groups's considerations of the strategies that institutions of higher education may use, or have used, in response to the demands of limited resources. A number of assumptions about the needed change that are commonly held were discussed as well. Here are Mary Rogers' notes on this part of Mary Marcy's presentation. The effectiveness of the approaches and the validity of the assumptions were examined in some detail. A familiar list of actions to be taken based on the current assumptons and rationale follow.
Choices for Facing Institutional Budget Challenges
As campuses face budget reductions, they have a series of choices about how to respond. A short term vision, what we call “muddling through” may allow an institution to muddle through for a brief period, but has damaging long-term consequences for the campus. A long-term vision, which we believe involves transformation , may mean a more difficult immediate conversation, but ultimately offers a more hopeful future for student learning and faculty vitality.
Institutional Responses to Severe Fiscal Problems:
Muddling Through Versus Transforming the Institution
Assumptions about the Fiscal Reality
Muddling Through
Short-term, very serious, cyclical, no permanent consequences, “this too shall pass”
Transforming the Institution
Long-term problems require long-term solutions
Assumptions about Needed Change
Muddling Through
•Present educational delivery system is unchangeable
•Technology is always an added expense
• Changes in faculty and staff work lead to workload increases
• Incremental changes in faculty teaching and hiring will be sufficient to maintain quality of student learning and faculty work-life
•Present organizational systems are necessary to maintain institution
•Past calls for fundamental reform based on financial realities proved to be unnecessary
Transforming the Institution
• Reorganizing how education is delivered is necessary to assure quality of student learning and faculty work-life
• Curriculum reorganization needed to assure academic program survival with quality
• Technology can improve campus effectiveness and reduce costs per student of teaching-learning process and administrative organization
•Increased enrollment will lead to increased costs unless educational delivery system is changed
•Large tuition increases are difficult to sustain without undermining campus values regarding access and diversity
• Significant increases in fund-raising are needed but will not offset losses in revenue
Actions to be Taken
Muddling Through
•Incremental changes; selective cuts and layoffs
• Hire inexpensive faculty; increased workload
• Increase tuition to maximum allowed
• Focus on increasing enrollment
• Contract out/collaborate on selective services
• Ratchet up fund raising
• Forceful presentations to state legislators
• Refinance debt
Transforming the Institution
•Create a Clear and Coherent Vision of the Future (focus on student learning, quality of faculty work-life and reducing costs/student)
•Transform Educational Delivery System (consistent with vision of the future)
•Transform Organizational Systems (consistent with vision of the future)
Mary B. Marcy, Ph.D
Dr. Marcy has recently accepted the position of Provost and Vice President of Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington, MA. Simon's Rock is a unique college of liberal arts and sciences that is designed for students of high school age.
Mary B. Marcy was the Co-Director and Senior Administrator of the Project of the Future of Higher Education at Antioch University. In this capacity, Dr. Marcy worked with colleagues across the nation on some of the most promising ideas in higher education. Her activities included workshops, facilitation, forums, and speaking at regional and national organizations, as well as direct work with a number of colleges, universities, and state systems of higher education.
Previously, Dr. Marcy served as the first Dean of University Relations and Planning at the Seattle campus of Antioch, where she created the campus’ first successful fundraising program and Board of Visitors. As Dean, Dr. Marcy also had leadership responsibility for alumni, media, government, corporate, and community relations; publications; planning; and marketing.
Before coming to Antioch University, Dr. Marcy was the primary policy researcher and advisor to the President of Western Washington University, where she was Executive Assistant to the President. In this role she led select presidential initiatives in government relations, affirmative action, enrollment management, and service learning.
Prior to her time at Western, Dr. Marcy was the Director of Government Relations at Central Washington University, where she was responsible for representing the University to local, state, and federal governmentThroughout her administrative career Dr. Marcy has had faculty appointments, taught courses in political science and education, as well as serving on various degree committees.
Dr. Marcy has been a moderator, keynote speaker and presenter at a number of events. She is active in national higher education associations, serves on the Brookings Institute Higher Education Policy Forum, and was a recent participant in The Aspen Institute's Justice and Society program. She has been involved in political life at all levels, serving as a campaign manager for legislative races in her native Nebraska and as a Lyndon Baines Johnson Intern in the office of Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder.
Dr. Marcy received her Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy in Politics from Oxford University, where she was a Rotary Foundation scholar. Dr. Marcy received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she was also the first student to receive the Sue Tidball Award for Creative Humanity.
Publications
(Web Note: Most of these titles can be found by going to Google Schalar and typing in the name of Mary Marcy. http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=mary+marcy&hl=en&btnG=Search)
“Why Foundations Have Cut Back in Higher Education,” Marcy, M. The Chronicle Review, Point of View, July 25, 2003.
"Diversity, Demographics and Dollars: Challenges in Higher Education", Marcy, M. (300kPDF)
"Facing the Future: Faculty Work, Student Learning and Fundamental Reform", Guskin, A. and Marcy, M. (400k PDF)
"Democracy, Leadership and the Role of Liberal Education", Marcy, M. in Liberal Education, Winter 2002, Vol. 88, No. 1, Assocation of American Colleges and Universities.
"Pressures for Fundamental Reform: Creating a Viable Academic Future", Guskin, A. and Marcy, M. in A Field Guide to Academic Leadership, Robert Diamond, Editor, Jossey-Bass (in press, 2002.) (90k PDF)
"Faculty Work, Student Learning, and the Case for Fundamental Reform" Guskin, A. and Marcy, M. in The Enterprising University, Gareth Williams, Editor, Open University Press (in press, 2002.) (61k PDF)
"How to Reach the New Donors", Marcy, M., Chronicle of Higher Education, July 6, 2001. (175k PDF)
"New Donors Back Risky Programs to Change Campus", Interview Mary Marcy in Women in Higher Education, September 2001. Mary Rogers July, 2009