This site was constructed to assist Shimer College alumni and students in understanding the future developments of the College. All information, thoughts, and opinions are welcome. If you'd like to join please email me at saradevil at g mail .
Shimer has recently hired two new facilitators, Daniela Barberis and Adam Kotsko. They will begin teaching in the fall semester. Their respective CVs are quite impressive, and leave little room for doubt that they will be excellent additions to the community. Welcome, Daniela and Adam!
(Adam Kotsko is already known to some Shimerians in his capacity as a blogger, through outlets including An und für sich. It is perhaps unsurprising that a blogger of Shimerian interest would also be vocallyskeptical of the value of blogging in higher education.)
Shimer alums tend to run in fairly erudite circles. Which means that if you're a Shimer alum, there's a good chance that you know some brilliant, thoughtful, well-read, under-appreciated Ph.D.'d person who would be a fantastic Shimer facilitator.
Shimer College, the Great Books College of Chicago, is seeking to fill fulltime faculty positions beginning in August 2011.
Shimer’s academic program features an interdisciplinary core curriculum consisting of courses in the Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. Classes average ten students and are conducted in a seminar format. Shimer faculty members are generalists who are expected to teach in more than one area of the curriculum. The faculty participates extensively in the life of the College outside of the classroom. Shimer is very small (currently 120 students) but growing: enrollment has risen by 65% over the past three years and is expected to continue to increase over the next few years.
Applicants will be considered in any area of the liberal arts.
The Shimer College Assembly, the self-governing body of Shimer College, will assemble on Sunday, November 14, 2010, at 4 PM in the Cinderella Lounge at Shimer. Alumni are non-voting members of the Assembly, and are welcomed and encouraged to attend.
The Assembly will be webcast, in part for the benefit of students in the Oxford program. It will also be livetweeted, commencing at @shimerians and continuing to @samuelhenderson if necessary.
Agenda for the Meeting of the Shimer College Assembly November 14, 2010 – 4 PM
1) Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of September 12, 2010 (prepared by Colleen McCarroll)
2) Committee Report Updates and Questions
3) State of Academic Affairs Address (David Shiner)
4) Elections to Assembly Committees a. Financial Aid Policy ‐ 3 staff members (at least 2 from the faculty), 2 Weekday students, 1 Weekend student (tenure 11‐15‐10 until late Fall 2011) b. Quality of Life Committee ‐ 1 Assembly member (tenure 11‐15‐10 until early Fall 2011) c. Academic Planning Committee ‐ 1 Weekday student (tenure 1‐1‐11 until August 2011)
5) Proposal for an addition to the section on “Powers of the Assembly” in the Constitution of the Assembly (proposed and motivated by Jonathan Timm):
Election of members to any Assembly committee, as well as of representatives to the Board of Trustees, may occur online. Voting on all other matters will only occur in person at Assembly or committee meetings. Members of the Assembly who are not physically present at an Assembly meeting may only vote remotely if they are participating in a remotely located, official Shimer College program.
6) Proposal for an amendment to the “Preamble” to the Constitution of the Assembly (proposed and motivated by Eileen Buchanan and Albert Fernandez):
Current Language:
The Assembly recognizes the Board of Trustees as the ultimate legal authority of the College. Should there arise a conflict between any section of the Assembly Constitution and the By-laws of the Board of Trustees, the By-laws will take precedence. The Assembly recognizes the President as the chief executive administrator of the College. The Assembly recognizes that the College Faculty is authorized to maintain, develop and revise the instructional program of the College. This authorization includes responsibility for curriculum content, degree requirements, recommendation of graduates, college examinations, and academic lectures and convocations.
Proposed Language:
The Assembly recognizes the Board of Trustees as the legal authority of the College. The Assembly recognizes the President as the chief executive administrator of the College. The Assembly recognizes the College Faculty as the academic authority of the College. The Faculty maintains, develops, and revises the instructional program of the College. Its authority includes responsibility for curriculum content, degree requirements, recommendation of graduates, College examinations, and academic lectures and convocations.
The end of a month seems like a good time for another roundup post. Here's what's been going on in the past month, as far as your humble narrator is aware. (Previous summary here.)
The past month - Top news: Seven members of Lindsay's wrecking crew left the Board of Trustees, conveniently matching the number of new alum members who joined in late September. The pro-Shimer majority is, thus, now quite solid. - Shimer Days were held with great success.
A good number of Shimer faculty have been heard from, in print and on the blogs: - Eileen Buchanan and Jim Donovan were published in Substance, Judgment and Education, a volume of papers from the Association for Core Texts conference in 2006. Both papers deal with Shimer's curricular development in response to the "Great Books, Great Art" NEH grant which ran from 2005 to 2007. Eileen's paper is titled "Michelangelo and the Copernican Revolution," although it begins "in reality, this paper is about neither Michelangelo nor the Copernican Revolution." Jim's paper is on "Teaching Scientists to See: A Possible Bridge Between C.P. Snow’s Two Cultures."
NB: No new materials have been added to the public case file for Lindsay v. Shimer College since early September. The case appears to be in a holding pattern.
The following statement was adopted by the Shimer College faculty at their Tuesday meeting (4/13). The vote was unanimous with no abstentions.
Whereas Thomas Lindsay’s unilateral approach to the management of Shimer College has sapped morale and created a climate of fear and mistrust that now pervades the College;
Whereas he has consistently shown a lack of understanding of and respect for Shimer College’s history, traditions, culture, identity, and academic mission;
Whereas he has increasingly acted in opposition to structures of the College, including committees and procedures, written policies, and handbooks;
Whereas his inability or unwillingness to communicate and work with Shimer College’s constituencies is demonstrated by his making major decisions and attempting major changes in the face of overwhelming opposition;
And whereas he has given no credible indication that he will desist from the conduct described or cease attempting to transform the College according to his own plans and without broad support;
The Faculty declares that Thomas Lindsay has done grave harm to Shimer College and imperils its very existence; and, therefore,
The Faculty resolves that it has no confidence in Thomas Lindsay as President of Shimer College.
