… when university presidents feel compelled to interrupt salary negotiations with the next multimillionaire football coach to respond to criticism of their athletic programs.
The biggest fan in fandom, Stephen Weber of San Diego State, recently did this; and now Dave Frohnmayer, at the University of Oregon, takes the field.
Both men write from the heart, not the head — a big mistake, if you ask Scathing Online Schoolmarm. Like the lady in The Onion, they’re offended. They’ve taken umbrage. They are not amused. A commenter on Frohnmayer’s piece makes the point [scroll down to "TW"]:
Mr. Frohnmayer’s article attempts to rebut comments by a UO professor questioning the balance of athletics and academics at UO. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the current balance, it is reasonable to ask the question. Mr. Frohnmayers’s emotionally charged reaction wherein the professor is called an attacker fails as a rebuttal. Instead, it shows how much of a problem Mr. F really is. An emotional reaction to a reasonable question.
Both men spend most of their time expressing rage and recounting the glories of their schools. Yet the tendency of both men to twist or try to suppress the truth undermines their argument just as much as their anger does. Frohnmayer, for instance, went to a great deal of trouble recently to fudge the numbers on his very big salary, a “lack of transparency” that a local commentator slammed. And as to the content of his opinion piece… Well, take a look at this.
Finally, the author of Sunday’s piece opined that the university had somehow misplaced its priorities by rescheduling commencement because of a track meet. I strongly disagree. This is not just any track meet, but the NCAA National Championships — an event that will pump millions of dollars into the local economy and is part and parcel of the rich track and field heritage of the UO.
You see how the prose gives away the man. Not just any track meet! Look sharp! … And then that ultimate defense of bigtime university sports that UD’s heard so much from Myles Brand: pumps dollars into the local economy…
Stop for a moment and try to recall, even if Frohnmayer and Brand cannot, what a university is. It may be a nice outcome of a university that it – like any institution that locates itself somewhere – might benefit the local economy. But a university is not a Toyota factory. It does not constitute a defense of university policies to say that they generate money for apparel shops and sports bars.
The awe that Frohnmayer feels as he contemplates a track meet, and his welfare state mentality (universities are really about job creation), make him a strange bird indeed.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:44PM
The university-president-as-bully has become common, alas. FIRE just reported on yet another one, at SIUC.
In other news, South Carolina proposes to ban University Diaries.
January 15th, 2009 at 11:00PM
Where are the links to Mr Frohnmayer’s essay and the comments? My use of your post, http://coldspringshops.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html#6444731070124445342, is looking for a few footnotes.
January 15th, 2009 at 11:23PM
Whoops. Hold on Stephen. Can’t believe I forgot to do that…
January 15th, 2009 at 11:35PM
The university-president-as-bully has unfortunately become a familiar character. FIRE recently wrote about another one at one of UD’s favorite schools: SIUC.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:56AM
Thanks for the footnote. The president’s column offers yet more for an economist to question …
July 9th, 2009 at 2:40PM
[...] and Field Championships, scheduled in the ceremony’s usual slot. The move brooked criticism on a national level from educators who accused then-President Dave Frohnmayer of mistaken priorities and subsequent [...]
July 14th, 2009 at 3:07PM
[...] response drew national attention, with Frohnmayer criticized by Inside Higher Ed blogger Margaret Soltan, who accused Frohnmayer of a “tendency to twist or try to suppress the truth.”… [...]