Friday, March 20, 2009

promotion

The last of this spring's thesis defences went down this afternoon, & went well. As the typist in the poem says, "that's over & I'm glad." I hasten to add – a far more pleasant experience than the typist's.

The provost at Our Fair University has been doing this thing with tenure & promotion cases the past couple of years; he doesn't reveal the results of the university committee's vote except in a face-to-face meeting with the lucky candidate, & then he teases about for a few minutes, cat-with-mouse-style, before letting one know whether one's made it thru the latest hoop or not. (In my more sullen moments – which are usually the accurate ones – I read this as management asserting its life & death power over labor: it certainly has little to do with the ideally democratic organization of the classic university.) Anyway, it looks like I'm on track to be a Full Professor by the end of the semester. I've passed thru the department, college, & university committees, & now the provost has recommended my promotion to the president (largely a pro forma gesture). Celebrations in order, I suppose.

7 comments:

E. M. Selinger said...

Well I, for one, will pop a cork in your general direction, Mark! As you know, I got turned down for the promotion here at DePaul; my scholarly record not up to snuff yet, nor my University service. (Poor, poor pitiful me.) You've earned it, and then some--be glad they felt so, too.

Bradley said...

That's great news, Mark. Hardly surprising, of course, but Emily and I are both really, really happy for you.

tyrone said...

and condolences...

Joseph Donahue said...

Congrats! You will now be allowed to see the secret workings of much that had been obscure. Deans will share their secret handshakes. Department expenditures will be at your whim. Undreamed of vistas of new committees roll out before you. This is what is meant by the opening of the field . . .

perhaps a new stringed instrument is in order!

Best,

J

undine said...

Congratulations! That face-to-face meeting thing sounds as if somebody's watched too much reality tv. Somebody ought to tell the provost that there are no cameras in his office.

Shannon O'Brien said...

That's excellent news! Congratulations!

Jonathan said...

Congratulations! That's great, Mark, and richly deserved.