Faculty Support for Athletics—Or Lack Thereof

[mslovick]

Apologies if this has been mentioned here before but one ESPN article on the Flood situation (“With football team in turmoil, Rutgers community weary of scandals” ) caught my attention, mostly because of a quote from RU anthropology professor David Hughes:

"This has been going on for years and years," said anthropology professor David Hughes, president of the AAUP-AFT faculty union, in a phone interview Thursday. "That's why faculty is so disillusioned with the athletic department. ... Faculty gets treated like second-class citizens when we do important work too, you know?

"Faculty is disillusioned because the athletic department hasn't earned its keep. We've sold our soul to becoming part of the athletic-entertainment business. ... Yet it's losing money and having its shortfalls covered from the general education fund and student fees."

While we are all embarrassed by what has occurred regarding the football program in the past few weeks it is also clear that there are members of the faculty who even without RU being in the headlines for the wrong reasons would just as soon shut the program down completely. Listen, Prof. Hughes, if you have a problem with how the administration is treating the faculty take it up with them. Leave athletics out of it. If you think that without athletics money would suddenly start to flow into the anthropology department you are in severe need of a reality check.

 

[srru86]

Again you have to remember that Rutgers is one of the few AAU universities with a faculty union. They have a vested interest in knocking the administration and are better organized to do it. More than your more typical grumpy faculty member at our competitive schools.

For example Michigan has five unions representing over 10,000 employees. But not the tenure track faculty.

 

[Caliknight]

Again you have to remember that Rutgers is one of the few AAU universities with a faculty union. They have a vested interest in knocking the administration and are better organized to do it. More than your more typical grumpy faculty member at our competitive schools.

For example Michigan has five unions representing over 10,000 employees. But not the tenure track faculty.

Figures.

 

[StyleKnight]

People are just grumpy and want everyone else to be just as grumpy as they are.

 

[SHUSource]

Again you have to remember that Rutgers is one of the few AAU universities with a faculty union. They have a vested interest in knocking the administration and are better organized to do it.

This sentiment is not at all unique to Rutgers.

 

[NewJerseyGuy]

They are worse than the pro-Flood crowd.