tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post8059514756921221514..comments2023-12-23T04:56:29.702-05:00Comments on Ferule & Fescue: Perhaps you should talk to my friend, Sallie MaeFlaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-76917465017801572382007-10-06T20:47:00.000-04:002007-10-06T20:47:00.000-04:00I think targeted donations are best particularly f...I think targeted donations are best particularly for institutions that just seem to be accumulating a war chest - like Harvard.<BR/><BR/>So I usually give my little pittance to my undergrad major department and ONE of my grad major departments. The other one gets nothing.<BR/><BR/>As an impoverished academic you can always sidestep such requests by saying that you give at the office. <BR/><BR/>Sallie Mae is nice, too. <BR/><BR/>Ciao, BonzoMr. B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02067666077743889680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-79516194058743495192007-10-05T18:26:00.000-04:002007-10-05T18:26:00.000-04:00Interesting. The less money my employer pays me, ...Interesting. The less money my employer pays me, the more likely it is to be successful in the long term. If I can make them pay me a ton, it is more likely to go out of business, thus costing me my job.<BR/><BR/>Somehow, this tragedy of the commons-esque problem has never made me feel guilty for my salary, and you won't find me asking me boss to cut my pay.<BR/><BR/>I tend to agree that choosing to spend one's time working in academia is your "donation," and that it is unnecessary to give back part of your salary to your employer, any more than it is with any other industry.<BR/><BR/>However, I certainly agree that it seems reasonable to make a token donation if that will help the school in its fundraising goals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-86585767825520942442007-10-05T17:14:00.000-04:002007-10-05T17:14:00.000-04:00Funny, I just got an alumni solicitation from my g...Funny, I just got an alumni solicitation from my graduate institution as well. Of course I have been getting them ever since I was awarded my masters degree from there, i.e., for years while I was STILL A STUDENT (and paying tuition for part of that time). I do sort of have warm fuzzy feelings about the university (that started right around when I graduated), but the title of your post says it all for me. <BR/><BR/>I also got hit up by the university where I worked as an adjunct. I don't understand asking employees (particularly the lowest paid, but really just in general) for money. Haven't we all already demonstrated our commitment and made our contribution by working there? I don't get why this would be a factor for alumni donors either.life_of_a_foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05427532203981697246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-42368942181573763742007-10-05T16:40:00.000-04:002007-10-05T16:40:00.000-04:00Belle & others:Yes, I get hit up by RU, too. At fi...Belle & others:<BR/><BR/>Yes, I get hit up by RU, too. At first I just laughed and threw the stuff away, but then a colleague explained that many organizations and individual alums look at the percentage of faculty/staff giving as evidence of employee commitment to the institution when making their OWN gifts. And since it's just about the percentage who give *something*, I now have exactly $1 taken out of my paycheque every two weeks. (And honestly, it makes more sense to me to support RU, since its overall institutional health directly affects both me and my students!)<BR/><BR/>And Fretful:<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't rule out the possibility of giving money to INRU's English Dept, in the event that they were seeking it for a specific project, event, or facility (I don't believe they ask alumni for money--most funding decisions at INRU are made on a grad-school-wide basis). And I may EVEN, someday, start giving money to INRU again in my capacity as an undergraduate alumna, since I can earmark 100% of it for organizations like the marching band. But the <I>Graduate School</I>? A cold day in hell.Flaviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17832765671541392835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-60509947480132663022007-10-05T16:21:00.000-04:002007-10-05T16:21:00.000-04:00I do, in fact, have warm fuzzy feelings for my gra...I do, in fact, have warm fuzzy feelings for my graduate <I>department</I>, but no particular loyalty to the institution as a whole (which, as far as I can tell, would rather support basketball than English). Any contributions I make would go to the English department, not the school. (And there won't be any for a while, seeing as how I'm a dirt-poor VAP and anything I can afford to donate will go to my undergrad institution, which has recently lost a ton of money in alumni donations because the president decided to do what was right rather than what was popular.)Fretful Porpentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165078003123517013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-59425283533548788412007-10-04T22:25:00.000-04:002007-10-04T22:25:00.000-04:00I just received such a letter from the place that ...I just received such a letter from the place that employs me. Apparently it is not enough that I teach their students - I should be helping to fund them too. Ooh, I sound all bitter and twisted and I don't mean to. But the letter really guilt tripped me and made me seriously consider donating, even though having moved a great distance to start my job here and not being long out of grad school I really don't have much cash to spare. Does this happen to anyone else? I'm from a culture where this kind of philanthropy isn't at all common - and therefore neither are the guilt-trippy letters.Fifi Bluestockinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16397767933724126421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-60435849470657600832007-10-04T22:24:00.000-04:002007-10-04T22:24:00.000-04:00I get hit up by my current place. They even offer ...I get hit up by my current place. They even offer to save me trouble with a monthly deduction from my paycheck. I believe depts with a 50% contribution rate are entered into a raffle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-65512701337030797862007-10-04T21:56:00.000-04:002007-10-04T21:56:00.000-04:00I agree; few people I know have warm fuzzy feeling...I agree; few people I know have warm fuzzy feelings for their grad institutions. I do (for #3 only), but would never give them money. <BR/><BR/>Has anyone else been hit up by your present institution? Every year we get this appeal for contributions to demonstrate our own support for the place we teach... My routine answer is that I'm already subsidizing by accepting a lower-than-comps salary. Doesnt' stop the appeals.Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10849272391043604637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-44793010520330989432007-10-04T21:40:00.000-04:002007-10-04T21:40:00.000-04:00And by "that" institution, I mean mine, not yours....And by "that" institution, I mean mine, not yours. Just wanted to clear that up. :)phd mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16708857060614302495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-63516849704837642342007-10-04T21:33:00.000-04:002007-10-04T21:33:00.000-04:00Amen, sister! You will never convince me to donat...Amen, sister! You will never convince me to donate to that particular institution. Graduate school holds no nostalgia for me; it was indeed brutal and those memories are best left to disappear into the mists of time. My undergrad? I loved it. My pittance isn't going to make a dent in their coffers but I'll happily write that check every year.phd mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16708857060614302495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27054305.post-86228902782057802122007-10-04T20:16:00.000-04:002007-10-04T20:16:00.000-04:00THE WONDER OF LEARNING.Hmm. I do wonder about lear...THE WONDER OF LEARNING.<BR/>Hmm. I do wonder about learning all the time. But I'm not sure I'd donate money to it.~profgrrrrl~https://www.blogger.com/profile/15280731948424317624noreply@blogger.com