“Sit Down, Dan. Make yourself comfortable,” Bob said, pointing to one of two chairs across from his desk.” He then pushed the pile of papers he had been working on to one side of his desk and fished a file folder out a desk drawer. “Let’s see,” he said. We have some forms you will need to fill out, though I have already completed much of the required information. I will need you to have your official college and law school transcripts sent to my attention, but there’s no hurry—any time in the next couple of weeks will do.” He then passed several sheets of papers to Dan. “Mostly I will need your signature where indicated on the forms—please read the terms of your contract before signing and ask any questions you have.” Dan reviewed the papers quickly and signed on the places where indicated, adding personal information where required, including his date of birth, Social Security number, and his educational information. “I have a copy of your resume, cover letter, and formal job offer on file—a copy of the latter which we did not mail to you as the decision was made too quickly for it to reach you in time. You will also see an attachment to the offer of employment letter listing the salary, benefits and related information.
Dan dutifully looked over the materials, signed his at-will employment contract and returned the package to Bob, keeping the offer of employment letter with its attachment for future reference.
“I’m sure Marvin would have gone over your basic responsibilities with you, but if there’s anything you would like to know that was not covered, feel free to ask,” Bob said, while taking the paperwork from Dan and nodding after briefly scanning each page, then putting the papers in the file folder on his desk—obviously Dan’s file. “Are you a U.S. Citizen?” he added.
“Yes,” Dan answered, “and I brought my passport and Social Security card in addition to my driver’s license if you’d like to make copies now.
“That’s great, Dan. Yes, please, just the passport will do nicely.”
“You bet,” said Dan, reaching into his leather portfolio for the passport.”
“So, what can I tell you about PEMTI while I make copies of these for your files?” He asked while getting up and going to a small Xerox machine to his right.
“Well, for one thing I’d like to know why the hurry to hire me, if you can tell me.”
“Oh, sure. Our last academic dean quit without giving us notice—wanted to go back to his old job. And there’s no backup, so we were very happy when you applied. We were considering several other candidates, but none with your credentials and law background. Marvin wanted to snap you up before you came to your senses.” He chortled again. “Jaime, the lab tech, wanted the job and has been doing some of the dean’s duties for a week, but he was never considered. He has a two-year degree from La Guardia Community College and, well, even for us, that was unacceptable. He just loves standing in, verifying time cards and the like.”
“Time cards?” Dan queried.
“Didn’t Marvin tell you? One of your responsibilities is verifying time cards every week. Faculty must punch in and out to get paid and get docked if they’re even a minute late or punch out a minute early—at least when Jaime checks them. He loves enforcing the docking of time – done in fifteen-minute increments. Someone punches out a minute late, they get docked a quarter hour. Sixteen minutes late, they lose a half hour—and the same with clocking out early.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“I’m afraid not—that order comes from the top and there’s a time clock like the ones used in most factories that everyone needs to punch in—everyone except you, Marvin and me that is. We have one of those in this wing too for the support staff.”
“I’m not docking people fifteen minutes for punching in a minute late. The whole idea of having time clocks for faculty is insulting.”
“Oh, they don’t mind. Only one or two teach as adjuncts at local colleges—the rest are proprietary business school lifers who are used to the grind. It’s the same everywhere—at least everywhere they’ve been.”
“What about you, Bob?”
“Oh, I’m actually a high school English teacher. I have a masters in English and taught for about ten years before coming to work here. Got tired of the grind—and of having to put up with increasingly unruly students that I had no real power to discipline in my classes. This is much nicer, and the pay is fairly comparable with a lot less stress.”
“What’s Marvin’s background?”
“He’s also a lifer—this is his fifth year here and he has been a director in at least two other schools that I know of. He’s a good guy, really. He’s good to work with and you can trust him—at least you can trust him more than anyone at corporate or the other schools.” Bob said, chuckling again.
“I guess there’s a lot of turnaround in his position?”
“Yes. School directors can be as mercenary as the owners of these places. But overall, this is not a bad organization—they’re all bottom-line oriented but will leave you alone as long as you do your job. Your challenge is keeping your teachers and keeping students in line. Part of your responsibility is dealing with problem students—in that your job is not that different from a high school dean’s. But it is not as restrictive, and student issues should not present a real challenge for you. Your teachers can be more of a problem than some of the students—most keep perfectly good order in their classrooms, but others are, well, weak and whiny and will send students to see you because they are unwilling or unable to deal with them themselves. ”
“What are my powers as far as disciplining students or faculty, for that matter?”
“As far as students are concerned, pretty much absolute powers. You can suspend them for a day, a week or a month if they cause problems and they will have to leave. No one will question your judgment on that—unless, of course, you discipline too many and then profits suffer if they don’t come back. But that is very rare—they will all come back, or they will not get their tuition paid for by Uncle Sam and the state, and, in many cases, they also will have their welfare checks taken away if they won’t work or go to school and are able-bodied.” Bob said, earnest, serious, but apparently enjoying the look of incredulity that seemed to blossom on Dan’s face like a rose facing the first rays of the sun.
“What about faculty? Any problems I need to be aware of? What powers do I have to discipline them?” Dan asked, and by this time he began taking notes. He was really grateful for Bob’s candor, though beginning to realize some of the challenges he was going to have to face.
“Well, they’re as mercenary and disloyal as everybody else in this business—if they get a better offer, from another proprietary degree mill or especially from a public school system or a community college, most will bolt. There’s a fair amount of turnover, but frankly, that depends largely on who the dean is and how she or he treats them. Most in my tenure here—and there have been three—you are the fourth in five years—have not been very effective at working with them or making them feel as though they are valued. So, they’re a bit gun-shy. They will expect little from you, and, in return, frankly, you can expect more or less the same from them. They will do their job, almost all will teach their classes regularly and pretty well, but that’s as far as it will go. Though I think they will respond well to you—I just have a feeling.”
“What do you mean?” Dan asked.
“Well, you obviously give a shit, and it shows—and they will notice that. Just give them a little time.”
“Thanks, Bob” Dan said, glad for the sentiment but still processing what he was hearing. The unforeseen challenges before him were beginning to look daunting. But he was not afraid of a challenge—like most naïve folks who feel everything is going just fine until the very moment they step right into the abyss. “But I have no experience at this, and it is becoming clear I’ll face challenges I was completely unaware of until now.”
“Don’t worry, Dan. I know you’ll do fine. We’ve had several very experienced burnouts on the job who failed miserably at least one of whom was nearly tar and feathered before finally getting a hint and moving on. Inexperience is something you will quickly overcome. You have the right tools and attitude, and you will win at least most of them over I think pretty quickly. At least they will respect your background and the fact you have some real credentials unlike their last dean. Keep in mind that they have no tenure, no union and serve largely at your pleasure. Most of them like their jobs, and this is a better place than most in this industry. They will depend on you for their livelihoods and though you do not have the power to give them raises or lessen their teaching loads, you can make a great deal of difference in their quality of life here and in how they are valued. If you are fair with them, they will quickly learn to appreciate you.”
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Bob. I appreciate your honesty. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Dan. I suspect we’re going to get along very well.”
“One question, Bob. I know that classes here start at 9:00 a.m. and go on until 10:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. What is the expectation for my being on site? I’m responsible for day and evening classes, but obviously I’m not going to be able or willing to be here thirteen hours a day.”
At this Bob finally fully laughed out loud rather than merely chuckling. “No, Dan, you are expected to be here regularly, but the schedule is largely up to you. Most of your predecessors worked 35-40 hours a week—including lunch. You set your own schedule—Marvin won’t care, as long as classes run smoothly and are covered when needed due to absences. You should always give faculty a free period in addition to their noon lunch break staggered so you always have at least one faculty member free every period to call on if one of them is out sick. They know they have to cover for each-other, and absenteeism is really not something that has been a problem here. They don’t get paid if they don’t work, so they always show up, unless they are really sick of have a personal emergency. Also, if they don’t show up regularly, they get fired quickly by the dean with Marvin’s blessing. They know to call the receptionist if they are not able to make any class. She then has a student worker get in touch with faculty who are free at the required times that day to tell them they need to cover a class. They are pretty good at arranging these things in advance other than in real emergencies, so it should seldom involve you directly. Because we have their lesson plans in advance, they can easily cover for one another or give an impromptu assignment for them to work on from their books.”
“If I’m free and it’s a light day, can I cover their classes if I want to?” Dan asked.
“You can do whatever you want. But be careful--being too solicitous can backfire. Most of your teachers are fairly conscientious, but not all. If you’re willing to cover for them, some will likely take unfair advantage. That is at least my guess, though I can’t say for sure as no previous dean has been willing to teach any classes to my knowledge.”
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Bob. Can I take you to lunch next week when I get back here? Just my way of saying thanks, and I’d like the company, as well as an idea of where one can safely eat around here.”
“Sure, Dan. But we’ll do this often—no need to spring for lunch.”
“Fine, but the first one’s on me—we can split the bills after that. OK?”
“You bet. I look forward to it, Dan.”
After that, Bob gave Dan some additional papers, including Bob’s card with the address of the Manhattan school scribbled on the back and the school’s main number, along with Dean Howard Green’s name as his 9:00 a.m. appointment. Bob then went over the details of the pension and health plans (both were actually quite generous), and Dan was done with his first day shortly thereafter.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kzhlSaF6G
