I have to admit that I felt my heart sink when I saw the picture of Chancellor Gilliam and his wife in a Shelby Cobra on their way to their welcome reception at The Biltmore Forest Country Club. It's a bit different than when I took my Honda to Subway for lunch to celebrate the beginning of my employment at UNCG.
Appearances are important and first class flights, fancy cars, and country club receptions don't exactly demonstrate a presence in the trenches with the faculty and staff who are constantly being told to do more with less. I thought we were out of money? The old ball-and-chain Brady (who by the way we're paying for this year without requiring to do anything as lowly as working) was already making 11 times more than the maintenance and housekeeping staff, what are we spending now and why don't the economic hard times seem to hit those with the most cushion?
Faculty don't have phones in their offices because of budget cuts but the Chancellor is getting some extra staff for his residence. Say it isn't so. Even some symbolic cutting of luxury would go a long way toward sending the hopeful message: I am here because I want to be, not because it was the best way for me to get richer.
I've held my tongue, watched and waited, desperately optimistic, but it's getting hard to hang on to that. When I heard that Gilliam suggested it might be a good idea to reach out to the folks in Glenwood and get to know them, have a BBQ, I thought that was a good idea...or a good start (and something that has been a long time in the making). Now I wonder if he wouldn't mind taking a look at the UNCG community and recognizing that there's a lot there that could use some trust-building gestures.
Don't get me wrong, that's a sweet car, I'm not denying that, but I wonder if Gilliam has taken it by the staff food pantry recently.
Looks like a Zink
ReplyDeleteIsn't this the same man who needed first class flight accommodations due to health problems while working for UCLA? Have you ever sat in or driven a Shelby Cobra? As a young man I got to be a passenger in a Cobra-- it is not a car for those who are suffering with health concerns. The interior is cramped, seat padding is slight and leg room... What's leg room?
ReplyDeleteNot looking like his "disability"issues are too serious getting in/out of a low to the ground car, not to mention not much leg room, since he needs to "mve around" often.
ReplyDeleteThe staff food pantry wasn't on his campus tour. It's a safe bet that he doesn't even know it exists.
ReplyDeleteThe Gilliams have made it abundantly clear in passing that having "bleeding hearts" isn't one of their strong suits, so whether or not the staff food pantry exists may as well be irrelevant as far as they are concerned.
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