Last Wednesday morning, I had just turned the phone ringer back on when it rang.
Will Lynch was calling me at 10 AM???
Apparently, when President Hebert told us at the Spring Semester General Faculty Meeting that the university would be changing over to the "standard" model, I had not understood what he meant.
I have a good, solid grasp of the concept now.
I will not be teaching in the fall.
All part-time faculty are being released.
No faculty will be approved to teach overloads.
No night classes or weekend courses will be available to students.
The university is to target only teenagers as future students.
The university wants only those individuals who will become Eagles for life.
Nontraditional students are welcome as long as they can take time off from work for day classes.
I was in shock last week.
I may be still be in shock.
After more than two decades of having my Monday and Wednesday nights spoken for, I'll now have those evenings open for other ventures, such as Philo or PFS screenings.
After more than two decades of writing tests and lecture plans, of grading pre-lab quizzes and post-lab reports, I'll not have to beg off from social plans to do such "homework".
As timing goes, this semester is almost at an end and the freedom of summer beckons.
I may go into full shock when August arrives and I do not have classes.
I already had made travel plans before Will called.
I'm going to a new place, Bryan's Spanish Cove, that second week in May. I've never been there and it's supposed to be ecologically friendly. That will be different.
I'm going to an old favorite, Polo Towers, in the middle of July. Elvis Week will be serving up four days of shows, not ETA contests, and I'm treating myself to that for my birthday. Time will tell if anyone will be joining me, but I've put out the invites and offered lodging!
Will tried to deliver the news gently.
He even told me he'd fought with Delana to keep me.
She told him she could not help, the mandate had been handed down.
He told me that if the night course was again offered I would be the first in line for it.
I let him off the hook of guilt by telling him that Savannah Tech had been asking me to teach a night course for them. After all, that is true... but I don't know that I want that job now.
I don't know that I want to teach at all now.
Sigh.
Right now, I just want this semester to end.
Usually I'm very upbeat at this time, with the end in sight for my "homework".
Then again, usually I know the summer break is just that - a break.
I would have a diverse new group of students in the fall, meshing night classes into their time with family and their time at work.
Now, all of the students are to be in the same age bracket, more homogeneous, all with the same lack of experience with both the school environment and the world in general.
That will allow the university to mold them into cheerleaders for the Eagle brand.
That, in turn, will allow university fundraisers to more easily mold them into donators.
I realize that may sound a bit cynical... but that doesn't mean it isn't true.
I don't think the Georgia Board of Regents quite expected this turn of events.
I know I certainly did not.
Sigh.
Tonight, I gave my last lecture of the semester.
Now, I have Lab Final Exams to freeze so I can start grading them.
Then I need to write the fifth test for Monday's lecture class.
Next week, I'll write the Final Exam for the lecture.
And I'm going to try, very hard, to not cry.
This looks to be the last time I'll ever do these tasks.
4 comments:
Last night, I had dinner with the physicist and we talked at length about this.
As I told him, I have not made this topic public knowledge among those who know me.
That would make it all too devastatingly real.
One day at a time, dear...
one breath at a time.
One more note:
The Georgia Board of Regents are the ones responsible for this absurd new policy on campus.
Already it has had an effect: enrollment is down for Fall 2018.
Perhaps they had hoped to fill the dorms with new teenaged freshmen. Nontraditional students certainly do not stay on campus. Many of those forced to live on campus their first year move as soon as possible, as the dorms are more expensive.
Who knows?
Not I.
I am concentrating on being there for just three more days: April 23, for Test 5; April 25, to return that test; and April 30 for the Final Exam. Just three more days that I am required to be on campus.
And be there I will, for the sake of my students. They don't need to know any of this, nor do they need to be aware of how increasingly difficult it has become for me to leave my house to go to the university.
Three more days with my students...
sigh.
Penny Walker Bos
April 27 at 6:08am
They have no idea what they are doing, letting you get away! Keep me posted. Love you cuz.
Wow.
President Hebert is leaving too, at the end of June.
Here's the email:
"GS President
May 16 (3 days ago)
to: gs-facstaff, gs-students
My friends and colleagues:
I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign as President of Georgia Southern University effective June 30, 2018 to pursue other professional opportunities.
The past two years at Georgia Southern University have been an extraordinary, fulfilling experience for me. I am very proud to have served this institution during this critical phase of transition. It has been an honor to serve with some of the most remarkable people I have ever met in my career. The professional relationships and life-long friendships that resulted from my time here are truly treasures.
I know that this decision is best for me and my family, both professionally and personally. I will always cherish my time here at Southern – I am a better person because of you.
Jaimie"
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