I’m an Associate Dean. My life during this season is dominated by creating, defending, adjusting, and then defending again a complex academic calendar. The unworkable puzzle created by several dozen faculty members’ teaching preferences (not all of which are articulated until after they see something that fails to satisfy one or more of their interests) ultimately involves disappointing essentially everyone.
Last year, I got through the season by construing the exercise as a giant multi-party exercise.
This year, our Registrar and I got through the season by watching the following YouTube video (just under four minutes long) over and over until our sides hurt. The views of the video’s protagonist and entourage do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Oregon’s Associate Dean or Registrar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLC7Q3DTzi4
MM
There’s a version of this clip where instead of learning his unfortunate teaching schedule, Hitler receives a “thanks, but no thanks” letter from the Stanford Law Review after submitting his article for publication. Always worth a view during law review submission season.