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Show James Fletcher is leaving the U. An ivory tower can't get him as close to the moon as a NASA rocket. The condition in which he leaves the University of Utah is worthy of consideration. When Fletcher came, the structure of the Administration was roughly pyramidal-President Olpin ran a one man operation and had an eye in every corner. There was good vertical flow, both of information and of decision, but horizontal communication was limited and often snarled by a classic Peter Principle hierarchy. President Fletcher initiated departmental autonomy, giving each department head a greater degree of freedom to deal with his own affairs, and delegated as much administrative function as possible (carefully maintaining his own authority to make over-riding decisions, however). Horizontal information flow improved, but leeway of action superimposed on the old administrative stepladder encouraged establishment of petty bureaucratic domains. The net result of increased autonomy was more bureaucratic redtaping, with ambitious administrators using their power to influence the structure rather than just do the job. It was not new to do so, just somewhat easier. At the same time, infighting made dynamic horizontal communication a reality by forcing makers to be more aware of one another's function. During President Fletchers term of office, the University has crashed into the problem of modern mass education full force. Departments have grown, split, improved, been rehoused, changed emphasis, altered requirements and adapted to handle ever-increasing numbers of students. Standards have gone down, so that a student can spend four years obtaining a degree and learn very little. Prices have gone up, due both to the cost of processing degrees in bulk and to rising general costs. The taxpayer has born much of the increased cost of higher education, but tuition increases have changed the living style of average students-an average student must work as well as study-which has forced academic standards down even further. Perhaps our next President will put learning back into educational process. A.C. EMERY, ACTING PRESIDENT F. MARTIN ERICKSON EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 97 PARRY D. SORENSON PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANT |
