Hello Rene Long

First let me say that taking faculty members to the verbal woodshed is not the
best way of working out things that YOU VIEW AS A PROBLEM. I cannot put in
print my initial response to your offense email. Your complaint/threat is
based on a faulty assumption, "In the last two weeks we have had 35 books
cancelled by professors because they decided to use another book."

When I initially ordered books for the fall semester my teaching assignments
were considerably different. A new faculty member that was to come to UTC
decided not to, even though he had officially accepted the position. This
required some adjustment in class assignments to cover his classes etc. Such
adjustment required finding personnel capable of teaching a selection of
classes. To abbreviate what ensued, let me say that I am now not teaching 2 of
the classes to which I was originally assigned. This I suspect is 2 of your 35
plus the 4 classes the individual was going to teach makes 6. However, this
really is not important.

What is important is that STUDENTS not customers receive the best instruction
possible in the classroom. The bookstores primary goal should be to support
that mission and not the production of profits. If in the delivery of that
mission textbook changes must be made the bookstore personnel should be
working toward that goal rather than complaining.

Professors neither have the time nor the inclination to switch textbooks just
to run up expenses for the bookstore. They are also not a bunch of children to
be reprimanded because YOU THINK they are incompetent and unable to make up
their minds in the selection of books. Most professor are very careful in the
selection of texts to enhance the learning environment.

In response to your threat, "Because this has become such a problem, we must
now enforce our company policy of charging the shipping charges for cancelled
books to the appropriate department effective immediately," I can only say
that almost every action produces a reaction. Perhaps the faculty and
administration need to revisit the terms of the contract and the providers. I
am one of the faculty members that will do all I can to accomplish that goal.

Finally, remember that threatening or demanding that faculty members do
certain things often results in the production of unintended consequences. Ask
faculty members anything but command from them nothing. The autonomy we defend
so viciously is one of the reasons why we are faculty members and not employed
in the pursuit of profits.

Richard G. Hogan, Assistant Professor
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga