No memory, no conscience

Paul T. Bryant, in his book CONFESSIONS OF AN HABITUAL ADMINISTRATOR, said that A UNIVERSITY HAS NO MEMORY AND NO CONSCIENCE. This might be true -- at least based on what I see in the university where I am. It's too bad that the one in charge of my job before does not care about my proposal on TV studio and media lab. When I asked her about it, she said, "Wala na siguro yun." She did not even ask what exactly I proposed and what it means for Comm. students to have a media lab. Kalimutan ko na lang daw yun. See? Tuition fees keep going up but the university is cutting on manpower cost. Whatever work can be delegated on faculty will be delegated by the chair. Now, as a full-time faculty, I am still told to do things which is supposed to be done by a coor. Ano ba yan?

Bryant's Second Law of Academic Administration:

Always be aware that a university has no memory

and no conscience.

I'd like to quote Bryant when he said:

If you can live comfortably with that characteristic of universities, you might find administration interesting, and perhaps even rewarding. If you cannot accept it, but still choose to become an administrator, the university will eventually break your heart.

The university's lack of memory or conscience is, of course, a function of the people there, and the way universities are run. Decision-makers, particularly in the impersonal context of a committee, may neither know nor care about any previous behavior or any previous commitments made by others.

Bryant just answered why I lost my faith in this university. Perhaps, it would take some time to get that faith back. I never knew a job could break a heart.

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