The End of Department Chairs at Xavier

Today I am the Chair of the Theology Department at Xavier University of Louisiana. But as the first Summer Session ends on Monday, there will no longer be a Chair of Theology. Instead, all of the Humanities (Theology, History, English, Languages, Art, Music, Philosophy = "THE LAMP") will be grouped into one Division. They will be led by the Division Chair, and each department will be led by a "Departmental Head." For Theology, that will be my friend Mark Gstohl starting in the Fall semester. He will have less release time and benefits, as well as less prestige with the position, than previous Departmental chairpersons.

Why are we doing this? I am not clear. The answers have varied over the past year. At times it was about budget, other times it was about synergy, sometimes it was about the future of education and Lumina as well as SACS, our accrediting agency. We were told that Berea would be our model, but it seems clear that faculty at Berea are pretty upset about their restructuring. But at Berea, faculty voted for the change and they got to vote to decide who would be the Division Chairs. Faculty at Xavier were not allowed to vote for either of these important decisions. We are told that once we see how this works next year, and experience governance from this business model of efficiency with true leaders, that we will embrace the change. I am skeptical but will try to keep an open mind as this moves forward. Several employees in academic support positions lost their jobs earlier this year. So far no tenured faculty have been let go, but many speculate that vacated positions won't be renewed. Times are rough from here in the trenches of higher education. Universities are getting less and less support from federal and state levels. Tuition has gone way up, enrollments have gone down. I very much love my job, my school, my students and the mission of my university. I just need to survive these turbulent times in hope that things get better, or at the very least, that things don't get worse.

Chalcolicious

This is the summer of the mighty Marj Rabba. 

I am heading there in early July with Gilgamesh and two of my brightest Xavier students: Melissa Nguyen and Alexis Parker. Leading the excavation are my two friends Dr. Yorke Rowan (Oriental Institute) and Dr. Morag Kersal (DePaul University). 

Marj Rabba is a Chalcolithic site in the hills of Galilee located near Karmiel, halfway between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee. 

As most of my professional field work has focused on the Bronze and Iron Ages, I've been reading quite a bit about the Chalcolithic period to get prepared. It's a fascinating time, dating to around 4500-3500 BCE, and it's arguably the beginning of the modern industrial world given the amount of craft specialization that develops. It's a transitional time period marking the end of prehistory, and with writing developing in the subsequent Early Bronze Age, the Chalcolithic period is literally the dawn of history. The name Chalcolithic was coined by William Albright, with chalco referring to copper and lithic meaning stone. So it's the Copper/Stone age. I've worked quite a bit with copper production sites in the Feinan region of southern Jordan. I don't plan on seeing any copper though this summer. Marj Rabba is sort of like Nebraska. As Drs. Rowan and Morag wrote in their field report, "the lack of exotic materials or evocative iconography, suggest a relatively self-sufficient village of agro-pastoralists with a mixed farming economy and only limited exchange beyond the immediate hills of Galilee."

Elsewhere, the Chalcolithic period in the Southern Levant is famous for exotic materials and evocative iconography. Some of my favorite ancient figures are big nosed faces carved into basalt. They're common in the Golan region. Here's one:

This reminds me of a few of my wife Therese's uncles, as they have giant noses. Another famous image is this clay seated woman, naked of course, with a butter churn on her head. It's from a religious pilgrimage site at Gilat. 

Notice the red stripes. I'm thinking this would make a great Mardi Gras costume. These artistic designs both highlight the nose but don't incorporate the mouth. My theory is that before writing, people didn't have much to say. I'm curious if they even bothered to give each other names. They probably just called everyone "Uggghhh."

The major debate concerning the Chalcolithic period is the level of social complexity. People argue about a shrine at En Gedi near the Dead Sea. Was it ministered by a priest or a shaman? Those who claim that the social complexity was deep and that major cultures such as the one found at Teleilat Ghassul were widespread argue it was a priest. Those who don't see the social complexity as deep and the Ghassulian culture so widespread instead claim it was a shaman. I really don't think I care too much about that. But I am looking forward to working with this project at Marj Rabba. 

He Stopped Loving Beer Today

When I die, I'll need someone to sing this at my funeral:

He said I'll love you 'til I die

Beer told him you'll forget in time

I watched the years pass slowly by

Beer still preyed upon his mind

He kept a cold one by his wall

Got half drunk now and then

But he still loved beer through it all

Hoping he'd never run out again

They found some Dixies by his bed

Dated 1992

He had written out in red

Damnit beer I love you

I went to drink beer with my friend today

Oh but I didn't see no tears

He was all dressed up to go away

First time I'd seen him without a beer

He stopped loving beer today

Friends poured 40 ouncers on the ground

Soon they'll carry him away

He stopped loving beer today

(Spoken)

You know beer came to see him one last time

Oh, we all wondered if beer would

And it kept running through my mind

Well, this time he's over beer for good

(Sung)

He stopped loving beer today

They placed some beers inside his door

And soon they'll carry him away

He stopped loving beer today

Decision Day on May Day

Today is May 1, which is not only May Day, but it is also "Decision Day" as high school seniors across the country finalize their university choice. My daughter Kalypso in the end decided to go to the school hated most by people in Louisiana: the University of Alabama. As Kalypso is a National Merit Scholar, they recruited her heavily to be in their Honors College. She believes she wants to study Mechanical Engineering. To me what she majors in is of no concern. I'm just happy she's got such a great opportunity in front of her. Me, I was not mature enough at 18 to succeed in something like an Honors College. We wish her luck. The first year will be especially challenging. I'm thankful that it's not too far away, and there is an Amtrak train that runs daily between Tuscaloosa and New Orleans.

Enkidu the Flying Bulldog

We have three awesome dogs, the newest one is Enkidu. When we bought him we thought he would traverse in two dimensions. Turns out he can fly.

Higher Education in Louisiana

According to U.S. census data,  just 21.1% of adults over the age of 25 in this state have acquired a college education, the 5th lowest rate in the nation. Louisiana's flagship university, LSU, is sinking under the leadership of Governor Bobby Jindal. U.S. News and Word Report ranks the school 134th, down 10 points from just last year. Since Jindal first term in 2008, the state budget to LSU has been cut by more than $625 million, or 44%. Faculty salaries have been frozen for four years, and tuition has increased from $5000 for residents in 2008 to the current rate of $19,500, and it's expected to rise dramatically next year. My daughter, a high school senior with high grades and test scores, could attend LSU for free, but she is wisely looking at other schools, most of them out of state. Louisiana is poor, and more than 40% of our students receive need based Pell Grants. But these have been cut dramatically over the past decade. I've seen it first hand with declining student numbers at Xavier. Congress cut summer Pell Grants as well as the number of eligible semesters. This hit the South and minorities especially hard. When I went to school, Pell Grants covered nearly all of the costs associated with my education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. That's sadly not the case anymore. The American Dream, where even the poorest could make a better financial life for themselves through education, is now statistically a myth.

Would You Teach This Student?

Here is a picture of my 17-year-old daughter Kalypso.

For wearing this outfit, she was pulled out of all of her classes at Lusher Charter High School and she spent the day in the dean's office doing nothing but sitting in a chair and contemplating her poor behavior. She was also prevented from attending her college credit French class at Tulane University. She was supposed to go to detention this afternoon and again miss her French class. I told her to skip the detention and go to her class. I'm fully aware that there is value in learning to navigate through situations where difficult people throw up hurdles. So there are three months left in her senior year, and she has learned a valuable lesson in that someone at Lusher prefers jeans. This all reminds me of why I hated high school. I loved college though. Hope she does too. 

Black History Month Convocation

Every February my university gets together to celebrate Black History Month. Here is the cover of the program:

Malcolm X, MLK, Rosa Parks, the Obamas, Louis Armstrong, Maya Angelou, Frederick Douglass, all great choices. Even the speaker, Congressman Cedric Richmond, good choice, though I was confused with his speech about the difference between thermometers and thermoses.

But Oprah (TM)? Really? For putting her face on her own magazine? For unprecedented narcissism? For her forgettable role as Sofia in The Color Purple? For crying when authors she blessed with sales lie to her? For killing her dogs? For her bizarre relationship with Stedman? My school must be hoping that they can cash in on some of that sweet Oprah (TM) money like Spelman. Anyway, nothing against Oprah (TM) as a human. I don't view her as a person, but as a corporate entity that will by nature do anything it can to promote itself and gain more money and fame.

Muses Shoes and Life

We had a great time at the Muses parade last night. It reminded me of how much I love living in New Orleans. Thanks to archnemesis Adrastos and his lovely wife Dr. A for hosting the annual shindig. After much screaming and general shoe whoring, I was the fortunate recipient of these three beauties:

This one in particular is my favorite. 

It shows a demonic Ozzy Osbourne dark lording over the fiery pits of shoe hell. So you're thinking it was my general good looks that scored this prize? Nope. It's a strange story actually. I went to high school in Omaha with someone named Greta Olson, now Greta Olson-Landis. I last saw her 30 years ago. Through facebook she mentioned that she had an artist friend in New Orleans named Erika Goldring, and that Erika was riding in Muses. Greta said that Erika makes awesome shoes that are musician themed. So I set it up where I am going to scream "GRETA!" a la Stanley Kowalski at float seven, sidewalk side, to the last rider. And it all paid off. Sure, through this networking I have sunk further then imaginable into the bowels of shoe whoredom, but I think in the end the incredible awesomeness of said Muses shoe outweighs all of the moral issues.

Little Free Library

We are excited to announce that we have a Little Free Library in front of our house. People are free to take a book or leave a book. Neighbors have been great about keeping it stocked. Many thanks to Mark Gstohl for building and installing it. Therese now is looking for an alligator to adorn it, as the library sort of looks like a Cajun Cabin.