Yet, More Noted ...
Head Count: Chris Bray is preparing to report for duty; Tim Burke is in San Francisco; Miriam Burstein has been visiting at her alma mater, UC, Irvine; Sharon Howard is in the Archives; Rob MacDougall reveals the identity of Deep Neck, Deep One, Deep Blue, and the Unknown Comic; Caleb McDaniel briefly interrupts his silence for the important things in life; NathanaelRobinson is doing research in Alsace; Hugo Schwyzer is doing – ah -- a cleaning; and, for good measure, Brian Ulrich is doing research in Cairo.
Librarians of the World, Unite! Over at Inside Higher Ed, Scott Jaschik has a piece in which University of Chicago sociologist Andrew Abbott draws an analogy between academics' dependence on access to books and monkeys swinging through trees. Put us in cages, take away our trees, and we'd be left sitting over in the corner somewhere, sulking in self-destructive ways. Librarians are the conservers of our free-swinging jungles and Scott McLemee thinks it's about time they got themselves together in a group blog and maybe they should have a librarians' blogroll, as well.
Missing Persons: I'm not the first to call attention to it, but there is something obscenely misplaced about the media's headline attention to the cases of the runaway bride and the young woman missing in Aruba. And it is hardly less true of the New York Times than the cheapest tabloid. Obviously, people go missing every day without becoming the focus of a media frenzy. Being female, privileged, young, and white seems to qualify you for the burden and privilege of media attention.
Public Relations: At the University of Colorado, the fun just never seems to end. Most recently, two University public relations officers, who draw salaries in the $150 K range, were exchanging e-mail about plans to build public confidence in the University. One e-mail said that a reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera, Elizabeth Mattern Clark,"isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I agree with your recommendation yesterday that we walk her through this." Unfortunately, the e-mail was copied to Clark by its author. After initially denying the authenticity of the e-mail, the University's pr officer admitted that its message was"ironic and unfortunate." Thanks to Romenesko for the tip.
Self-Knowledge: I haven't bashed my friend, Clayton Cramer, in a while, but Clayton just keeps leaving himself open. I can't help myself! Stop me from doing this! It's too easy! I feel cheap! But, really, Clayton. [ed: the devil makes me do it.] There are lots of reasons that you will never be President of the United States and your getting good grades in college is far from the most important one. On the other hand, Clayton's got a legitimate point about the academy. He and Ward Churchill have roughly the same academic credentials: Master's degrees, publications, and teaching experience. Given those, Clayton knows that he'd never be considered for anything other than an adjunct position in higher education. Churchill's ethnic claims are the only rational explanation for his having been hired and tenured at a research university. When those claims subsequently prove false, it's an embarrassment to those of us who have supported Affirmative Action. Worse than that, there are many people with doctorates who are in adjunct teaching positions, with little hope of employment on a tenure track. For what Churchill is being paid, the University of Colorado could easily hire two young scholars with sterling credentials.