Re: Identity crisis

[csjhs@eiu.edu (Jeanne H. Simpson)]

Reporting lines involve two different issues.  One is the matter of
academic prestige and curricular role.  The other is the matter of
funding.  While it is all too clear that faculty value association with
academic affairs, that they value faculty rank, and so on, it is not at
all clear that the best funding position is in academic affairs or in a
department.  

At this institution (admittedly with its own peculiarities), the most
accessible and flexible money is in student affairs.  The writing center,
meanwhile, is housed in the English department, where it is a victim of
trickle-down economics.  On the other hand, the prestige of the
tenure-track faculty status of the writing center director is certainly
important. To faculty.  I rather think that students, like Rhett Butler,
don't give a damn. 

As I said, there are always trade-offs. It is a case of determining what
your priorities are and then pursuing an arrangement that supports those
priorities. There is no perfect, one-size-fits-all model. 

Jeanne Simpson
csjhs@eiu.edu