Whoa are the overcommitted for they know not what day it is. Ok, so ER's being a little melodramatic but with 4, count 'em folks! 4 Research papers due this semester or this overworked and very tired grad student will NOT be walking across that floor for the much anticipated and highly coveted sheepskin. Wow. I can't believe it's February already. I did spend a lot of time organizing myself in January but despite my uber organization -- it's still been difficult keeping it all together. Some things, things I rather enjoy -- like blogging for instance -- have fallen by the wayside. So sorry to my peeps in the graduate office who send only mildly threatening emails...
Somtimes I do wish there were 8 days in a week and 28 hours in a day. Being a mom, a student, a worker, a wife, a respected member of my community as well as trying to leave a leagacy at Suffolk is taking it's toll on my spare time. Hah! Spare time -- who am I kidding? What's that?
And the economic news of late isn't helping ER's mood either. I had hoped to write, well, about hope but ER's not feeling very upbeat in that department. Long the oral crier in the family of the impending fiscal doom -- no one ever listens to me -- I kept wondering out loud -- who's buying the $4,000 tvs??? Even in my chosen field, Higher Education, things are looking glum. When the most well endowed of universities emails its employees for nearly a month straight and is holding workshops on "what to do in a recessive economy" the hand writing is on the wall folks! Its pink slip time -- or dang near close to it. Golden parachutes are launching all over campuses from here to the left coast. Universities are bracing for impact and it won't be pretty folks. ER predicts layoffs, hiring freezes and painful cutbacks on campuses nationwide.
At most institutions (barring the elites -- which are always in a class by themselves -- pun intended) -- applications are down, enrollments, therefore, are going to be down and perhaps, its time to re-evaluate the need for that humongous new stadium, or glass enclosed health center or the residential towers with internet connectivity in every room and 52 inch flat screen tvs on every shared living space? Know what I mean? Are these really necessary? If you have luxe accommodations does it mean you're getting a quality education?
Perhaps its time to get back to basics. Providing quality education to those who seek it, on a campus where the student body have access to all the appropriate research tools in order to achieve their educational goals without frustration and futility. How about a tweak in the salary departments? How about a return to the less is more approach as in less six figure salaries for the higher educational fat cats. A recent article in Businessweek by Ellen Gibson revealed:
"....University presidents may not be as generously compensated as their counterparts in the for-profit world, but their pay has been rising steeply over the past 15 years, especially compared to professors' incomes. One-third of presidents at public universities now earn more than $500,000 a year. The median pay for public-school presidents in the 2007-08 school year was $427,400, according to an annual compensation survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education. It was $100,000 higher at private colleges. With base salaries well into the six figures, the administrators' total compensation is rounded out by perks like retirement payouts, retention bonuses, performance awards, expense accounts, and the use of well-appointed homes and cars. For instance, E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State University, took home a total of $1,346,225 last year, including a $310,000 performance bonus..."
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