Dear Local Friam members,
What follows is personal answers to the personal questions I took into the Task
Force Meeting on Monday. I am sorry it is not better than it is. I had
wanted to write something less personal, more authoritative, but I ran out of
time.
WHAT IS THE GOVERNORS TASK FORCE?
A group of educational heavy hitters in the state plus some local stake
holders. Press release describing the Task Force is at
http://www.governor.state.nm.us/press/2009/march/032409_01.pdf
Its goal is to do something about the hole [sic] that the collapse of CSF
will leave in Santa Fes economic, cultural, and intellectual life.
I was struck by the quality of this state wide group and by their dedication to
the well-being of Santa Fe. But they have very little time. Their report is
due in two weeks. And, more importantly, the human resources of the College
are being disbanded at warp speed as we speak.
WHAT HOLE? I THOUGHT CSF WAS ALREADY PRETTY MUCH MORIBUND!
This situation is much more hopeful than I thought. CSF as an institution may
be doomed but some of its units
those having to do with the arts and
technology
are very lively, have excellent facilities, and, in some cases,
making a healthy profit. The problem is that the College has an
insurmountable debt obligation which is dragging down the healthy units. How
do we separate the healthy units from the debt? How do we find a fair market
value for the CSFS troubled assets? Sound familiar? Where is TARP when we
need it?!
ISNT THAT WHAT BANKRUPTCY IS FOR?
Well, ideally yes. And this may be the only way out. But remember, a
bankruptcy judges responsibility is to the creditors, not to the wellbeing of
the City of Santa Fe. Unfortunately, some of the assets on the campus are
secured separately, so that one creditor might get off with some crucial piece
of the campus, leaving only a non-viable residue. There is no guarantee that
bankruptcy will result in the highest and best use of the campus.
I THOUGHT HIGHLANDS WAS GOING TO BAIL CSF OUT?
Alas, that train may have left the station. Highlands ran the numbers back in
February and figured at that time that they could make a go of it. But at that
point, CSF was still a going concern. Since then, many of the faculty have
left and the students have been pastured out to other institutions.
WHERE COULD THE MONEY COME FROM?
There are three entities with bonding authority that might participate:
Highlands, the Community College, and the City of Santa Fe. All three have
advantages and disadvantages. The legislature might be cajoled into creating a
learning center in Santa Fe where all the higher education institutions in NM
could compete for SF students and resources.
Editorial Opinion: I HATE the learning center idea. It is throwing the
giraffe to the hyenas. Santa Fe needs a Santa Fe-ish solution to this problem.
Santa Fe is a place where people would come to study art, theatre, technology,
government, the environment, anthropology, and all the other things that people
in this city do well. Hence my dream of a City University of Santa Fe whose
job it is to clabbor all the educational resources in the City into a Santa
Fe-ish place of learning.
AT THE TASK FORCE MEETING, A COUPLE OF SPEAKERS OFFERED THE RUMOR THAT ST.
JOHNS WAS SERIOUSLY RETRENCHING. DO I NEED TO ADD THIS TO MY LIST OF WORRIES?
Emphatically, no. St. Johns is in real good shape. Their response to the
economic crisis has been to make a strong effort to hold down tuition costs.
To this end they have reduced non-academic budget by 15 percent and are not
hurrying to fill any open positions. I wish I could say the same of my own
University which seems to be considering unpaid holidays for faculty, and such.
The St. Johns rumor was the result of some terrible headline writing in an
Albuquerque paper summarizing an interview with the President of the College.
Something like St. Johns Slashes Budget. I wish my endowment were down only
19 percent.
WHERE AND WHEN IS THE NEXT MEETING OF THE TASK FORCE?
THIS Friday morning at 10 am. [Yes, during the FRIAM meeting: How DARE
they?!] The meetings are held at the Museums of New Mexico Resources Building
in the Stuart Udahl Room. The building is the first you encounter, on your
right, as you enter the Museums Complex off of Santa Fe Trail. Go into the
main entrance, up the stairway, and turn left at the end of the hall. There is
an elevator just to the right as you enter the building; if you use the
elevator, you will turn right as you leave it to enter the conference room.
SHOULD I ATTEND THE MEETING?
My answer is a qualified, Yes. The reasons to go are that the City of Santa
Fe was NOT represented at the last meeting: they were invited but they just
didnt send anybody, leaving the impression that Santa Fe doesnt give a fig.
Also, the situation is too complicated for the New Mexican to understand: the
more of us who understand what is going on the better .
Reasons NOT to go include a desire on your part to speak your peace. With 30
plus members and a two hour meeting, the Task Force Members have all they can
do to exchange crucial information amongst themselves. They do feel obligated
to take some public comment, but by the time they get around to it, they are
too tired to hear and you are likely to set back any cause you advocate. There
is some hobnobbing before and after the meeting, and perhaps you could
exchange greetings and opinions then. Otherwise, I would expect to speak only
if spoken to.
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University ([email protected])
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
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