[CAUT] Fred's rebuttal and apology

[Porritt, David]

Jeff:

I am so sorry you worked for people who did not respect you and what you did.  I just retired from a CAUT position at SMU and was treated very well, respected for my skill and dedication and appreciated for how I fit in the position.  When I retired they gave me a retirement party that was far beyond my expectations.  

I don't know why your situation was so radically different from mine though your contributions to this list hint at resentment of the people with whom you worked.  That kind of resentment and bitterness is obvious to most and picked up very quickly by people with artistic temperaments.  

I don't recall any posts from you on this list that were either positive, encouraging or uplifting.  I hope that your new business will prove sufficiently successful to bring you the joy that you have been missing these past years.  I wish for everyone the opportunity to work at something they enjoy and reach the success that they desire.

dave

David M. Porritt, RPT
dporritt at smu.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of tannertuner
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2010 12:22 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Fred's rebuttal and apology

Fred,
Your apology was not necessary. I understand your position and why you would write it. The tone was expected. What you mistake for a chip on my shoulder is something else entirely. I must address, though, one point you make.

It seems to me that respect must be a mutual event. What I have observed in my approximately 25 years in the CAUT world is a great ignorance of our work which is the source of zero respect coming from the faculty and institutions toward our craft and the persons who hold our positions. If there were the least amount of respect, we wouldn't be seen as second class citizens in the compensation department. Some of this is our own fault and based on many of our own misgivings. Anyone who does not see this blatant disrespect towards us is blind to it and probably lacks self-respect needed to see it. Many among us drink the coolaid that we are considered colleagues among the faculty. While there may be a few music faculty who are more grounded and I certainly acknowledge rare exceptions to the generalization, my observations over the years are that we just aren't welcome in their class of people beyond our professional obligations to them.

What I have attempted to do on this list is to be the voice trying to identify and build that self respect among our members. Surely, if I were going on a job interview, I would not speak with the same tone or carry the same attitude. The language I use here is for us. Not them.

I appreciate that you would not hire me as a CAUT. I lost my interest in being a slave to people who do not respect me, the well-being of my family or our craft long ago.  But I continue to comment on this list, hoping some of what I say is contagious. That is the only way things will ever change - when we quit rolling over and being doormats. I do so not for myself, but for the future of our craft and those who follow in our shoes.

Jeff

--- On Thu, 8/12/10, Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> wrote:

> From: Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu>
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] U. of Northern Iowa position
> To: caut at ptg.org
> Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 10:22 AM
> On Aug 12, 2010, at 7:38 AM,
> tannertuner wrote:
> 
> >  I think to a large degree you miss my point.
> 
> 
> Jeff,
>     As I wrote, I was certain I wouldn't
> change your mind. I am quite convinced you will persist in
> the same attitude you have displayed for the past many years
> on this list, and it is an attitude that would certainly
> dissuade me from considering hiring you for a caut position.
> I don't care what physical skills you have, I wouldn't want
> someone with that attitude around. Someone with zero respect
> for the enterprise of the institution, and with an enormous
> chip on the shoulder, is not really an asset.
> 
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> fssturm at unm.edu
> http://www.createculture.org/profile/FredSturm
> http://www.youtube.com/fredsturm
> http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/FredSturm
> 
> 
> 
> 
>