Yes, it's April

In a college, crazy stuff always happens in April.  It's only the 16th.  More crazy stuff just happened.  Do I have 2 more weeks of crazy?

Another faculty meltdown.  This time several faculty from another department (natural science) were up in arms about one of our math teachers.  I have never had to deal with this kind of situation before.  Complaints from students, from administration, from student's parents, even from other faculty within the department, but never from other departments.  The science majors do need to take a significant amount of math, so they certainly have a right to voice any concerns they have about math courses and/or teaching.  They talked to me and the dean about their upsets, and the dean and I foolishly thought that if they could have a nice sit-down chat all together with the math teacher in question, all the little differences could be worked out.   Not so.  The dean and I obviously watch too many Disney movies. 

It just so happens that our department secretary works for our department in the morning and the natural science department in the afternoon, so I had a spy.  The above mentioned meeting took place in the natural science offices in the afternoon.  The secretary told me this morning that during that meeting she could hear the shouting through the closed door of the conference room. 

The math teacher talked to me afterwords and seemed to be irritated with the science faculty, but gave no hint about what came a week later.  He sent a 3 page single spaced letter to the school president (bypassing me, the dean, and the provost).  At the end of the letter, he tendered his resignation, effective at the end of the current semester.  All 3 of us (me, dean, and provost) tried to talk him out of it.   Nope.  

So, now, I must do a faculty search with little chance of success.  Few people want to move to this remote and cold state.  Besides, it's really too late in the school year.  But, I must try. 

As soon as I start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, someone brings me more tunnel.