ROTTEN ORGANIZATIONS do not indicate their rottenness so much by operational problems as by the way they deal with the problems, and, in particular, how they punish those to blame. A case in point is Brooklyn College. The Johnson tenure case shows that the history department is thoroughly corrupt, but that does not by itself indicate that the college is corrupt as a whole. The best organizations have the occasional problem. But if it is a good organization, the problem is precisely the occasion on which its quality is revealed.
If the college administration had responded by punishing those in the history department who tried to block Johnson's tenure in retaliation for his opposition in new hiring, that would show us that Brooklyn College as a whole was sound. But Erin O'Connor's July 8 web-log tells us otherwise.
One might think that in the wake of such public exposure, Burrows, along with Gallagher and the other players in Brooklyn College's malicious and damaging little game, might face some sort of official censure for their illegal and immoral activities. One would think, at the very least, that Brooklyn College administrators would be feeling rather cool toward the faculty who brought such deserved disgrace upon the school. But one would be sorely wrong to cherish any such expectations. No such punishment appears to be forthcoming. And at least one figure in this hideous academic drama is getting rewarded for it: Burrows has just been awarded the elite and sought-after post of "Distinguished Professor." On July 2, President Kimmich announced that Burrows has been named to the prestigious post, which carries with it an annual sinecure of $25,000 on top of Burrows' regular salary. Choosing Burrows over other candidates because he is, in Kimmich's words, "a scholar of great distinction, a much-prized teacher and a valued colleague," Kimmich has made a virtue of Burrows' underhanded and two-faced conduct in the KC Johnson affair and has, by implication, announced his ongoing support for Brooklyn College faculty who abuse their power.Instead, what President Kimmich should have done was to have given 0% salary increases to every member of the History Department, except perhaps Professor Johnson. If some of them left in a huff, that would be all to the good.
[ http://php.indiana.edu/~erasmuse/w/03.07.12a.htm ]