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Pathetic.

Here’s how the new chair of the board of trustees at one of the major public universities in this country writes.

It’s his letter of application to the university for the position.

I am Chris Kennedy and I am interested in being nominated to the Board of Trustees for one of our nation’s most prestigious universities – The University of Illinois… An institution that embraces innovation, embraces new ideas. An institution that embraces new ideas, embraces its future. The confident attitude that the people from Illinois embrace comes from their comfort with being surrounded by organizations like the University of Illinois that are the best in the world. The University of Illinois has taught us all how to embrace the future. The University of Illinois is an economic incubator. Each year it retains the state’s brightest minds and attracts thousands to our state to live here for four years. Most of them fall in love with the state, with its beautiful lakes and state parks, its vibrant culture, the welcoming nature of its people, and its wonderful communities and neighborhoods in which to raise a family.

Straight from the grave of Leonid Brezhnev. If I were a student — let’s not even talk about a professor — at the University of Illinois, I’d be disgusted. The guy obviously doesn’t give a shit about the place and can’t be bothered to show any respect to the nominating committee.

And they made him chair.

Margaret Soltan, November 9, 2009 12:40PM
Posted in: Scathing Online Schoolmarm

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7 Responses to “Pathetic.”

  1. Dave Stone Says:

    All that embracing makes me want to be AD at San Diego State.

  2. Bill Gleason Says:

    Sad, but you only have to write slightly better and you can become a provost at another Big Ten university:

    "our fundamental mission as a University must be deployed in service of the broader transnational learning process"

    I know… you think I’m pulling your leg. This is a quote from our provost, a serial ex-law school dean. For more, see:

    http://ptable.blogspot.com/2008/11/hiring-pause-thinking-freeze-thanks-to.html

    (Hiring Pause, Thinking Freeze)

  3. francofou Says:

    He apparently submitted the application after the decision had been made to appoint him.

    http://tinyurl.com/ybdp7de

  4. Margaret Soltan Says:

    Another clouted admission, francofou.

  5. Townsend Harris Says:

    "I seen my opportunities and I took ’em."
    – George Washington Plunkitt

  6. UIUC Grad Says:

    Thought you might like to know that the graduate employee union at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is planning to go on strike, starting Monday (11/16), after 7 months of stalled negotiations (http://preview.tinyurl.com/yeymv78).

  7. theprofessor Says:

    Unfortunately, I have about a dozen students who are channeling this dork’s writing style this semester.

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