It IS sad.  I went to law school at Chicago and it really is that kind of
place.  Too bad more of us can't teach in such places where faculty and
faculty values are foremost.

On Thu, 21 Jan 1982, John Blackburn wrote:

> the question below reminded me of something that i observed here at ohio
> state university...
>
> a few years ago  i was at a member of our university's steering committee,
> which included our provost, who at that time was a man by the name of
> richard sisson, who had come to osu after having risen through the ranks to
> become a high level administrator at ucla... like many administrators,
> sisson liked to tell us unenlightened faculty members stories from the
> outside world to let us know what was really happening in the world...  on
> this occasion he told us that he had just finished a visit to the
> univeristy of chicago as part of an accreditation team... he said that when
> asked by the accreditation committee to identify the customer, the people
> at the university of chicago replied that it was the faculty... that the
> culture of the university of chicago reflected the belief that without a
> great faculty you cannot have a great university... i was somewhat
> disappointed to see that at the end of a long career, our  provost related
> this story with an expression on his face that showed that, to him, the
> notion was one that filled him with surprise and wonder...
>
> john blackburn
> ohio state university
>
> At 05:08 PM 2/25/00 -0500, you wrote:
> >With tongue firmly lodged in cheek, I'd say the President
> >misunderstands manufacturing and supply chain management. He
> >or she cannot tell the customer from the raw materials or the
> >finished product. Not a good sign in a Prez.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Date sent:             Fri, 25 Feb 2000 12:27:33 -0800
> >Send reply to:          "Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk"
> >                <[log in to unmask]>
> >From:                   Keith Maxwell <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject:                customer friendly?
> >To:                     [log in to unmask]
> >
> >ALSBers,
> >
> >The quuestion below was aked on another list I subscribe to. (It is a list
> >of mainly liberal arts professors). How do you react to this?
> >
> >Keith
> >
> >>What do you think of a university president who surveys students with the
> >>following message.
> >>"One of my goals as president is to make the university more customer
> >>friendly. ______ University exists for the purpose of helping you succeed in
> >>life. (read that as get a job). Please take the time to complete this
> >>customer satisfaction survey. It is patterned after surveys done for
> >>businesses interested in meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
> >>Results will be used to prioritize efforts to improve the university."
>