[972] in UA Senate
Re: Chancellor Search
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (David M. Templeton)
Tue Dec 7 00:46:59 2010
From: "David M. Templeton" <dtemp@MIT.EDU>
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTi=uG47iqBpN+NfsSr4BBb+HbPoXARf3KgJ7HYQn@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 00:46:54 -0500
Cc: Jessica Chen <jessicachen.dbhs@gmail.com>,
Adam Bockelie <bockelie@mit.edu>, UA Senate <ua-senate@mit.edu>
To: Janet Li <jli12@mit.edu>
Hockfield came from outside, and indications are that the rest of the =
Admins approve of her because she is focusing on the things they care =
about: making sure the money is there, making sure the MIT Brand is =
worth something, interacting with Gov and Business, etc. I have a =
feeling the admins think she has done fine as an outsider and don't have =
any qualms about getting a Chancellor from outside as well.
Also, think about how Admins are looking at Colombo: he is able to make =
tough decisions to solve longstanding problems and save MIT money. He's =
pushing through dining and isn't being a wimp, and is making smart =
political decisions like semi-appeasing the current students while =
making the earlier proposal take effect in its entirety after current =
students are graduated.
Of course WE might not like Hockfield (for doing about nothing for =
students) and Colombo (for doing mostly negative things for students), =
but remember the admins are going to choose successors and not a =
democratic vote. So you're going to need to come up with REALLY GOOD =
REASONS to convince the admins to look only within MIT. I don't have =
any strong suggestions at the moment. Perhaps the UA needs to take care =
of something more basic: that student voice means less now than it did =
years ago, and the Admins need to care more about what we think about =
all issues, beyond Dining and the Chancellor Search (not that you all =
aren't staying awake at night thinking of reasons to fix this).
Dave
On Dec 7, 2010, at 12:21 AM, Janet Li wrote:
> Yeah. Case in point: Dean Colombo. We don't really want to bring in =
someone from outside of MIT who will try to change our unique culture, =
in order to make us fit the mold of other schools.
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> On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 12:17 AM, Jessica Chen =
<jessicachen.dbhs@gmail.com> wrote:
> I believe so too just so they have an idea of what MIT is like. I mean =
I understand the benefits of having someone new with fresh ideas, but I =
don't believe MIT should be drastically changed just because it would =
take them time to adjust to how MIT functions.=20
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> Sooooo. I second that? ;)
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> Sincerely,
> ~Jessica Chen
> MIT 2014
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> On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 12:07 AM, Adam Bockelie <bockelie@mit.edu> =
wrote:
> To continue the discussion:
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> Sammi asked if the new Chancellor should be from MIT. I say yes. As =
one of MIT's most senior administrators, I think the Chancellor needs to =
have an intimate understanding of MIT. The Chancellor needs to =
understand how the MIT community (undergrads, grads, faculty, staff) =
functions: how we confront complex issues, how we find solutions, what =
we value, and what we believe.
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> I don't think someone from outside MIT will have the appropriate level =
of understanding of these issues.
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> What do the rest of you think?
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> --=20
> Adam Bockelie
> 801.209.7233
> <bockelie@mit.edu>
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> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
> Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
> Class of 2011
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