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• The ongoing saga of Albert Romkes is continuing this week. The mechanical engineering professor was denied tenure and is asking a Douglas County District Court judge to overturn the chancellor’s decision not to grant it to him.
I’ve heard from a number of folks on campus about the signs and fliers up all over campus about his situation. Many faculty members, I know, received messages directly.
I chatted on Monday with Romkes ally and associate professor of aerospace engineering Ron Barrett-Gonzalez, who sat in on an engineering faculty senate meeting. Nothing much of import happened there in terms of action, he told me, but he did offer up this choice quote to describe the tension he felt.
“It was as if there were 20 Jedi and Sith, and you could hear the lightsabers humming in their pockets.”
Describing things like that is a good way to get mentioned in Heard on the Hill.
Also worth noting: I’ve heard from more than one person who does not support Romkes’ case for a variety of reasons, after having reviewed some of the voluminous publicly available material in the case. So it’s definitely complicated.
I sent an email to the person who I believe is behind the website kualumni4romkes.org to ask a few questions about how that all came together (which at least one person has asked me about, too) but didn’t get a response on Monday. If I hear back, I’ll let you know.
• I also checked in on Monday with Edward Ellerbeck, who’s serving as the chairman of the search committee to find a new executive dean for the KU School of Medicine.
This is the highest-profile leadership search going on at the moment at KU. Barbara Atkinson, who previously served both in that role and in the role of executive vice chancellor for KU Medical Center.
Ellerbeck told me the committee is hosting Emery Wilson, a former medical school dean at the University of Kentucky, this week to have some discussions with faculty about what the school is looking for in a dean and other issues.
The committee hopes to identify a small number of finalists — about three to five is a rough guess, Ellerbeck said — to forward to the chancellor and Atkinson, who will jointly make the decision on whom to hire. The ads are out there, and Ellerbeck said he’s been pleased with the number of applicants so far, including center directors, department chairs and others.
“We’re looking for people with experience in management,” Ellerbeck said.
The hope is to have someone on campus by the fall.
“I think the time frame is tight,” he told me, but they will be flexible for the right candidate.
• A former KU philosophy professor is the new chancellor of the University of Maine system.
Regular Heard on the Hill readers already knew that James Page, 59, was a candidate. But he’s got the job, and he’ll start on March 20, at a salary of $277,500.
More here at the Maine Campus.
• The Heard on the Hill lightsaber is always humming. Use your Jedi mind tricks on me at ahyland@ljworld.com.
Comments
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4chewnut (anonymous) says…
Andy, has the SOE Dean confirmed that he has used the same "PI" criteria for all profs who have received tenure under his deanship?
ahyland (Andy Hyland) replies…
The dean has said nothing so far... the powers that be at KU haven't said anything beyond their initial statement stating that he was denied tenure "because his research record did not meet the university’s standard."
littlexav (anonymous) says…
Dang! I bet a philosophy grad never expected to make $227k/year...
took_the_money_and_ran (anonymous) says…
Somewhere around here I've got my copy of the memo to all assistant professors of science and engineering that says: "$125,000 a year in annual direct costs or hit the road." What did Professor Romkes think he was getting himself into?
yourworstnightmare (anonymous) says…
I feel for Dr. Romkes. However, at the time of this decision, he had but two $50,000 grants on which he was a co-investigator, not the principal investigator. This record of external funding would not be sufficient for tenure in most KU science and engineering departments, nor should it be.
Apparently Dr. Romkes received a large NSF grant after this decision. It seems his time would be better spent trying to find a new position at another university, to which he could take his new grant.