[CAUT] Faculty as Colleagues, was Steinway... The "Safe" Piano.

[Fred Sturm]

On Dec 3, 2008, at 10:38 PM, Jeff Tanner wrote:

>  I assure you, no matter how congenial the person can be, they are  
> convinced that doctoral degree sets them above non-doctored  
> persons.  If they weren't, the degree would have no value.  That is  
> the glass ceiling CAUTs will never break.  And unfortunately, it is  
> a pretty low ceiling.
>
> Of course it isn't every single member of every faculty.  But it is  
> a large enough percentage to matter.
>
>> But it  certainly doesn't have to be that way. And even the "lowly"  
>> caut can  contribute to keeping the atmosphere positive.
>
> No doubt.  But on occasion when you hear one talk sourly of another  
> of their "equal" colleagues behind closed doors, you begin to wonder  
> just what they are saying (or thinking) about us "subordinates" in  
> our absence.  Certainly, as long as we "know our place", and are  
> comfortable being treated as subordinates, the atmosphere can remain  
> positive.  And as long as we're happy making less money than they  
> are, everything can remain positive.


	Here we are entering the realm of mind reading, of worrying about  
what people say and think about us behind our backs. And the  
comparison of amounts of money versus "justice" and "worth."
	I would rather be naive or deluded, and take people at face value  
(accept their friendly demeanor as real) than be paranoid and spend my  
time worrying about what they are saying behind my back. Best I can  
tell, none of our faculty really cares a whole lot about the  
doctorate. They are far more concerned with musical chops and  
personality attributes in judging one another (and, I suspect, in  
judging me - technical chops being substituted for musical).
	The question of money is another can of worms. I have never found  
that the distribution of wealth in the world had a whole lot to do  
with merit. One thing for certain, every single faculty member is paid  
less than his/her worth (at least in their own opinions). The faculty  
in our college of fine arts is paid significantly less than the  
faculties in the other colleges (not to mention administrators and  
athletic coaches). The part time, adjunct, visiting faculty, who carry  
much of the load, and who all have doctorates, are paid starvation  
wages ($20-30,000/yr for what amounts to a full time teaching load).  
Where's the justice? Where do I as piano technician fit into the  
scale? So what? Who cares? (The faculty, even the part timers, are by  
and large grateful to have a steady job in their field. There are  
plenty with doctorates who don't).
	Personally, I am delighted to have a profession in which I do work I  
enjoy, and am paid well enough to live comfortably. If more money were  
the driving force in my life, I'd do something else. I can't think of  
a better recipe for a miserable life than constant worry about  
"whether I am paid enough or respected enough," obsessing over  
comparisons, and the accompanying envy and resentment. Life's too  
short for that stuff.

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu