It’s always interesting to hear from new faculty members about “how it was” back at the university they used to work. Of course, this line of comment is typically accompanied with them complaining they’re not getting the same treatment here at San Francisco State University. To which I have to say they need to realize that our university is the second tier of the California public university system. We are not a UC. We’re not even a Polytechnic. Resources and support around here might not be as ample as that private institution they were at previously.
Besides, if their previous institution is so great in comparison, why the French did they leave in the first place? Let’s not forget: they applied for their faculty positions. That means they wanted to come to San Francisco State University. Perhaps some due diligence was missing if the quantity and quality of available resources (IT or otherwise) is proving insufficient. But hey, I get it: they’re probably getting paid more now than their old positions. It’s all about the money.
What really irks me is when certain new faculty get personal with it. As if our inability to fulfill their computing wants is a direct affront to their personhood. Right, because when the California Sate University system mandates certain requirements vis a vis computer security, it’s specifically targeting you. Same with us: we’re declining your request to dual-boot Windows and Linux because we hate you. Just you, not anyone else. (Obviously, my tongue is fully in cheek here.) Asking for my supervisor? Sure, I guess you like to be told the same thing twice by two different people.
As Michael Corleone famously says in The Godfather: “It’s not personal. It’s strictly business.”
Tunnel view.