The MacBeth of Rensselaer

Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.

–Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1

Whenever someone asks me to compare Shirley Jackson to a figure in history or literature, it’s always to MacBeth.  The air of superiority she casts and her belief that her actions are without consequence is of a magnitude to which we must look to fiction to find anything comparable.

Last week’s meeting didn’t bring anything unexpected. The faculty voted overwhelmingly to affirm their support for the Faculty Senate and endorsed the Faculty Handbook as the sole instrument concerning faculty governance. The ball is now in Shirley Jackson’s court, but we all know that her answer, delivered eloquently by her hand-picked Provost, will be nothing constructive.  In the interest of being proactive, let’s talk about what happens next.  We’ll vote no-confidence in Bob Palazzo (by a huge margin) and in Shirley Jackson (by less, but still a majority). Being the impermeable warrior she is, Jackson will stay on. The only people with the power to remove her–the Trustees–have already shown their indifference for our opinion in allowing things to continue as they have. This will leave us with a very unpleasant choice: call a strike of the faculty, or allow Shirley Jackson to step on us once again.

Frankly, no one I’ve spoken to wants to see the Institute shut down, solely because no one wants the education of the thousands of students to be used as a bargaining chip. Ergo, we need to find another avenue to resolve this problem.  This fight must be taken to Shirley Jackson and the trustees. If there’s one thing I know gets under Shirley Jackson’s skin, it’s seeing her name in print in a negative light. So let’s talk about some of the many things that Shirley Jackson doesn’t want us talking about:

1. The staff have taken an effective pay cut over the past few years, as raises haven’t kept up with the cost of living.
2. The Institute has had a very serious problem with sexual misconduct by faculty members.
3. Her election to the National Academies was not without some funny business.
4. The Provost search committees were largely ignored.
5. The life expectancy of Deans has been dismal since her arrival.

Let’s imagine a New York Times profile on “the other side” of America’s most overrated college administrator. Perhaps Forbes will do a story about Jackson’s spending and extrapolate how long it will be before she bankrupts the Institute. Even better, I wonder how little it would take to get the state attorney general to open a probe into the failure of the Jackson administration to fully address those reports of sexual misconduct.

Shirley Jackson may be one cool customer when the faculty are badmouthing her, but when things show up in ink, this won’t be the case.  If we can show the world that the misdeeds of this administration are newsworthy, we’ll get the changes we’ve been waiting for.