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“In a time of economic hardship, when the citizens of the state that we serve are suffering, the Provost’s decision to accept a position on Nike’s corporate board has drawn unwelcome and harmful public attention to her and to the President, both of whom already earn excessive salaries and, by accepting lucrative positions on corporate boards, seem clearly to be cashing in on their public positions.”

Ah, a walk down memory lane. This is from a 2010 AAUP report expressing dismay at Phyllis Wise (then a high-ranking administrator at the University of Washington) following in the footsteps of UW’s then president Mark Emmert (who as current head of the farcical NCAA makes far far FAR bigger bucks than he did on all of his presidential corporate boards) and displaying her I could give a shit greed to the world.

To Wise’s claim that Nike’s board was interested in her special expertise in their line of work, the AAUP responded:

It is difficult to see what special interest the Nike Corporation could possibly have in Phyllis Wise’s research expertise in obstetrics and gynecology.

Er… How to screw your employees?…

UD is therefore SOOOO not surprised that Wise is insisting on leaving her latest place of employment with every penny coming to her.

One day after the board of trustees rejected her first attempt, the former UI chancellor again tendered her resignation Thursday night, saying she would not accept a position as special assistant to the president and that she is consulting with her lawyers about ways to protect her reputation…

‘[T]he University agreed to provide the compensation and benefits to which I was entitled, including $400,000 in deferred compensation that was part of my 2011 employment contract.’

I want it all! You think by changing your mind and ‘terminating’ instead of retiring me you can avoid yet more ridicule (the University of Illinois has generated tons of that over the last few years) about the four hundred thou reward for the way I handled Salaita and other matters?

YOU CAN’T FIRE ME. I RESIGN. I RESIGN AGAIN. I RESIGN AGAIN. AND AGAIN.

It’s what Kierkegaard called infinite resignation:

Infinite resignation is the last stage before faith, so anyone who has not made this movement does not have faith, for only in infinite resignation does an individual become conscious of his eternal validity, and only then can one speak of grasping existence by virtue of faith.

As Wise embarks on her spiritual journey, the rest of us can giggle at the spectacle (see this post, about comedy and repetition) of Wise and her university tossing the terminate/resign ball back and forth. At great expense to Illinois taxpayers, of course.

**************

UD thanks Wendy.

Margaret Soltan, August 14, 2015 8:16AM
Posted in: merchandise

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9 Responses to ““In a time of economic hardship, when the citizens of the state that we serve are suffering, the Provost’s decision to accept a position on Nike’s corporate board has drawn unwelcome and harmful public attention to her and to the President, both of whom already earn excessive salaries and, by accepting lucrative positions on corporate boards, seem clearly to be cashing in on their public positions.””

  1. Dr_Doctorstein Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 10:27AM

    AAUP: “It is difficult to see what special interest the Nike Corporation could possibly have in Phyllis Wise’s research expertise in obstetrics and gynecology.”

    UD: “Er… How to screw your employees?…”

    Heh. But really, the relevant field would be proctology, no?

    I enjoyed the great (if inevitable) comment at IHE: “must feel terrible, having the university break a promise like that.”

  2. Margaret Soltan Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 10:31AM

    Dr_ : Much amusement in there.

  3. Dr_Doctorstein Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 1:16PM

    Awesome reply, but — ew.

  4. Margaret Soltan Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 2:23PM

    Ahaha. Didn’t mean it like that!

  5. Mr Punch Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 5:23PM

    My take: Wise took the heat for the trustees (didn’t work, but not her fault), then they shafted her. Board members should chip in the 400k.

  6. Dr_Doctorstein Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 6:20PM

    She’d better get it soon, before Salaita’s lawyers clean out the till.

  7. Anon Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 7:29PM

    She’s shocked, SHOCKED, that this university would make a contractual offer, and then withdraw it. That’s unprecedented!

  8. Margaret Soltan Says:
    August 14th, 2015 at 8:21PM

    Anon: LOL.

  9. charlie Says:
    August 15th, 2015 at 1:02AM

    The unbelievable greed, hubris and conflict of interest of many of uni admins. And they fight with all they have to keep their most important marketing scheme, athletes, from organizing for their rights as workers. The unis can never admit that their notion of student-athlete is a sham, because if footballers were recognized as workers and unionize, then why not all the other academic serfs that populate the unis?

    http://www.thenation.com/article/northwestern-university...

    Despite all of the purported administrative brainpower, none of that is capable of preventing the inevitable, the implosion of the university debt bubble. LSU’s impending default was the inflection point, if they can go under, then just about any other uni can, as well. IL isn’t in much better fiscal shape than LA.

    http://www.rebootillinois.com/2014/07/31/editors-picks/caitlin...

    Good ol Phyllis seems to be part of growing trend of uni admins, loot whatever is left of the treasury before getting the hell out of town….

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