Here at these Colleges we operate in the plural, so the above is correct – yesterday was the 102nd commencement for William Smith College and the 188th for Hobart (they graduated in that order – we alternate).

I have to admit that this was a year in which I was not particularly attached to many seniors. I was away for 2 of their 8 semesters (the 2nd semester of their sophomore year I was in Rome and this semester I was on sabbatical), so I haven’t taught them as often as I do many students. But I did have a number of advisees and got to hug most of them and meet some parents (always a fascination – you know, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree).

So, congratulations, best wishes, come back for Reunion, and always remember to send money. Your almae matres need you!

Western New England University School of Law has as its commencement speaker (which means they had to have invited her some time ago) the director for the IRS Exempt Organization Division.

via Professor Bainbridge.

A couple of us had lunch yesterday with the biggest living donor to our departmental efforts. He wants to give us more money – evidently while he’s still lively enough to enjoy watching what we do with it!

So, today I spent some time with another department member making a loosely prioritized wish for slices of the Pie Pie In the Sky.

I’m just back from the senior dinner in honor of the majors in Art History, Studio Art, and Architectural Studies. This year’s student show was especially strong in studio. I bought 2 things for the first time – pictures and rationale to follow.

Congratulations to the Classes of 2013!

Houghton House is ringing with the sound of the Student Art Show going up – and the campus Café is full, at 9:35 a.m., of students working.

Well, maybe not the University – but the elections for Alum Trustees has turned ugly, with JoePa supporters calling for the ouster of anyone who voted against him.

Wow. A vote of no confidence in the president of NYU. Money is perhaps not enough.

Speaking of money – remember the recent news of the golden handshake (not parachute – this was an amicable parting of the ways) for Jack Lew? Did that news contribute to this vote?

Arcadia University (Philadelphia area, c. 4000 students, used to be called Beaver but changed their name because web filters were blocking them in searches) just fired its president in mid-year. No cause has been announced (“Spokeswoman Laura Baldwin said it was a confidential issue between the board and Oxholm”), and the now-former president claims he was given no reason. Odd.

I keep wondering about the comparison of the Dissolution of the Monasteries to what sometimes seems to be looming on the horizon for Higher Education. Remember, the monasteries did not seek to dissolve – it happened from the top because Henry and Parliament saw an undefended pile of wealth and from below because people had lost faith in the intercessory activity of the contemplatives and from beside because the gentry ended up with most of the property.

Read this about universities and what we’re doing with money. I may think these Colleges are educating students – but we also laid out an artificial turf stadium in 2009. That wasn’t very popular locally, despite our president reminding folks that there were local jobs involved and that the local schools could use the field more frequently (since there’s less damage to the field than when it was natural turf). Our non-profit status comes up constantly as a perceived drain on local taxes, whatever our contribution to the local economy.

I can’t help wondering when something will break.

via Fr. Baker

Inside Higher Ed conveys the news that Stanford students are signing a petition declaring 8:30 classes deplorable. Kids these day – just wait until they get a real job!

Body-clock issues are endless. They’d probably prefer classes that start at 10 P.M. – about the time they start to buckle down to work on weeknights – but much the professoriate is ready by that time for a little bed-time reading.

I saw a couple of places yesterday that NYU paid Jack Lew a severance package, but I didn’t follow up or click. This morning I read at The Right Coast how much that severance package was – $685,000! So then I thought – hey, NYU has more in common with SEC schools than I thought. Lew had a good contract. But no! The New York Times article makes it very clear:

The payment, which a university official acknowledged on Monday, is considered unusual by outside experts in benefits and raises questions about why a tax-exempt university would give a large exit bonus to an executive who was departing voluntarily.

. . .

University officials defended the additional lump-sum payment, which was not required by his original employment contract, citing Mr. Lew’s role in addressing some of the university’s major problems at the time. [my emphasis]

Wow. At least fired coaches who continue to receive pay have good legal grounds!

via Prof Smith