A disgruntled and litigious former employee of Dakota State University has been pushing me to make blog hay out of two big resignations at DSU. I indulge said disgrunt.
On October 22, the Board of Regents made the sudden and surprising decision to promote its placeholder pick David Borofsky to permanent president at DSU. Since then, my blog neighbor and current DSU prof John Nelson has reported the resignation of two big women on campus. Dr. Kari Forbes-Boyte (who was nice enough to employ me as a tournament director and teaching assistant) announced on November 30 that she is quitting as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Yesterday, Dr. Cecilia Wittmayer announced that she is resigning her position as Vice President for Academic Affairs. Both resignations are effective June 2013.
My disgruntled correspondent alleges these resignations signal some sort of shake-up at DSU. I might enjoy manufacturing some scandal here... but these two data points hardly a story make. Wittmayer is ready for retirement. Dr. Forbes-Boyte isn't even leaving; she intends to stay at DSU to teach geography and cultural anthropology (wait: DSU teaches that?). If the Borofsky appointment signaled some dark change, I doubt an unhappy dean would stay on the ship.
The timing of the resignations so soon after the Borofsky appointment might appeal to those who must see self-affirming patterns where there are none. But people change jobs all the time. And, unlike my ax-grinding source, some people get to change jobs on their own terms. Such appears to be the case with Drs. Wittmayer and Forbes-Boyte.
"resignation of two big women on campus"....or: the resignation of two women big on campus?
I give you this Cory. You are no fun in the conspiracy theory department. So who shot JFK and why?
I already know your answer. Sigh.
BMOC—BWOC!
If I learned anything from The X-Files, it's that conspiracy theories distract us from what's really going on.