What would Brene Brown do?

Submitted by [deleted] t3_z9wo6r in Maine

In UMPI’s all hands meeting today, they talked about being $500,000 in the red and needing to close that by January.

Since UMPI administration loved Brene Brown enough to pay high cost trainers to come in, will they be brave enough to follow Brown’s advice?

For instance, President Raymond Rice of UMPI makes $150,000+ salary and has free housing along with his wife’s UMPI salary of $60,000. That’s six times the average salary of Aroostook County. He has enjoyed this luxurious lifestyle for many years. Yet, he has the audacity to tell his bottom-end salary and hourly workers who live at or near the poverty level that they should tighten their belts. Why not take a cue from Brown and donate part of your salary to help cover the deficit he helped create?

UMPI, like many colleges, is top heavy with administration who get paid high five and six figures. What about belt tightening all their UMPI-paid regular stream of Dunkin’ Doughnuts and other goodies? Why have several deans that basically do the same job for a small student population?

Would Brene Brown be proud of the brazen lack of fiscal responsibility demonstrated by UMPI and the thoughtlessness of showy excess in a community that is barely making ends meet? Would Brown find UMPI leadership empathic to its staff and students struggles?

Or would Brown call on UMPI administration to demonstrate servant leadership by cutting excess salaries, calling in and uplifting people hurt by UMPI’s reckless behaviors?

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Comments

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Yourbubblestink t1_iyjp6hq wrote

If the region is going to operate a University campus, it needs to be competitive with other universities around the country, not with jobs in Presque Isle.

Quality administrators and highly educated professors that are up to-date with current research are expensive, especially if you want them to live in the out-of-the-way places. They earn higher salaries than many of the other jobs available in remote parts of Maine. Yet their salaries still fall below what they would earn at other universities or colleges around the country.

Again, Universities are expensive. They involve recruiting teaching and leadership talent from other places instead of drawing on the local pool. It’s that diversity that creates the educational experience, otherwise it would just be Presque Isle teaching it’s own.

Also, professionals that work at universities expect training from people like Brene Brown. That’s also part of the operating expense.

It sounds like your beef might be with higher education itself, which is a whole other issue.

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fastIamnot t1_iymag9j wrote

"Quality" administrators, lol. Yes, you NEED quality instructors to be competitive and provide a quality education, but if you think that administrators are these highly skilled experts in managing resources PROPERLY in higher education, you are sadly mistaken. Most of them don't know what they heck students and staff actually need. They're there to cut budgets at the expense of VERY needed academic resources and services - and that includes quality, highly paid instructors.

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[deleted] OP t1_iymf7oy wrote

I agree about administration being out of touch. Given especially what Rice was proposing in the meeting like cutting classes than other options first really got my goat. Throw in the crappy dorms they had while shocker the UMPI admin building is wonderful in every way, full of treats, large open spaces, etc. I didn’t expect fancy dorms but issues like mold and other things when buildings are that old were being held together by duck tape while Joe Moir rides around on his new, unneeded golf cart. You can only see so much “I’ve got mine, screw staff and students” before you get mad.

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Ok-Highway7875 t1_iyjq7rb wrote

While I do see part of your argument about competitiveness, it isn’t accurate of what is going on at the school. Given how many of UMPI’s staff and faculty are alumni and/or born and raised in that area, your argument fails. They are pretty open that they want to hire locals/alumni only.

I doubt anyone would describe UMPI as diverse in any sense of the word.

I’m also hesitant to dismiss the needs of the community that a college exists in particularly since the community provides the labor that keeps the heat, light, and water on at colleges that allows faculty and students the luxury to focus on learning.

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Yourbubblestink t1_iyjr74y wrote

Who is dismissing the community? They are the most important part. Without their support there would be no college for any of these other folks to work out.

Academics however is not the same as a business, it costs money.

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Ok-Highway7875 t1_iyjs5v4 wrote

Given that Rice told his staff to tighten their belts and prepare for cuts, it sounds like that is dismissing the community particularly given the lack of economic opportunity back home.

If Rice had framed it as deceasing administrative bloat or other items, it wouldn’t be as bad. It reeks of “Gosh, you can’t come after my pay and bennies but I can come after yours, poors.”

There is a lot of ways to balance the need to get out of the red while not cutting classes or lower paying jobs. It involves looking at how too heavy that school is and making cuts there. If secretaries can be responsible for doing two people’s jobs for one pay (previous rounds of cuts) then administration should be prepared to do the same. Never ask your people to do what you wouldn’t ask yourself.

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Laeek t1_iykk7um wrote

>They are pretty open that they want to hire locals/alumni only.

Is that actually stated somewhere? Or do you think maybe it's really hard to recruit people to come work at a nondescript school in Presque Isle?

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Ok-Highway7875 t1_iykmzef wrote

I understand your question and it’s fair.

It’s openly discussed. There have been several positions in the last five years were people from away applied, were qualified, went through the interviews, etc but each time the idea that only locals would understand that community won over.

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Yourbubblestink t1_iynde9m wrote

People don’t go to college to learn about the community of Presque Isle

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[deleted] OP t1_iynjakg wrote

That’s feedback that needs to be addressed to folks like UMPI admin who can impact hiring decisions.

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Ambitious_Ask_1569 t1_iyjshjt wrote

But what would Brian Boitano do...if he was here right now?

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Ok-Highway7875 t1_iyjspdl wrote

He’d make a plan, he’d follow through! That’s what Brian Botiano would do!

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Weird-Tomorrow-9829 t1_iyl145z wrote

The number of administrators at colleges is frustrating.

Provost, dean of students, dean of academics, president, COO… like cmon.

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MDIwoman t1_iykl1qb wrote

We really don't need this kind of rhetoric on the page. Go be negative somewhere else.

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Ok-Highway7875 t1_iykmrzd wrote

I’m advocating for people who don’t have a voice. I’m trying to help save working class jobs and make sure that students continue to be served. That is the opposite of negative.

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MDIwoman t1_iykyen8 wrote

Everyone has a voice now with social media. You are naive. Imagine if you could hire a competent administrator for what you want to pay. I worked in the non profit sector and for the University. There probably is waste but not where salaries are concerned.

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[deleted] OP t1_iyl48tk wrote

Naive for fighting for my community? Naive for fighting for equity? Naive for holding leaders accountable for their behavior and it’s impact on their organization and larger community?

It must be difficult to live a life where items like advocating for students and working class are seen in such a negative light. Hopefully, things get better for you soon.

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