UT Prof: Pride a driving factor
Integrative Biology professor
David Hillis
(Wikipedia article )
is the Alfred W. Roark Centennial Professor of Biology at UT and a current member and former
chair of the Faculty Council. He is a member of the
National Academy of Sciences ,
a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
Here’s a link to a letter he wrote to The Daily Texan
about recent events surrounding the Cactus Cafe:
Comments
Dr. Hillis,
Well said, sir.
Unfortunately I see no reason to dispute your reference to "Andy Smith’s history of putting personal interests above the interests of the University community in directing the Texas Union."
Naturally those "personal interests" begin with Mr. Smith's own compensation. This becomes patently obvious on the most cursory examination of the salary structure at the Texas Union (accessible at http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/th...).
The bar graphs on salary distribution at the Union reveal a startling concentration of wealth at the top. Since 1997, Mr. Smith's own direct compensation has more than doubled to $138,603.
I would be interested not only to see the job descriptions for Mr. Smith and his hand-picked coterie of sycophants, but for an independent agency (certainly not UT's own Human Resources Department, which is nothing except a servant of Administration) to review the true scope and merit of that select contingent's contribution.
Some of those people probably work for a living; at least one may be worth his or her generous salary. (I certainly would not take Andy Smith's word for it.) But why does it take a full dozen employees at the level of Assistant Director or above to manage a staff (exclusive of that anointed dozen) of 51*? Is one person ranked as an Assistant Director or higher for every 4.25 employees an efficient or effective management paradigm?
The taxpayers, the students and all other members of the extended University community deserve far better.
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*source: http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/se...
Just to ensure that what appears on Juan Gonzalez's official "Cactus Conversations" site is what I wrote, here's a copy.
I failed to include a crucial point: I sincerely hope that the "open forum" Dr. Gonzalez intends to host on April 21 is exactly that--at a time and place intended to encourage the widest possible attendance. For many members of the greater UT community, daytime business hours would effectively block their participation.
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Liz Franklin, Brandy LeBlanc, et al,
Indeed, where is Andy Smith, and what actually drives Administration on this issue?
I cannot disagree with the assessment offered by Steve Bearden (former director of the Union's campus-wide film program and later manager of the Union Underground, who retired not long after being forced to dismiss his entire student staff just before one Christmas) at the panel discussion after the screening of "University, Inc." Tuesday night April 6: "At this point, it's all power and ego."
As Professor David Hillis posited in a Firing Line letter to the Daily Texan: "The only obstacles standing in the way of reversing this bad decision [to kill the Cactus] are the egos of a few people who put personal pride above the best interests of the University. Given Andy Smith’s history of putting personal interests above the interests of the University community in directing the Texas Union, I find his role in this fiasco completely unsurprising."
Perhaps some of the vital questions posed here (maybe even some of the dozens ruled out of order at the Texas Union Board of Directors' meeting on February 26) will be answered at Dr. Gonzalez's open forum on April 21. I wonder whether Andy Smith will be present to answer questions.
I'm not holding my breath on either score. All evidence indicates that just as with the press releases concocted to announce the Smith agenda after the Union Board of directors' January meeting, Administration remains intent on spinning the entire fiasco as a collaborative effort spearheaded by and for students.
To quote Matt Portillo (an undergraduate attending the official series of "Cactus Conversations"): "I only learned about the partnership with KUT Radio last night [Tuesday, April 6], so it is factually inaccurate to say that conversations with me and the other members of this group have led to consideration of this partnership. It’s somewhat disappointing to see that my input is being mischaracterized not only in emails to University officials, but now also to the University’s web audience as well."
why does this remind me of the end of animal house....
o'rourke and smith, and maybe gonzales (just guessing here) have a bigger agenda than what is apparent, this is also probably much bigger than just closing the cafe (again an opinion)....follow the money trail there is one, always is, a future use maybe (real estate), future positions somewhere for those involved in the decision not just o'rourke and smith, who is to really gain in the next two-three years, not into conspiracies mind ya, just weary of a few like minded individuals whose agenda is more about money and control or lack there of, that project their idea of how things should be without regard of what the majority is willing to accept....just sayin'.... this stinks and the stench is coming from the higher offices of the UT governing body/ executive offices/ private individuals and influential alumni.... I would like to see the cafe stay... and changes made to fix the so called problem areas of operation and use for the students... hey I'm an aggie by blood never went to college, but I'm here and the cactus cafe has my support... ..............D-Day: War's over, man. Wormer dropped the big one.
Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard]
Bluto: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!
[runs out, alone; then returns]
Bluto: What the fuck happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst. "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer...
Otter: Dead! Bluto's right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part.
Bluto: We're just the guys to do it.
D-Day: Let's do it.
Bluto: *Let’s do it*!