ࡱ> KML!`  $bjbj\\ 84>>% 8 $* T!J J "l l l G .u   $B"h$ G G  l l !pl l  l > - i $!0T!v%3v%v%P C | d# d T!D  The results of a recent national poll made news this week. As you may have heard, when respondents were asked to name two of snow white's seven dwarfs and two of the nine u.s. Supreme court justices, 77% of Americans polled were able to identify two dwarfs, while only 24% could name two supreme court justices. Also according to the survey, 73% of those polled were able to name all three of the Three Stooges, while only 42% could name the three branches of government. In separate questions, over 60% were able to identify homer as the father of Bart Simpson, while only 21% could name one of Homers epic Greek poems. The methodology was legitimate, reporting a margin of error of about 3%. These survey results are reminiscent of (if more frivolous than) results of a study of college students conducted early this year by the American institutes for research, which attempted to assess aspects of student literacy in reading and arithmetic. Results of that survey indicated that large percentages of graduating college students could not interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, or accurately compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees. The reaction of the Syracuse university communications professor who designed the Seven Dwarfs survey was more sanguine than the gleeful reaction in the mass media. these results, said the professor, are not about how 'dumb' Americans are, but how much more effectively popular culture information is communicated and retained by citizens than many of the messages that come from government, [and] educational institutions Nevertheless, however these survey results might be framed, there is a problem hereand there is a connection between the wanting state of American higher education and the concept of shared faculty governance. Allow me to leave that thought hanging for just a moment. I am one of three ĢƵdelegates elected to represent this institution on the University Of North Carolina faculty assemblyan assembly of about 70 delegates elected from the 16 campuses to provide a faculty voice at the UNC system level, much as our own faculty senate provides input on issues that concern us on this campus. Delegates serve three-year terms and meet in chapel hill four or five times each academic year. [5 hour drive]. The assembly, and this is a quote from the organization, is dedicated to upholding and exercising the principles of academic freedom, shared governance, tenure, and the faculty's primary responsibility for the university's curriculum. This academic year the UNC faculty assembly will be examining, from a faculty perspective, issues such as distance education, academic assessment across all campuses, and matters relating to shared governance, among other items. If I announced a pop quiz right now and asked you to please take out a piece of paper Im sure everyone in this room could compose a thoughtful hundred-word essay on the connection between faculty governance and the educational system. With no outside prompting you work to improve the teaching and learning in your courses every semester, every week, perhaps every lecture. But as you know, we are not the only ones thinking about corrective measures for some of the lackluster corners of American educationand here Im not even going to mention the word accreditation. Ill offer three quick examples of big-picture developments that could affect your world. First, briefly, there are the rumblings of David Horowitz, a former political liberal turned conservative, and the organization he helped grow called Students For Academic Freedom. This organization is spearheading an effort to mandate, and somehow enforce, the notion of so-called intellectual diversity on campuses and, particularly, in the classrooms. And they are not kidding around. About 20 states have so far seen legislation introduced that would have implemented some form of the smoothly titled Academic Bill Of Rights-- which would involve government in oversight of curricula and teaching, as well as in faculty hiring and promotion. No state has passed such legislation. But by attempting to regulate academic freedom, this initiative threatens to constrict the very principle it claims to seek to engender. Second, just for the sake of another example, consider the Commission On The Future Of Higher Education. This commission, created by us Secretary Of Education Margaret Spellings, continues to call, among other things, for streamlining the federal aid programs, holding tuition increases to growth in median family income, and a national database of student academic records as well as greater institutional productivity and mandatory public accountability systems (at the state level). While the strident pitch of earlier drafts has been toned downand while provisions of the commissions report enjoy some support in some academic communities, many faculty and administrators remain wary of the long term implications of the commissions report. The final draft was approved by commission members in Washington last week, and the final version is due to be made public next month. One final example. A report released two days ago by the North Carolina center for public policy research revealed, among its 11 recommendations, that the western region of North Carolina has been consistently underrepresented on the 32-member UNC board of governors over the past 10 years. It also recommended that the legislature change the status of the student member of the board of governors from non-voting to a voting seat on the board (faculty do not have a seat at this table). Both of these elements of the report have implications for faculty at the campus level. And all three of the developing situations mentioned abovenationally, both Horowitzs misnamed and misguided Academic Bill Of Rights and the impending report from the secretary of educations commission on the future of higher education; and more positively the report this week from the N.C. Center for Public Policy Researchhave potential consequences that could bounce down the squeaky stairs of the educational bureaucracy and roll into the classroom. If it rolls into your classroom and it is aflame, dont try and stomp it out; you might only make the situation worse. Ill conclude by encouraging you to be active in the important tradition of shared faculty governance. Were all busy, but try and stay aware. Visit the UNC faculty assembly web page on occasion. Dont be shy about contributing to needed systemic change here and there. You have the power to improve the quality of teaching and learning beyond the domain of your classroom. And if you do this, if we all do this, we are less likely to encounter the kind of news headline I read a couple days ago, a headline inspired by the Seven Dwarfs poll cited at the outset. And I quote: Homers Odyssey? I missed that episode. Gary H. Jones Associate Professor of Business Education ĢƵSenior Delegate, UNC Faculty Assembly     PAGE  PAGE 4 Yjx  2 ? F a h i ~ _`avzIOh"1hCCJaJh"1h*CJaJhcCJaJh"1hcCJaJh"1hu=CJaJ6 `,r !############# dh`gd dh`gd# $OTUaCD+,Xopqr3S-;W  BrOŽ|qqqh]bhcCJaJhpfhc>*CJaJh"1CJaJh2hcCJaJhChc>*CJaJhChdCJaJhChcCJaJh+.CJaJhCCJaJh"1h"1CJaJhc6CJaJhpfhc6CJaJhcCJaJh"1hcCJaJ,OPRSi,-Grs !!##0#####Ǽ|tiaYh*CJaJhGCJaJh h_4CJaJhCCJaJhch CJaJhchcCJaJh CJaJh hcCJaJhN hcCJaJhcB* CJaJphh|2hcCJaJh~ [hcB* CJaJphhpfhc>*CJaJh]bhGCJaJh]bhcCJaJhcCJaJ################$$$$ $ $ $ $´£´ h*0J5CJ aJ mHnHuhl9h*0J5CJ aJ $jhl9h*0J5CJ UaJ h* h*0Jjh*0JUh..jh..Uh"1h*CJaJ##### $ $ $ $ $ dh`gdh]hgd& &`#$gdp 6&P1h:p&/ =!"#$% @@@ NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH DA@D Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No ListP^@P "1 Normal (Web)  !CJ OJQJaJ 4@4 &Header  !.)@. & Page Number4 @"4 l9Footer  !  4 `, r    00000000000000000000v00v000000v00@0@00 Xv0`,  000@&10 0 00000@0@0 0$ $$$$$'OO# $# $ $  '!!8@0(  B S  ? OLE_LINK1 OLE_LINK2 sMs,ss<sOs2ssLsԡs$Msls9988   CCFF B *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagscountry-region9*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsState=*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PlaceType=*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PlaceName9 *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplace8 *urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsCity $÷      B Q loQa 333333333(4W_djFO2?ah!vzU Y ^ b / 1  ' : > o o p q cFr9D8Gzz$<Sz$(#0KQZikm  Vi'-j ~/ l;x^?}Z HLa.p3:@`l MjdrhsQ5 B C I mJ s^ zr   @ o    .F 8 x:)EhL]UavXArs3IdZg<9!=.+.?OW~>@NIt?vfD0'`Lg07MexlvH k m 2!8!oT!g!jo!an"i#F ##%#c#m#|#W$e$f$S%[%& I&R&''''Fe'l'()?>)7l) p)<"*;**+/+V1-+g-> ....B. 0,0Us0)1"1D18v1E22$ 2x2z*4_4d4rD5n5A6]6`6;p67=7Ne7q78L888O8t_8|8,99T9<:)e:;(;s;;<EB<BN<[c<pu<u=gD=b=/k=>>">2>8>>!???>3?w?(<@b@k AAXA+uA BBa=C>CFE)FG"H3HBHIHPH]HI,&I8IIIVIiIJ6gJsJrNK?fKLL M,MKMoM%N}N=NOIO{IO1wOP!PB^PEbPcPYAQDQ RSk{ST6^TU0w9q?X[ @), -|2u 7o!H/AbxJy> + .Gqe& sI^Zc aB.l9SFCFPg gB)00;SMZwNMV8 Y4h9Sj uv /KS='4.Ln1/r r5@V @UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial7&  Verdana"1hP}F动*2*2n4d2HX ?u=29The results of a recent national poll made news this week GARY H JONES GARY H JONESOh+'0 , DP p | <The results of a recent national poll made news this weekGARY H JONES Normal.dotGARY H JONES31Microsoft Office Word@"9@H@v*՜.+,0< hp   WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY2d :The results of a recent national poll made news this week Title  !"$%&'()*+,-./012345789:;<=?@ABCDEHRoot Entry F>JData 1Table#v%WordDocument84SummaryInformation(6DocumentSummaryInformation8>CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89qRoot Entry F bSP@Data 1Table#v%WordDocument84  !"$%&'()*+,-./012345789:;<=ON4 $, SummaryInformation(6DocumentSummaryInformation8CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q՜.+,D՜.+,< hp   WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY2d :The results of a recent national poll made news this week Title