Chip,

Thank you for your comments, which express, I think, what a lot of people 
are thinking.  If you read closely, though, dissatisfaction is directed NOT 
at the individuals whose salaries increased, but at the PROCESS by which 
budget decisions are made and the PRIORITIES reflected in those decisions.

I, for one, am eager to express full solidarity with UTC faculty, staff, 
administrative support, custodial workers, food service workers, technical 
support staff, and athletic program staff.  And yes, I would argue that we 
ALL deserve a raise.  So does everyone at the Knoxville campus, and 
throughout the state of Tennessee, and a thousand campuses around the 
country and so on right down to the poor stiffs working for some 
multi-national corporation in Guatemala or Indonesia.

In my mind, the problem is a structural one that's bigger than any one of 
us, which, I take it, was partly your point.  So what does this have to do 
with confidence?  Well, questions of confidence/no confidence are usually 
directed at leadership, which is something you write about.  To pick up on 
your nautical metaphor, if a ship is foundering it's the captain and first 
mate that take responsibility, not the crew, not the ship builders, not the 
weather.  I read Mike Russell's e'mail in that context.

Again, thank you for your comments and for reminding all of us of some 
things we too often overlook.  This forum works best when EVERYONE joins in.

Fritz Efaw.

At 11:18 AM 9/9/2003 -0400, Marvin Verner wrote:
>James,
>      I hesitate to weigh in on this as it is apparent I am out of my 
> depth.  But, I can't help but be reminded of my days in the Navy when 
> sailors would bicker about whose job really was the most important.  The 
> Engineers would claim "without the engines the ship could not get 
> underway".  Gunners mates replied "without us we couldn't fire the guns, 
> and could not fight", and on and on it went with each rate claiming to be 
> the most important.  Of course, when it was time to work, or respond to 
> an emergency, or even play, we were all there together as a team. You 
> see, it took all of us to make it work.
>      That is why, after reading everyone’s e-mails, I also have a 
> crisis of confidence.  It is not, however, in our administrators.  I do 
> not begrudge them their raise or feel in any way cheated because of 
> it.  In fact, I support the decision whole heartedly.
>      I have to say I am disappointed in the short-sighted view of many of 
> our educators and staff.  Surely you are not blind to the complexity of 
> budget allocation and the politics involved. I mean, none of us could 
> argue that everyone deserves a raise.  So, where do you start?  You, of 
> course, argue for the teachers.  But couldn't the custodians, or 
> plumbers, or secretaries make just as eloquent an argument? The bottom 
> line is you have to start somewhere.  Perhaps, in my ignorance, I am 
> blind to the mass corruption that has given nine hard-working employees a 
> raise.  I say congratulations; you deserve it.
>      Being a leader is hard, and I do not envy the leaders of the 
> institution for the decisions they are paid to make.  They are often 
> hard, complex, and misunderstood. I feel confident that most of them are 
> good, honest people that are simply making the best decisions they can 
> based on the information they have (which is a great deal more than you 
> or I have).
>         I have said more than I probably should (and probably should have 
> said nothing at all).  But, I will say one last thing.  The people who 
> really deserve a raise are too busy working to contribute this needlessly 
> wordy discussion.  They are the guys climbing out of manholes, fixing 
> your A/C, and cleaning your toilets.  They never come home clean, they 
> sweat, and they don’t have the luxury of making demands.  They deserve 
> a raise.  Of course, since (according to many of you) at least 50% of the 
> budget should be set aside for academics, they can just make do…as alwways.
>-Chip
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: James Russell <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 23:34:46 -0400
>Subject: [UTCSTAFF] Crisis of Confidence
>
>It is no secret that at this time there is a crisis of confidence at 
>UTC.  The decision to raise the salaries of some administrators was just 
>the tip of the iceberg.  Faculty and staff during the past two weeks have 
>learned much that they did not know about UTC budgetary policies.  It has 
>demoralized and angered many of them.
>
>For some of us, the revelations have also been disappointing.  I still 
>remember how positive I felt after hearing Chancellor Stacy preside over 
>his first faculty meeting.  He reviewed budget decisions from previous 
>years and made it clear that the patterns he detected would not 
>continue.  Athletics would not take precedence over academics in the 
>future.  Deficits in the football program would not be made up by cutting 
>into the money available for scholarships.  This seemed like a breath of 
>fresh air.
>
>I have been on the faculty since 1970.  Last year I told Dr. Stacy to his 
>face that he was the best of the four chancellors I have worked for.  Half 
>jokingly, I added that he had not faced stiff competition.  I meant 
>it.  After thirty plus years, I thought that there would be significant 
>progress in the near future.  It hasn’t happened.
>
>What I think needs to happen now is that the administration must make a 
>more genuine commitment than I have seen in the past to improving the 
>academic function of this university.  It must put its money where its 
>mouth is.  Academics should get at least 50% of the budget from this point 
>on.  Support staff need to have their miserable salaries raised also.
>
>What a university administrator should do is marshal resources to make 
>instructional programs perform at the highest level possible.  Let’s 
>face it: Unless teachers do their jobs, nobody at UTC (including high 
>level administrators) will be paid.  What the university gets from the 
>state legislature depends on enrollments.  Students come here to learn 
>from the faculty—not from the administrators.
>Mike Russell