[The Montana Professor 21.1, Fall 2010 <http://mtprof.msun.edu>]
Richard Walton
Philosophy (retired)
UM-Missoula
We open this fall's issue of The Montana Professor in an unusual way, with a poem by Robert Pack, well known for both his scholarship and his poetry. Your Acting Co-Editor admits, somewhat ashamedly, that this intriguing poem exceeds his interpretive capacity, leaving him bereft of insightful comments, but he appreciates the fine notice given Aristotle, nonetheless. We close the issue in the same genre, with two admirable poems of more local flavor by Jack Jelinski.
We are pleased to be able to continue our Regents Professorship series with a second contribution from Albert Borgmann, Regents Professor of Philosophy at UM-Missoula. Prof. Borgmann is a scholar of international renown, the author of several major books and scores of articles in leading journals. The article which begins on page 3 of this issue, "I Miss the Hungry Years: Coping with Abundance," falls squarely within Prof. Borgmann's area of special interest, technology and its effects on culture. He ingeniously develops an analogy between the over-abundance of food and the deleterious effects of its modes of production and ultimate forms, on the one hand, and the over-abundance of information and its present modes of presentation, on the other. These latter effects, of course, have created problems for those concerned with education.
Which brings us to the topic of Prof. Linda Gillison's contribution to this issue, "Shall We Talk about Quality?" Our intrepid Board of Regents of the Montana University System has again embarked upon a program of transformation of the System, in conjunction with which they have given notice that they would like some faculty advice on "quality" in higher education. Prof. Gillison's thoughtful, well-argued piece is meant to prompt a discussion of that difficult topic. We trust that the Regents' request bespeaks genuine interest so that the efforts expended here and in the conversation we hope to follow will not be wasted. The Regents' qualification of their charge with a version of their familiar refrain about efficiency leaves us with nagging doubts, however.
Prof. Bethany Blankenship surveys portrayals of female professors in American film and finds them generally wanting. We trust that readers will find Prof. Blankenships' accounts of these films interesting and enlightening, and the conclusions she draws from her evidence provocative. Following this venture into the land of cinema Barbara Zuck of MSU-Northern gives of an account of the "Six Hats" method of conducting a discussion. Finally, Robert Swenson, retired Vice-President for Research at MSU-Bozeman, tells us about a most remarkable MSU graduate, Herb Kirk. Mr. Kirk obtained his degree in Art at MSU at the age of 96, but one of his many astonishing achievements. V.P. Swenson seems to think that all MUS retirees should strive to emulate Mr. Kirk. Frankly, it tires me just to contemplate the idea.
We are pleased to offer an especially rich book review section in this issue featuring two lengthy reviews of books which have attracted a great deal of interest in the academic world recently. Our third review covers a work of general interest to Montanans, an anthology of the writing of Norman Maclean, edited by our own O. Alan Weltzien of UM-Western.
For the first time in the history of this journal we failed to receive enough worthy submissions to publish an issue. Rather than lower our standards, or publish a very thin issue of the journal, we simply suspended publication for the spring term, 2010. We very much regret having to do this. We would like to remind our readership that this journal is meant to function as a forum for discussion of matters of general interest to the faculties and academic administrations of the Montana University System. While we receive submissions of articles and reviews from all over the nation, our primary source of materials for publication is that principal audience. If you have an article or book review in mind, please see your campus member of the TMP Editorial Board. A list of members will be found on the masthead page of every issue. Please also take note of the submission guidelines on the inside of the back cover. We would be especially interested in articles about the Regents' most recent interventions in the academic governance of the MUS.
[The Montana Professor 21.1, Fall 2010 <http://mtprof.msun.edu>]