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(Tenured Radical)

Saturday, February 25, 2006

While most of our best universities…

…like Harvard, feature remarkably autonomous units, our weaker universities often feature not only autocratic presidents, but government interference. The University of Hawaii's accreditation, for instance, could be put at risk because of micromanagement by state legislators:





Lawmakers’ meddling at UH cited

Accreditors say legislative interference
endangers the integrity of the university

The accrediting body for the University of Hawaii expressed concern over what it sees as possible "micromanagement" by state lawmakers over their attempt to transfer a Hawaiian-language faculty member from UH-Manoa to UH-West Oahu.

In a Feb. 6 letter to interim UH President David McClain, a Western Association of Schools and Colleges panel noted that while relations with the Legislature and the governor appear to be improving, "detailed actions of this type would appear to represent micromanagement and violate the integrity of the university."

…[Two state lawmakers had a] provision inserted into last year's budget that transferred funds for a Hawaiian-language position from UH-Manoa to UH-West Oahu.




Hm, let’s see… yes, we'll move this position from campus a to campus b…

When asked to comment on the controversy, one of the meddlers remarked: "They [the university and the regents] are not the beginning and the end when it comes to ideas to improve the university."

This guy should take UD’s T.S. Eliot course:

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow.

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Another example:

The University of Utah system.
Posted at: 2/25/2006 10:29:00 AM