In 1997, Hector Hammerly set down a long list of characterizations of university administrators. Below are ten of them.These administrators, Hammerly said:
- Put their pants on one leg at a time, like everybody else, but think it would be demeaning to acknowledge it;
- Know as much about planning, budgeting, human relations, and conflict resolution as a pit bull;
- Have "zero tolerance" for others and total tolerance for themselves;
- Listen to professors attentively and graciously, like a cat listens to a canary;
- Believe there's no need for any democratic nonsense between rubber-stamp ballots;
- See "leadership" as looking down upon, sitting on top of, and stepping all over;
- Always support each other against those they fancy their "enemy" — faculty, staff, and students, no less;
- Have policies for every conceivable situation and regulations for every conceivable activity, but ignore them all when convenient;
- Are power-addicted, fairness-innocent, apology-challenged, and freedom-averse;
- Cow faculty members into not helping each other — which would be the professors' only hope for shaking off the yoke.
And, we had an anonymous contribution for number 11:
11. Establish and maintain a network of informants amongst the staff to not only report on dissenters but also apprentice as future administrators.
Do we have any contributions for number 12?
