In April, we reported that rumors both on campus and in print were suggesting that Professor Joseph Massad would soon be granted tenure. Now, everyone's favorite tabloid/monitor-of-all-Columbia-controversies, the New York Post, reports (via HuffPo) that Massad has been granted tenure. In an article neutrally-entitled "Columbia Tenures An Israel Basher," columnist Jacob Gershman writes that Columbia "officially -- if quietly -- awarded Massad tenure earlier this month."
Gershman then runs through the many controversies that Massad has been involved in in his time in Morningside, before adding two new plot points. First, he calls Dean of Arts and Sciences Nicholas Dirks a "key ally" for Massad in getting an uncommon--though not unheard of--second tenure review. Second, Gershman alleges that "President Lee Bollinger and Provost Alan Brinkley took extraordinary measures to protect the secrecy of Massad's tenure case and guard against an outcry from Jewish alumni and donors," including shielding the names of tenure committee members from the Board of Trustees.
University spokesman Robert Hornsby did not comment to Bwog, citing the "longstanding policy" of no comment on tenure cases. While no complaints at the faculty level have made their way back to Bwog's ears (yet), several MEALAC students told Bwog in April that, contrary to Massad's first tenure review, far fewer details were leaking about the tenure process, and there appear to be fewer leaks to the media as well. Whatever makes the faculty happy.
- JCD



PrezBo has decided to close the academic year with a less-than-cheery missive about the University's budget. Not surprisingly, the numbers have declined more since January: "For the first nine months of the University’s fiscal year ending on March 31, 2009, the value of the endowment declined nearly 22%, with private investments and real assets valued on the normal one quarter lag as of December 31." But, PrezBo claims, "while hardly good news, my sense is that this constitutes strong relative performance both compared to benchmark averages in the financial markets and university endowments nationally."
Today, a group of faculty members sent
After PrezBo's
Another month, another depressing e-mail about the state of Columbia finances: earlier this evening, President Bollinger sent an email to the Columbia community (which may or may not have reached your inbox at this point) about the state of the endowment, and this time he included actual figures! After spending a paragraph on why "Columbia has maintained its impressive momentum as one of the world's great research universities," PrezBo announced that "during the six-month period ending December 31st, the total return of the University's investment portfolio declined by approximately 15%."
Sex
Let's be honest, Columbia: most of you voted for Barack Obama, and many of you would like to see the swearing in of Columbia's first graduate to reach the Oval Office. Sadly, though, the first day of classes falls on the same day (January 20) as the inauguration, leaving you to wonder "why not give us the day - or at least the morning - off?"
PrezBo had already "conceded that the endowment was down" at
Bwog's received reports that PrezBo was assaulted in Central Park earlier today while jogging. He wasn't seriously injured, as he still participated in tonight's Fireside Chat (coverage of which we'll have in just a moment).
The Fireside Chat, a chance to sort of meet and sort of greet President Bollinger, is offered every semester to the entire undergraduate student body. Only about 30 students are (randomly, with control of the number of students representing each school) selected to attend this quasi-intimate two-hour session in the presidential mansion, at 60 Morningside Drive, which stands like an elegant footman in the behemoth shadow of Wien.
A tipster has just forwarded the following PrezBo Communique to Bwog, in which your President assures recipients that despite the terrifyingly awful economy—PrezBo refers to it as "a landscape largely defined by uncertainty," but a crisis by any other name...—Columbia will be just fine, thank you.