Ugh....
Lately my school's dean has turned from dean to dictator.....he's an ex military which will explain most of his behavior... BUT he's going too far.....
I'm going to put in a letter written by the Architecture students to the dean, sent to the dean as well as a letter to the Reflector *school paper*
Foglesong put in a response to this....I'll put that too....in italics....
And then finally I'll put in my response to the news that Foglesong wants to paint ALL exposed concrete brown
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
This letter is an open and public request by us, Mississippi State University School of Architecture students, for clear reason and prudence to be restored to the Office of the President at MSU and for the IHL to reconsider its decisions on the leadership for our fine university. We speak from the position of design-oriented students offended and appalled by the way this university administration has conducted itself over the past year. The cult of individual power and secrecy promoted by Dr. Robert H. Foglesong is damaging the rationalization of the university system that the democratic process provides.
In our four years at MSU, no other administrator has micro-managed the aesthetics and pedagogy of the university in the way it is now being done. President Foglesong leads our university with a dictatorial attitude that disregards and disrespects the views of faculty professionals.
Our School of Architecture has been under a barrage of intolerable orders from the Office of the President. First, the president has demanded the removal of many student-designed installations from around our building, including many from previous years, that are exhibited for pedagogical purposes. Specifically, we have been told to remove student work from certain windows because they are visible from the exterior. Publicness is an essential characteristic of the pedagogy of design work and these specific projects were designed for the particular light that comes through these windows. President Foglesong’s requests have not relented, even under explanation from other administrators as to the purpose of these projects.
Second, for design work to reach its full potential, we as students, along with faculty guidance, must be able to use our building through our creative expressions. We conceive of our building as an educational laboratory for experimentation that must take precedence over a homogeneous campus aesthetic.
Third, we find the attempt to force aesthetic judgments by the president on the entire university to be oppressive. We fully support Dr. Foglesong’s desire to produce an aesthetically pleasing campus, particularly regarding maintenance and unwanted litter. However, President Foglesong defines where posters and flyers are posted in our building; prevents us from keeping chairs on our balcony; asks that certain windows that expose studio spaces in our building be covered up; and makes decisions about the design and use of our building. Not only do we find the attempt to paint brown all exposed concrete and metal aesthetically offensive for a university campus, we are outraged also by the continued refusal to acknowledge the professional views of design faculty on these issues.
Fourth, by now the removal of university daffodils has become well known to many students, faculty, alumni, and the general public. This wholesale removal illustrates the assertion of Dr. Foglesong’s opinions that are in direct opposition to professional views. It clearly demonstrates the spin that his administration continues to employ. His replies to many student and alumni e-mails express an immature, almost childish manner, that consists mostly of empty rhetoric. Many of these e-mails can be accessed via the Facebook group, “Save the MSU Daffodils!”. Just one of the many examples being President Foglesong’s ending remarks to a concerned alumni: “Please don't bother to respond since I will have filed this under a category to not except [sic] your e-mail.”
Fifth, the immature and irrational nature of President Foglesong’s replies to many students and alumni over the removal of daffodils is only an instance of a larger issue of belligerence and an atmosphere of fear. Faculty complaints about his domineering leadership style have been widely known since November 2007 (See The Reflector’s article “Faculty Senate fed up” printed on 11/20/07).
All of the aforementioned instances serve only as examples to which we as students are directly connected. Many other instances of systematic oppression of those who disagree with this president are known to faculty and administrative staff. The irrationality being perpetuated by Dr. Robert H. Foglesong is inexcusable, especially for a president who professes leadership yet fails to recognize the fundamental purpose of a university as one of the few places left for open, uncensored pursuit of knowledge.
Members of the Mississippi State University School of Architecture student body
Academic freedom and responsible behavior
How about a little straight talk to clear the air about my stance on academic freedom? In particular, let's review the circumstances surrounding accusations that have appeared in print and on web networking sites that I-or this university-have somehow impeded learning in one of our departments. Here's the straight talk.
This actually started last May, when I received numerous comments from alums and friends of the university about the front and back of one of our buildings located at a prominent intersection on campus. Particularly noticeable was the paint on sidewalks and entry areas from the overspray of objects placed on those surfaces, clutter on windows and at entryways, and what appeared to be spray paint on windows. Our physical plant personnel removed the overspray-at some cost-and we asked that the clutter be removed. No big deal, right? That's why I didn't focus much on these issues initially. Recently, however, a separate group of alums had similar comments, and we discovered that the overspray and clutter cleaned up last spring had reappeared.
"Academic freedom is a fundamental concept at this university, but that doesn't mean freedom from the responsibility to ensure that our graduates leave here understanding what their employers will expect of them in a professional setting."
Combine those episodes with this. In the same building, numerous lights have been left on when no one was around-even during periods of extended vacations-in spite of a committed effort by the rest of the campus to control our utility expenses. I know our students work varied hours in the area and require lighting, but I can assure you that no one was in the building on the occasions when I personally checked following calls from various individuals. In fact, hardly anyone was even on campus during some of these periods. I'm pretty sure the provost got tired of my calling to have someone come in to turn off the lights to match the effort by the rest of the campus.
Nobody spray paints the sidewalks at their home. Nobody clutters the front and back of their home. Nobody leaves the lights on when no one is home. We shouldn't permit our students to leave here and enter the workforce believing that treating our campus the way no one would treat their home is responsible behavior. We want them to be successful, not get fired. Those are the factors that brought this area under review, although I was also sorry to see people smoking on the balcony, since our tobacco-free campus policy prohibits smoking within 25 feet of a building.
The issue of clutter at the back of the building-which is related to the recent discussions about academic freedom-involved a viewing area where shadowboxes built by our students were being displayed next to very large windows visible from the street. For several months, I thought the area was under renovation and ignored the materials obstructing the windows. It turns out that what passersby saw were the backs of the shadow boxes and not construction, as I had thought.
Our provost advised me that the windows were uncovered to permit light to enter and help display the shadowboxes. That sounded reasonable to me. My only request at that point was to consider installing blinds or using some other method to screen the appearance of clutter when the shadowboxes were not being used by students or faculty in an active learning circumstance-not unlike what we do in other offices and labs across the campus.
A simple system of a pull-down shade was suggested to permit full lighting when up and full screening when down-much as we do in our homes every day. That should have sufficed to curtail the complaints I was receiving about clutter, without interfering with our students' shadowbox construction projects. And folks, that was the last input I made. Not to remove the shadow boxes, not to impede the light during periods of student learning, but to find a way to balance learning with appropriate campus appearance in a reasonable way. But, let me be clear. I support the decisions made by the college leadership. Leave the shadow boxes where are are or move them-whatever makes sense. But I also support screening that area when it's not being used. So there you have it.
I also continue to believe that keeping the spray paint off our sidewalks and entry areas, conserving energy, and policing up the clutter around buildings are procedures that should be followed by everyone, whatever their department or organization. And I believe that many of us-not just me-should be reinforcing this message to our students and other teammates.
Academic freedom is a fundamental concept at this university, but that doesn't mean freedom from the responsibility to ensure that our graduates leave here understanding what their employers will expect of them in a professional setting-things like taking care of the employer's property, workplace appearance, and resources. I hope we can reach the balance I have proposed in this instance in a way that permits learning in combination with reasonable responsibility.
Pause note.... RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR?????? IS HE SERIOUS????? ugh.........ok back to the response I added to the "Foglesong, be reasonable" group on myspace.
o....I just read the "response" from Foglesong....why oh why does it seem like he's just trying to make us look like idiots for not seeing things the way he does or the way his special group of alumni do?
From what I can understand there are alumni who are planning to pull financial support if he goes through with his plans of painting EVERYTHING brown....
Speaking of the color brown....I had a realization thanks to my boyfriend. Brown is a standard MILITARY color...what is our dear president most proud of? His military service...hell it was displayed in the library, it might still be, I tend to ignore blatant bragging of that nature. Also I had another realization, if he succeeds in painting the stadium brown *shudders* then that's going to impede on the maroon and white that is already painted on there. What's he going to do then? Paint over it? Paint over maroon and white....that happen to be OUR SCHOOL COLORS??? I highly doubt he'll go that far.....right? :(
I would have written much MUCH more, but the comment box wasn't that big.
I know to some it's "only a building" or if you've been following the Daffodil Debacle it's "only flowers" But it's more then that, it's that our campus has been taken over and it's no longer a people's campus, it's the home of totalitarianism. I miss the days when I was in high school and would come visit state...the old union was here...it was so much more comfortable than the one now....and it really seemed like it was a campus that belonged to the students...the administration was just here to make sure students blow anything up. Now it feels like we get absolutely no say in what happens....it's like we're being held in a glass box and are forced to watch the chaos around us...helpless...hopeless....looking for any signs of the glass cage caving away and freedom coming back.
I miss the old days.....
I'm going to put in a letter written by the Architecture students to the dean, sent to the dean as well as a letter to the Reflector *school paper*
Foglesong put in a response to this....I'll put that too....in italics....
And then finally I'll put in my response to the news that Foglesong wants to paint ALL exposed concrete brown
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
This letter is an open and public request by us, Mississippi State University School of Architecture students, for clear reason and prudence to be restored to the Office of the President at MSU and for the IHL to reconsider its decisions on the leadership for our fine university. We speak from the position of design-oriented students offended and appalled by the way this university administration has conducted itself over the past year. The cult of individual power and secrecy promoted by Dr. Robert H. Foglesong is damaging the rationalization of the university system that the democratic process provides.
In our four years at MSU, no other administrator has micro-managed the aesthetics and pedagogy of the university in the way it is now being done. President Foglesong leads our university with a dictatorial attitude that disregards and disrespects the views of faculty professionals.
Our School of Architecture has been under a barrage of intolerable orders from the Office of the President. First, the president has demanded the removal of many student-designed installations from around our building, including many from previous years, that are exhibited for pedagogical purposes. Specifically, we have been told to remove student work from certain windows because they are visible from the exterior. Publicness is an essential characteristic of the pedagogy of design work and these specific projects were designed for the particular light that comes through these windows. President Foglesong’s requests have not relented, even under explanation from other administrators as to the purpose of these projects.
Second, for design work to reach its full potential, we as students, along with faculty guidance, must be able to use our building through our creative expressions. We conceive of our building as an educational laboratory for experimentation that must take precedence over a homogeneous campus aesthetic.
Third, we find the attempt to force aesthetic judgments by the president on the entire university to be oppressive. We fully support Dr. Foglesong’s desire to produce an aesthetically pleasing campus, particularly regarding maintenance and unwanted litter. However, President Foglesong defines where posters and flyers are posted in our building; prevents us from keeping chairs on our balcony; asks that certain windows that expose studio spaces in our building be covered up; and makes decisions about the design and use of our building. Not only do we find the attempt to paint brown all exposed concrete and metal aesthetically offensive for a university campus, we are outraged also by the continued refusal to acknowledge the professional views of design faculty on these issues.
Fourth, by now the removal of university daffodils has become well known to many students, faculty, alumni, and the general public. This wholesale removal illustrates the assertion of Dr. Foglesong’s opinions that are in direct opposition to professional views. It clearly demonstrates the spin that his administration continues to employ. His replies to many student and alumni e-mails express an immature, almost childish manner, that consists mostly of empty rhetoric. Many of these e-mails can be accessed via the Facebook group, “Save the MSU Daffodils!”. Just one of the many examples being President Foglesong’s ending remarks to a concerned alumni: “Please don't bother to respond since I will have filed this under a category to not except [sic] your e-mail.”
Fifth, the immature and irrational nature of President Foglesong’s replies to many students and alumni over the removal of daffodils is only an instance of a larger issue of belligerence and an atmosphere of fear. Faculty complaints about his domineering leadership style have been widely known since November 2007 (See The Reflector’s article “Faculty Senate fed up” printed on 11/20/07).
All of the aforementioned instances serve only as examples to which we as students are directly connected. Many other instances of systematic oppression of those who disagree with this president are known to faculty and administrative staff. The irrationality being perpetuated by Dr. Robert H. Foglesong is inexcusable, especially for a president who professes leadership yet fails to recognize the fundamental purpose of a university as one of the few places left for open, uncensored pursuit of knowledge.
Members of the Mississippi State University School of Architecture student body
Academic freedom and responsible behavior
How about a little straight talk to clear the air about my stance on academic freedom? In particular, let's review the circumstances surrounding accusations that have appeared in print and on web networking sites that I-or this university-have somehow impeded learning in one of our departments. Here's the straight talk.
This actually started last May, when I received numerous comments from alums and friends of the university about the front and back of one of our buildings located at a prominent intersection on campus. Particularly noticeable was the paint on sidewalks and entry areas from the overspray of objects placed on those surfaces, clutter on windows and at entryways, and what appeared to be spray paint on windows. Our physical plant personnel removed the overspray-at some cost-and we asked that the clutter be removed. No big deal, right? That's why I didn't focus much on these issues initially. Recently, however, a separate group of alums had similar comments, and we discovered that the overspray and clutter cleaned up last spring had reappeared.
"Academic freedom is a fundamental concept at this university, but that doesn't mean freedom from the responsibility to ensure that our graduates leave here understanding what their employers will expect of them in a professional setting."
Combine those episodes with this. In the same building, numerous lights have been left on when no one was around-even during periods of extended vacations-in spite of a committed effort by the rest of the campus to control our utility expenses. I know our students work varied hours in the area and require lighting, but I can assure you that no one was in the building on the occasions when I personally checked following calls from various individuals. In fact, hardly anyone was even on campus during some of these periods. I'm pretty sure the provost got tired of my calling to have someone come in to turn off the lights to match the effort by the rest of the campus.
Nobody spray paints the sidewalks at their home. Nobody clutters the front and back of their home. Nobody leaves the lights on when no one is home. We shouldn't permit our students to leave here and enter the workforce believing that treating our campus the way no one would treat their home is responsible behavior. We want them to be successful, not get fired. Those are the factors that brought this area under review, although I was also sorry to see people smoking on the balcony, since our tobacco-free campus policy prohibits smoking within 25 feet of a building.
The issue of clutter at the back of the building-which is related to the recent discussions about academic freedom-involved a viewing area where shadowboxes built by our students were being displayed next to very large windows visible from the street. For several months, I thought the area was under renovation and ignored the materials obstructing the windows. It turns out that what passersby saw were the backs of the shadow boxes and not construction, as I had thought.
Our provost advised me that the windows were uncovered to permit light to enter and help display the shadowboxes. That sounded reasonable to me. My only request at that point was to consider installing blinds or using some other method to screen the appearance of clutter when the shadowboxes were not being used by students or faculty in an active learning circumstance-not unlike what we do in other offices and labs across the campus.
A simple system of a pull-down shade was suggested to permit full lighting when up and full screening when down-much as we do in our homes every day. That should have sufficed to curtail the complaints I was receiving about clutter, without interfering with our students' shadowbox construction projects. And folks, that was the last input I made. Not to remove the shadow boxes, not to impede the light during periods of student learning, but to find a way to balance learning with appropriate campus appearance in a reasonable way. But, let me be clear. I support the decisions made by the college leadership. Leave the shadow boxes where are are or move them-whatever makes sense. But I also support screening that area when it's not being used. So there you have it.
I also continue to believe that keeping the spray paint off our sidewalks and entry areas, conserving energy, and policing up the clutter around buildings are procedures that should be followed by everyone, whatever their department or organization. And I believe that many of us-not just me-should be reinforcing this message to our students and other teammates.
Academic freedom is a fundamental concept at this university, but that doesn't mean freedom from the responsibility to ensure that our graduates leave here understanding what their employers will expect of them in a professional setting-things like taking care of the employer's property, workplace appearance, and resources. I hope we can reach the balance I have proposed in this instance in a way that permits learning in combination with reasonable responsibility.
Pause note.... RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR?????? IS HE SERIOUS????? ugh.........ok back to the response I added to the "Foglesong, be reasonable" group on myspace.
o....I just read the "response" from Foglesong....why oh why does it seem like he's just trying to make us look like idiots for not seeing things the way he does or the way his special group of alumni do?
From what I can understand there are alumni who are planning to pull financial support if he goes through with his plans of painting EVERYTHING brown....
Speaking of the color brown....I had a realization thanks to my boyfriend. Brown is a standard MILITARY color...what is our dear president most proud of? His military service...hell it was displayed in the library, it might still be, I tend to ignore blatant bragging of that nature. Also I had another realization, if he succeeds in painting the stadium brown *shudders* then that's going to impede on the maroon and white that is already painted on there. What's he going to do then? Paint over it? Paint over maroon and white....that happen to be OUR SCHOOL COLORS??? I highly doubt he'll go that far.....right? :(
I would have written much MUCH more, but the comment box wasn't that big.
I know to some it's "only a building" or if you've been following the Daffodil Debacle it's "only flowers" But it's more then that, it's that our campus has been taken over and it's no longer a people's campus, it's the home of totalitarianism. I miss the days when I was in high school and would come visit state...the old union was here...it was so much more comfortable than the one now....and it really seemed like it was a campus that belonged to the students...the administration was just here to make sure students blow anything up. Now it feels like we get absolutely no say in what happens....it's like we're being held in a glass box and are forced to watch the chaos around us...helpless...hopeless....looking for any signs of the glass cage caving away and freedom coming back.
I miss the old days.....