Jan's $100,000 Gift Basket Budget

Here’s a question I’d like to get an answer to (as opposed to all the others that I ask but that don’t get answered):

Is there anything that the university needs in order to continue to support its mission that costs less than $100,000?

The reason why I ask that is because $100,000 is the budget that Jan Zink has for purchasing gift baskets. And, well, it seems to me like there might have been some things that were in the lineup of priorities that we would be funding before we got down to gift baskets (or $150,000 for ice sculptures for that matter).

Now, maybe that wasn’t the entire amount that she asked for in the gift basket fund, so she’s feeling that she has tightened down too.

Here’s where things start to get fuzzy for me. We know that Jan doesn’t think that UNCG people give. Does she have the idea that UNCG people would if they thought they were going to receive a woven basket with an assortment of small cheeses? I think she may have our donors mistaken for rodents. Does she think our donors can’t find their own body wash or ground coffee? That the only reason they would give is because it will lighten their weekly shopping load a tad?

Here’s a gift basket that looks very nice for $39.95 – Jan could buy 2,503 of them with that budget. Are we sending out 2,503 gift baskets a year?

But maybe that’s not as fancy as the ones she orders. After all, she is the one who thinks that the appropriate décor for a donor function is an ice sculpture of a grand piano…because nothing says “we’re spending your donation wisely” like something that costs a lot and yet melts.

So, are we sending out “Tower of Treats” baskets from Harry & David at $149 a pop? That budget lets Jan “gift basket” Zink send 671 thank you baskets complete with smoked salmon, nuts, pears, and hopefully some explanation of why we thought they would want us to spend such a large part of their donation on a gift for them.

Meanwhile, we have students and staff who are well below the poverty line – with at risk housing and food shortages. We have buildings that have holes in the floors and soon much of the teaching technology in the classrooms will be removed and sold off. We have faculty using 7-year-old laptops and desks that stand up when a book is propped under one leg. We have field trips the students can’t afford to attend and doctor’s co-pays that break the bank.  We have staff who have been laid off, course sections that have been cancelled, library resources that have expired…and I could go on, but you get the picture.

I think that our donors give to UNCG because they love UNCG, not because they need a really complicated way to get a basket of candied fruit and cashews. Our donors want the personal touch, not the champagne treatment. If people aren’t giving, it’s because we’ve alienated them, not because they have been lured away by other universities’ giveaways. Our donors can tell when you care about them and when you are just trying to get their money. And you, Jan, are as transparent as plate glass.

UNCG people have a long tradition of giving more than they are asked and of giving because they care – and are cared for. You can’t buy your way into their hearts.

Your oil money doesn’t translate well here; maybe it’s time for you to just get on home to Tulsa.

Who Should Lead

Unfortunately, the search for a new chancellor is already off to a rocky start with the BOT and admin heavy search committee determining to ignore the faculty senate resolution calling for a more open search process. Also unfortunate is the fact that there is no surprise as a result of this occurrence. Despite the fact that the head of the search firm hired to find the next chancellor has said that there is no indication that a closed search is any more likely to be successful than a more hybrid model, the search committee (with the exception of a small number of brave souls...I would currently place that number at 1) has decided to pour salt in the wounds Brady's administration created, rather than give any signal of an interest in healing.

There is a link available on the UNCG website to provide anonymous feedback and guidance to the search committee (http://chancellorsearch.wp.uncg.edu/feedback/ ) and I would encourage people to comment early and comment often. There is no excuse for the pretended ignorance and arrogant dismissal of what is best for those who work, live, and study at UNCG.

That being said, the UNCG chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has issued a list of Qualities to Look for in the Next Chancellor of UNCG and it reads as follows:

•   Supports, without reservation, the principles of academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance. 
•      Has substantial academic credentials, including a PhD, or terminal degree in his/her discipline.
•   Understands and appreciates the value of research, teaching, and intellectual labor.
  
•   Understands the central role faculty members play in the university’s mission.
  
•   Understands and appreciates UNCG’s distinctive history and commitments to access
  and diversity.
  
•   Thinks creatively, critically, and independently.
  
•   Listens carefully and considers oppositional viewpoints and criticism.
  
•   Exercises integrity in decision-making and communication.
  
•   Tells the unvarnished truth with compassion and dignity.
  
•   Articulates situations, problems, and concerns clearly and transparently.
  
•   Makes decisions on the strength of the evidence, rather than trends, popularity,
  conventional wisdom, political pressure, or personal investments.
  
•   Articulates reasons for decisions in thoughtful, clear, and accurate language; avoids
  corporate jargon.
  
•   Leads by example.
  
•   Has the courage to correct and contravene misinformed executive boards, donors,
  and politicians.
  
•   Has successfully navigated a leadership post at a mid-sized or larger research
  university.
  
•   Is sensitive to the distinctive challenges of UNCG’s students.
  
•   Accepts accountability to UNCG’s students, staff, and faculty, and to NC taxpayers for
  prudent fiscal management.
  
•   Engages with diverse communities with respect and transparency.
  
•   Thinks beyond current trends to consider long-term ramifications of policy
  decisions.
  
•   Always bears in mind the academic purpose of the university.
  
•   Successfully communicates UNCG’s academic purpose to governing boards, alumni,
  students, faculty, and NC citizens.
  
•   Gives priority to nurturing a welcoming, scholarly culture over an ostentatious built
  environment.
  
•   Understands that UNCG’s primary contribution to North Carolina’s economy is the
  preparation of students in a broad–based education that equips them to be
  productive adults and citizens.
  
•   Views the public university system as the authentic “rising tide that floats all boats,”
  that is, financially accessible college education benefits not only the students, but also the society as a whole. 
  

Some have said that this is asking too much. I see it as the bare minimum. 

Some have said that we are looking for a hero. We are. Whoever can successfully repair the damage that has been done here will be a hero indeed. 

I see no reason why we do not deserve the best and I hope the search committee will not undermine that possibility by creating a faulty foundation upon which the next chancellor is expected to build. Let the sun shine in so that we can clearly see how to address what is needed because no matter how much filler is used to disguise the defects, they will come to light on their own. Better to have taken the time and effort to do things right from the beginning than to doom the future to failure before it even has a chance to start.

Imogene Cathey Gets Demoted

It should come as no surprise, since she has clearly been operating well above her capabilities, that Imogene Cathey, who has been 'acting' as General Counsel for UNCG is being quietly tucked away as a Deputy Counsel in a departmental reorganization. Given the propensity of this administration (and the setup for the next one) to engage in acts that at best skirt the intention of the law, it should also come as no surprise that they are expanding the office of General Counsel.

Yes, there will now be even more positions in upper administration. However, given the rate they are clearing them out - and the uptick we hope to see in it - it still may leave us with less people than there could be. I'd be interested to know if Cathey's pay will also be demoted (currently at $170,000 per year) or if we are going to be adding another $170,000 position...or possibly an even higher paying one if the deputy gets to make $170k.

As the administration removes Cathey and gets lawyered up, it makes you wonder if they expect legal troubles to be an even larger part of the university's future or if they just plan on litigating their way through leadership as they set up an even more oppositional relationship with the faculty and staff here.

I have to admit, I don't think I'll be sending any thank you notes to Cathey and am still keeping my fingers crossed that wherever Paul Mason went to work may want an overzealous, under-competent attorney to complement their staff.

------

From the desk of Linda Brady:

Across higher education, we are dealing with increasingly complex issues and an evolving landscape, such as compliance, Title IX, capital projects, public-private partnerships, and many others that require wide-ranging legal experience and strategic thinking. We also recognize the need for additional staff within our Office of General Counsel to address the volume and complexity of work and to enable us to be more responsive to competing demands.

This week we begin a three-part restructuring of the Office of General Counsel. First, effective February 10, Imogene Cathey, General Counsel, will move to a new Deputy General Counsel position to fully take advantage of her experience in employment law, personnel, human relations and civil rights, and complement the talents of existing Associate Counsel Mike Jung and Todd Davis. The addition of this position will add significant capacity, create a more balanced workload for all, and lead to the development of a more responsive team.

Second, also effective February 10, Betsy Bunting, who previously served as interim General Counsel at UNC Wilmington, Associate General Counsel at UNC General Administration, and Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Higher Education Section, will assume the position of interim General Counsel at UNCG. She has extensive experience in higher education, understanding of the UNC system, and knowledge of the North Carolina judicial system.

Third, we will shortly announce the search for a permanent General Counsel, with the expectation that the next chancellor, once named, will interview finalists for that position and make the appointment.

Please join me in thanking Ms. Cathey for her past and continuing service and in welcoming Ms. Bunting to the UNCG community.

Please feel free to circulate this message to others. We will share this information in Campus Weekly.

Thanks for all you continue to do to support UNCG, our faculty, staff and students.

Learning from Australia

Call me a cock-eyed-optimist, but I hold onto this desperate hope that it is possible for people to learn from the past and thereby change their approach to present versions of not-new situations.

I am currently reading a book about the founding of Australia called The Fatal Shore and for the first 300 or so pages, I was simply enjoying the story and Hughes engaging style of writing. Australia was founded as a convict colony and as it developed into a more permanent settlement, the governing body was in a position in which society was divided into two quite distinct classes: the free and powerful who were living side by side with the prisoners who were there to be punished and provide labor. On page 378 Hughes describes the system that kept the prisoners ‘in place’:

“The more capricious the convict-overseer system was, the better it ‘worked’, since it demoralized the convicts as a group and made them weaker.”

Keeping the prisoners divided internally was official policy and one of the tools used was the continual reorganization of the convicts’ working groups. The officers sewed distrust among the convicts as a method to further ensure the security of the ruling class. The system was perfected under the leadership of George Arthur who, “never lost sight of the fact that to control a state’s labor supply is to control its political life.”

In order to maintain this type of strict division, Arthur knew that more than anything he needed people he could trust: loyalty was an acceptable substitute for imagination and he lived by the principle: “Never apologize. Never explain.” He was also incredibly vain and could not stand the least criticism of any kind and made every effort he could to demolish free press. It was the only voice that could make itself heard since any participation in the everyday mechanisms of government were denied to the convicts and anyone speaking in their support was ignored entirely.

End flashback.

What is there to learn here? Well, clearly that Brady and her style of administration is nothing new. At UNCG employees are now treated as second-class citizens in a land being divided up to benefit those who see themselves as unstained by having ever been like us. Reorganization, transfer, RIF, and the pressured exit are the tools used to shake up the bonds we form and keep us from recognizing the same shared grievances. Internal discord prevents the unity needed to speak as effective participants in our university’s governance while the capricious and unpredictable nature of our ‘leadership’ has caused such demoralization that we lose our will to struggle.

Do we have to sit through this again?

Enough. It is time to come together in support of openness and transparency at UNCG.

Bottom line to all those who engage in and perpetuate the anti-social, bullying behaviors that have become the norm in upper administration (you know exactly who you are): 

Apologize, Explain, and Demonstrate.

I know it hurts your pride, but it is time to humble yourself.

You may not believe you owe an explanation, but you do.

No more secrets, obfuscation, and outright lies.

Nothing heals like the light: let the sun shine in.

Jan Zink Doesn't Like UNCG Alums

Jan Zink just hasn't been happy since leaving her cozy enclave in Tulsa, Oklahoma to come to Greensboro. It's enough to make a person want to throw themselves on their bear skin rug, ball up their little manicured hands, and pay somebody else to throw a fit for them.

Jan Zink was brought here to head up University Advancement. This means that her primary job is to develop and maintain relationships (of the positive kind!) that UNCG has with donors and to cultivate new ones. This is an especially important role given the push by the state to dry up funding to the university system as a whole. One of the problems is though, that Jan doesn't seem to understand the personal interactions that are such a vital part of creating new relationships and deepening existing bonds.

University Advancement at UNCG has been a very successful department and has been filled with people whose love for the university and deep involvement with the community has showed in the hours they have worked and in the connections they have sustained. Unfortunately, since Jan's arrival more than 50% of the department has disappeared either through layoffs, earlier-than-planned retirements, or departures in the interest of self-preservation.

When she arrived there were 51 people working to help build the university's future...now there are only 21.

The most recent losses:

• Lynne Bresko, Executive Director of Development who had worked for UNCG for 16 years will be leaving in April
• Judy Piper, served as Interim Vice Chancellor, and who had dedicated the past 8 years to the advancement of UNCG has resigned
• Rebecca LaPlante, a University Program Specialist had served UNCG in that capacity for 12 years has also resigned - the 12 years listed belies her actual commitment to UNCG which has been ongoing since her days as an undergrad

We have here 36 years of experience in the community (and as I said, this is still a gross underestimation because the immersion began long before these employment figures suggest) driven out by the toxic environment that Zink has created. And that's only three of the 30 people who are gone. I don't know how we would even begin to recover from this kind of wholesale devastation - not to mention the psychological toll this takes on those left behind.

Zink never learned the culture here, in fact it never even interested her. She thinks of us as country bumpkins and blames her difficulties in raising money on the quality of our donors:

"UNCG people don't give."

This has never been a problem before. I think UNCG people give and they give deeply. They just don't give to Zink. And this is because she has the personal touch of a black widow spider. Sure, you understand that they are part of nature and a have a right to live, but it's not a part of nature you want to get to know up close and personal and then set up a recurring donation with.

In her first year, she spent $150,000 on ice sculptures.

Her current budget allows for $100,000 in gift baskets.

Any time she has had to cut the budget, she takes it in personnel.

Let that sink in. 

We're not made from oil money, Greensboro is a different kind of place. Our connections are built with a personal touch not through frigid demonstrations of ostentatious wealth. Our donors give because they love UNCG not because they want a gift basket. The connections we have with those who support us are just that, connections - a bond created among people and place that makes UNCG something worth supporting. This runs from the biggest donor to the smallest contributor: all are welcome and all are part of the fabric of the university. 

Jan doesn't understand this and it is clear in the way she treats her people, in the way she treats those relationships, and in the amount of funding she has continually failed to raise. But she wants to lay the blame for all of those problems on the people who have given so much already: the staff and the donors.

UNCG people do give, Jan. 

Now, politely step aside so we can begin the work of healing the wounds you have inflicted.

Let the Sun Shine In

There are cracks beginning to show in the façade erected by the administration at UNCG. They will want you to think that those cracks are damaging the foundation, but they are not. Those cracks are opening up the layers of false exterior that has been placed on our campus and the more they widen, the more the sun will be able to shine in and illuminate the campus. The larger the fissures in this exterior pastiche, the greater the strength of the light that will sanitize the darkest corners that have been collecting and supporting the moldy corruption of private interests over public good.

Don’t be fooled by the argument that you are damaging UNCG by helping to clear away the cobwebs and the dirt. It is time now, more than ever, to put our shoulders to the wheel and tear apart the architecture of bullying and corruption that was built brick by brick by appropriating our labor and standing on our backs.

Across the state, North Carolinians are realizing that higher education in our state is under full frontal assault. Here at UNCG we’ve been seeing the damage that can be inflicted when the interests of education are dismissed and the administration works with shrouded mechanisms to disenfranchise the staff, faculty, students, and community members of the university.

We are continually losing good people, some through dramatic attacks such as those made against the UNCG3, others in desperation and self-defense, and still more quietly finding greener pastures.

Then there are those who are finding that they have created an atmosphere to hot even for their own liking; who leave the damage they have done in their wake to be cleaned up by others.

The absolute disdain and dismissal with which the UNCG community is viewed by the upper administration is clear when Brady sends a message (to some) saying that she values the contributions that Paul Mason has made to university relations at UNCG. What contribution was this? The decimation of a department followed by jumping ship? However, it is most likely true. What he has done, and what others like him are doing right now on campus, is representative of what our administration has come to value.

Now, Charlie Maimone has shown his true colors. The faculty senate passed a resolution in support of a more open search for our next leader – a measure largely designed to prevent a repetition of Brady’s hire and to help us build trust from the ground up – but Maimone specifically voted for a completely closed search. The faculty voiced their desire to let a little more light shine in on the search and Susan Safran and the other members of the search committee dismissed this request wholesale and without even the benefit of a discussion.

This is where we are. Members of the UNCG community speak and the Board of Trustees and upper administration no longer even feel the need to pretend they are listening. They operate with immunity and in complete liberty to continually ignore the voices of the people who make up the university.

UNCG’s administration and members of the Board of Trustees are violating our university’s core values:

Where is the inclusiveness?

Where is the collaboration?

Where is the transparency?

They make a mockery of these terms and expect us to celebrate it.

We are silenced again and again by demonstrations of raw power – the ability to move ahead with an agenda no matter the objections. This isn’t about not always getting what we want. This is about never even truly being a part of the decision making process.

We are tired of being patronized.

We are tired of being lied to.

We are tired of being excluded.

It’s not the outcome, it’s the process. When upper administration is exhorting those below them to control the faculty, it is the structure of obfuscation that they are trying to protect. For anyone who supports openness and transparency in public institutions, the message is clear: don’t lose heart, don’t lose hope, the cracks are starting to show.

This spring, let’s do some cleaning and the let the sun shine in.

That’s the way to deal with the past while looking to the future.

Paul Keeps Good Company

They say it is possible to know something about a person by judging the quality of their friendships. It speaks volumes that the only people who have come to the defense of Paul Mason are either a) non-existent, b) equally crooked, and/or c) the disgraced Chancellor who hired him.

Setting aside the Chancellor, as she has conveniently done for herself, the public defense of Paul Mason has included three “people.”

Mark Townsend

Townsend Marketa was the N&R commenting alter ego of the Assistant General Counsel at VF Corporation Mark Townsend. Once you recover from the profoundly clever pseudonym (I mean, who could ever make the connection with anything less than super spy code breaker skills…or 2 seconds of spare time) you might begin to wonder why Mark is so interested in calling all of the faculty at UNCG stupid. On top of that, he nearly immediately regretted his comments in response to News & Record articles and removed all of them from the page. But, not before intrepid blogger Billy Jones got screen grabs. I wonder if it is VF policy to have their executives disparaging one of the largest employers in their hometown area?

Here’s the connection between Mark and Paul:

Paul Mason, Director, Corporate Communications

VF Corporation

Public Company; 10,001+ employees; VFC; Apparel & Fashion industry

2006 – 2011 (5 years)

It was here that Mason built his skills using the court system to get rid of unwanted employees. Here where his name still invokes such fear that people will not speak on the record about their experiences. Here where Mason and Townsend engaged in whatever dirty work has bonded them together in a slimy brotherhood.

Dan Shriner

Danny boy…well, what can I say. This is the lone supporter of Mason who still chooses to vent his spleen in the News & Record comments section and he’s an angry little boy. He mostly trolls, stating things that are incorrect in the great tradition of bullshit artists everywhere. For a man who lives in Michigan he shows an awful lot of interest in our humble little institution…is he just a big hearted Samaritan who has been touched by the plight of poor wittle Paulie, a fellow human being?

I guess it could have been that. Actually though, Shriner used to be a journalist but then he got fired from his paper (The Flint Journal) in Flint for making false accusations against a local business owner. He clearly hasn’t learned much…although in his defense at least this time he’s making false accusations against business owners at a much greater distance. So, I guess that’s a start. He now spends his days having his photo taken on yachts and spewing nonsense at Greensboro’s paper.

He may, or may not, have learned to overlook things such as truth and justice during his involvement with the white supremacist movement in the early 1980s.

In any case, Paul and Dan know each other from Mason’s past (during the white supremacist phase Dan had, no less…) as reporters for Newhouse Newspapers. And they are both as crooked as the day is long and mean to boot, so naturally, they got along. Dan’s still out clubbing the bushes for his friend – it’s a beautiful story of loyalty and love, really.

From Mason’s LinkedIn profile:

Paul Mason, Reporter/Business Reporter

Newhouse Newspapers

1985 – 1992 (7 years) Charlotte, NC; Flint, MI, Saginaw, MI

Still though, that’s not a lot of friends to have developed over such a long and varied career. Compare that to the number of people who have come out in support of the UNCG3 – some are friends and colleagues but some are people who have just seen the situation for the farce that it is.

Besides, Mark has really disappeared from the scene, so now it’s just Paul and Dan to the bitter end.

And I think that end will be bitter indeed.