Farvardin: Beyond a business card

The more I think about it, the more I believe the only things saving Provost Nariman Farvardin and other administrators from undergoing a complete credibility collapse are their business cards. Along with tie-clips and graying hair, business cards are supposed to denote professionalism and trustworthiness. Students are not supposed to call people with business cards liars. People with business cards do not lie.

And yet, we know this to be untrue. I'm sure Bernie Madoff had a business card that would have made Patrick Bateman jealous and so did all of his criminally corrupt friends who pushed the nation over the edge into financial crisis. It's not just students who fail to see past a title — America's unwillingness to halt the myriad abuses of former President George W. Bush's administration came down, in large part, to the fact that a lot of people could not believe a president could do some of the things he did. We live in a world where the biggest threats to our collective security and prosperity come from those people we've been taught to trust.

Here at the university, our administration, especially the provost, has clung to informational asymmetry and the university community's good faith in order to preserve some semblance of authority. At the University Senate meeting almost two weeks ago, Farvardin once again contradicted himself. After first claiming former Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity Cordell Black was removed for budget reasons, he reversed his statement in a meeting with me and other students as well as to Channel 9. Now he's back to saying it was a budget cut while refusing to disclose the finances behind the decision. Whenever anyone points out a discrepancy in his statements, Farvardin chalks it up to a "misunderstanding" — which means he doesn't have to explain himself because he's the provost.

At the senate meeting, I asked Farvardin to publicly release all budget documents he was using in order to make cuts. He said the budget students posted earlier this year was the most complete document and the one he used — before saying he didn't understand a word of it. The faculty in the front of the room laughed, but I'm not sure I get the joke.
The provost of the university just said he didn't understand the document he's using to cut people's jobs, and faculty members think it's a gas. I guess the assumption is, unless the building is falling down, those in charge must be doing at least an adequate job.

It is easier to trust administrators. Trusting the driver means being able to sleep in the back seat, and it sure is comfy back there. That incentive structure leaves it hard to make people realize the driver is drunk on budget-cutting authority and is systematically mowing down humanities programs and crushing resistance within his office. The university community — and that means you, too, faculty — needs to be willing to believe someone could become the provost of a major public research university due to his ability to bring in research money and not have any regard for liberal education. It's about time we all wake up and grab the wheel.

Malcolm Harris is a senior English and government and politics major. He can be reached at harris at umdbk dot com.