We keep hearing what a bad thing it was that 50% (sometimes the percentage 
quoted is higher) of our faculty received exceptional merit this past 
year.  That argument is falacious.  That percentage of the faculty did NOT 
receive exceptional merit this past year (2004-2005); that high percentage 
represents the faculty who received it over the course of the past five 
years.  If we had taken only the one year into consideration, which would 
have been an injustice to those who had earned it in the previous four 
years but had gotten no monetary recognition for their excellent 
performance, then the percentage would have been below 20%.  Yes, I know 
20% of the faculty can get that rating, but the Department Heads, who were 
part of the faculty for this once, are limited to 10%.  Personally, I see 
NOTHING wrong with 20% of the aggregate group getting exceptional merit on 
any given year.  Can you?

Lala
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"No hay libro tan malo que no tenga algo bueno."
         -Miguel de Cervantes- Don Quijote de la Mancha
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"I divide all readers into two classes:  Those who read to
remember and those who read to forget." -William Phelps
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Oralia Preble-Niemi, Ph.D.
Professor and Head
Foreign Languages & Literatures
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN  37403
Telephone:  423-425-4273
Fax:  423-425-4097
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