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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
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Confidentially... ... UD wasn't surprised to read of Antioch College closing, because her blogpal Ralph Luker, who at one time taught there, told her a few months ago that it was likely to happen. (Ralph has a good roundup of links on the story.) Nor was she surprised by this comment by a trustee about confidentiality: Ms. Winslow, who has been a university trustee for 12 years, the greatest length of service among the 26 board members, declined to comment on the board's stewardship of the college, citing board confidentiality policies. But she said most of the college's alumni are likely to believe the board has neglected the college in trying to oversee the larger system. Now ain't that a bit of silly? Longtime readers know UD considers American academia in general confidentiality-addled, refusing to talk about this and about that because after all we must respect confidentiality... And yet here's an example, IMHO, of how absurd reflexive confidentiality can be. This college has passed on. It is no more. It has ceased to be. It has expired and gone to meet its maker. What's being protected here? And note what the policy forces this woman to say -- I mean, it's odd, isn't it, rhetorically, how she can only acknowledge that "most of the college's alumni are likely to believe the board has neglected" things? The poor woman can't even defend herself... Or is she tacitly acknowledging the truth of the alumni's belief? We'll never know because... it's confidential... |