Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.44.0209030039590.2846-100000@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.aol.com>,
"WRYTING-L : Writing and Theory across Disciplines" <WRYTING-L@LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA>
Subject: FIU termination
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2002 00:40:48 -0400 (EDT)
[ I'm not sure I should send out the following to the lists, but the lists are a part of my life at this point. Last year I taught at Florida Inter- national University; it was a disaster. Some of you know, in part, what was going on. The rest, which was just sent out to various sources in Miami, including a number associated with the school, is outlined below. While I don't feel blameless, I feel my treatment was highly unethical. I was railroaded. I could not find out what was going on; as the head of another department told me, "they've closed ranks behind you." The account is fairly mild, since I did not want to violate the confidence of other faculty members (some of whom are references for me), but it will give you an indication of the situation. Unfortunately, going up against a university is an absurdist exercise - nothing will come of it - but I needed to do this as an exorcism of sorts. At the moment, I'm starting to apply again for other teaching work, but I'm being much more careful. Alan ] To Whom it May Concern: The following is an account of my termination at Florida International University. I was led to believe - and sent a letter to the university newspaper saying such - that the reason was budgetary; I found out later - after more and more lies - that it was personal. I'm still furious over this. I've never worked in such a morally corrupt situation in my life before. === Last year I was hired as a full-time tenure-track assistant professor at Florida International University. On December 10th, my contract was terminated, and the position - teaching new media in the art department - was eliminated. At that time, I was told that the reason for this was purely fiscal; for various reasons, it became clear that wasn't so. Carol Damian sent me email saying the Dean of Arts and Humanities was reviewing all the new faculty positions, and she was afraid I'd lose my job. What I didn't know was that, as far as I can tell, she was orches- trating all of this. I was the only new faculty let go in the entire university (this information from a woman in Human Resources), and I had no warning, no recourse, no probationary period, no due process - nothing. The head of the union grievance committee (who said this was the worst case she had ever heard of at the university) spoke privately to the Dean, who told her that the job loss "did not originate with Arts and Sciences," but within the department itself - Carol Damian (the head of the department), and the "senior faculty." This was backed by an email I received from the head of the faculty senate, who said "this is what happens when an individual loses the confidence of his colleagues." Who these colleagues were - who the members of the "senior faculty" were - I never found out. A great number of the senior faculty wrote me privately or spoke to me - that they were sorry to see me go etc. - but there was no public defense, etc. At one point, in December, I called Damian and said to her that I "had to know" why I was being let go. She said "Don't go there!" and when I pressed she said "You don't really want to know." I said I had a right to know (apparently I did, according to the union), she said, "Look, I'm married to a lawyer; I know when to keep my mouth shut." Carol also told me that I had told her and the Dean that I was planning on leaving at the end of the year - which was a complete lie. What I did ask was what would happen if I did leave; at that point (early on), I wasn't sure I could fulfill my teaching obligations because of the poor state of the equipment and the media studio room (which was, by the way, and still is, on a flood plain). All of this began after I was hired at the end of April; I didn't receive the contract until six weeks later, and the school was of no help at all. At one point, Azure, my wife, called asking the school information board if there was a faculty association that might help me with housing; she gave me the phone and I was routed through until I reached a woman, Mer- cedes, in the Provost's office. I didn't know what a Provost was, and when she told me, I said I was routed through in error. She asked what was I looking for, and I said housing; that the department was trying to help but didn't come up with anything, and we had very little money to move. She said she would see what she could do. All of this seemed minor to me, but I received an email from Damian warning not to go over her head, that there was a chain of command in the university, etc. etc. I explained I didn't try to go over her head, that I was mistakenly routed, etc. She sent another angry note; I apologized again. Our whole relationship was like this. I was told in the beginning that my salary would be negotiable; it wasn't. I was told there would be startup funds for the new media area (I presented a budget of $20,000); there wasn't anything. When I began teaching, the room had cement floors with dried glue on them, no working air conditioning, and no drop ceiling. There were dead lizards and roaches around, as well as various insecticide (I think) dusts on the equipment. It was impossible to teach in the summer. The sum total of the equipment, for around 20 students, was 2 computers and one inexpensive camcorder, which gave out shortly after the semester began. The computers weren't online, and even though I was constantly told it was the first order of business to get them online, it never happened. The budget I got for the entire year was $4000, including repairs and software, etc. The situation I walked into was impossible. I did get the room fixed up by constantly badgering everyone - by which time Carol had to be working to get me out of there. By the end of the semester, I had excellent student reviews; I had been able to make con- tacts in Miami for exhibitions and work-study for them, and my own car- eer had evolved to such a degree that I was asked to speak in England, Scotland, at the Sorbonne, in Minneapolis, and Toronto. I was working with one of the faculty to bring in visiting artists as well. But the conditions were so bad, that by late October, I was already seeking and getting counseling with the faculty counselor; she asked what the problem was, and I could only say that I didn't trust anyone, that the entire administration I was dealing with would say one thing and do either another or nothing. I saw her twice and then thought things were getting better; later, when they got worse, I had to take medication for stress, for the first time in my life; I also ended up in the hospital after a panic attack. (I'm still on medication.) Because I had no idea what was really going on - and still don't - I stopped going to faculty reviews; I couldn't trust anyone, and found myself so depressed that I was close to suicide. It was the worst situation I've ever been in. I heard there was a faculty meeting in which Damian declared that my position was terminated and "there will be no discussion" - and that in the minutes it read that my position was terminated - "there was no discussion" - implying that everyone agreed. I should add that she made this decision without a faculty meeting or vote, over the beginning of the Christmas break. The faculty were informed of it as a fait accompli. Meanwhile, I gather that Damian has been promoted to the promotions and tenure committee of the faculty at large. This in spite of the fact that she is responsible apparently for my position and the faculty line disappearing, and hasn't raised much of a fuss over the loss of the student gallery, which the Miami Herald had been covering. I can add a great deal more to this - Damian yelling at me that I said that the university wasn't any good at all - which wasn't true - that the students said I was depressed - which I was, but still got excellent evaluations, etc. But the worst thing was her letter to the Miami Herald in which she announced an electronic classroom and media studio for the department - and it was, I gather, the same old thing, the same computers (I did manage to buy a third computer, a new cheap consumer camcorder, and a very cheap digital still camera on that budget). The reason this letter was upsetting - I was still the head of the new media area, and hadn't been told a thing about this. I spoke to a number of faculty (even now), and none of them heard anything as well. But backtracking seems to be a standard way of dealing with things in the department. This situation was absolutely horrible to my wife and I. Before we moved down, our budget for the year in NY was $12000 approximately. The move cost us all our wedding money and put us wildly in debt for the first time (we're still paying off). It was a difficult move, in spite of the $1500 the university gave us; from New York, it cost several thousand. And to come down, to an unfinished classroom, no monies to work with, students who were - in some cases - already furious over the lack of equipment, with a faculty who didn't particularly care, and a department head who was openly hostile from the beginning - this was intolerable. I've taught at a lot of universities, mostly as a visiting artist, sometimes tenure-track, and I've never seen anything like this. The breakdown I had was quite real and frightening. I'm writing this in the hopes that someone puts a stop to these sorts of practices. I was the fourth person in five years teaching in this position - Elizabeth Hall and Christine Tamblyn were both miserable in it, and Manny Torres, one of the regular faculty, took it over until I came in. Both Hall and Tamblyn left, furious, I was told, again for administrative reasons. I realize Florida coasts along on image everywhere, but this was ridicul- ous, and hurtful to the students, who deserve a lot better. The Dean, Art Herriot, did let me go legally, one full semester before my last, which is within the collective bargaining agreement. But the shady ethics - the fact that I still don't know what happened - and the miser- ably poor situation of the new media area, or what's left of it, needs investigating. (I do have a collection of emails by the way covering some of these things.) I'm not writing that justice be done etc. - I have no faith in that at FIU - but only that these practices be made public, and stopped. I was told if I went public, I might get Damian "censured," but that it would have no practical effect at all. (By the way I waited until now because I've been afraid of reprisals from the university; I was warned about this. For various reasons, including my own mental health, I feel the need to speak out at this point.) Alan Sondheim sondheim@panix.com 718-813-3285 432 Dean Street Bklyn, NY, 11217