Sherry Rosenthal, a professor at the College of South-ern Nevada, displays her blog, the CSN Richard Carpenter Watch, named for a former school chief.
Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 | 2 a.m.
Beyond the Sun
English professor Sherry Rosenthal runs a public blog devoted in part to exposing her bosses’ alleged incompetence.
Take this curt but choice two-line entry she posted July 15 about Michael Richards, her college president, and his supporters:
“If the Merry Mikesters were birds what kind would they be?
“Answer: The Dodo!”
Striking again July 30, Rosenthal called another of her superiors “Crybaby Howie.”
Ah, the world of academia.
At some jobs, Rosenthal might have been fired after sharing such thoughts. But Rosenthal, who has been at the College of Southern Nevada for more than 10 years, has earned tenure, which grants faculty members broad protections against dismissal.
At the school’s convocation this week, the outspoken Rosenthal was among employees recognized for lengthy service to the school.
Rosenthal has been writing the blog since December, having taken it over from two people who had operated it anonymously for several months.
One of the former blogmasters had asked Rosenthal via e-mail whether she wanted to take over, and she said yes, thinking it would be good for people to have a place to express their opinions freely.
“I love CSN and I would like the blog to be a place where everyone can feel welcome to say what they would like to say, whatever it is, in a polite, civil and thoughtful manner,” said Rosenthal, who said she would have taken over the blog even if she did not have tenure.
Besides poking fun at administrators, she tries to inspire serious discussion about higher education in Nevada by linking to news articles about state colleges from publications including the Sun, the Review-Journal and CityLife.
She updates the blog more than twice a day on average, keeping visitors apprised of campus happenings through a medley of postings that in the past have included reports on the search committee that selected Richards in the spring, and faculty leaders’ e-mail on issues such as budget cuts.
But the blog, named “CSN Richard Carpenter Watch” after the former college president, is also home to what math professor Stan VerNooy calls “wild conspiracy theories.”
It seems, VerNooy said, that many of Rosenthal’s readers “see a conspiracy behind every appointment, every hire, every decision that’s made” at the college. The blog’s comment sections are packed with vitriol accusing CSN leaders of all sorts of malfeasances, sometimes bizarre, often with little evidence to back up the claims.
Lately, for example, anonymous contributors have been accusing a college vice president of authoring anonymous messages calling Rosenthal “Schleppy Rosenpants.” A CSN spokeswoman said the official does not read the blog and declined to comment on it.
Rosenthal, for her part, has posted entries accusing administrators of giving her bad ratings on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com.
Officials blocked access to the blog on campus computers in October, saying it encouraged violence against one or more administrators. The blog’s former operators reopened it at a new site before handing it over to Rosenthal.
The community college district where Carpenter took a new job also prevented access, but restored it after the district was sued for violating free speech rights.
Judy Stewart, past chairwoman of CSN’s faculty senate, calls the Web site unproductive.
“Action is much more productive than words,” she said. “It’s very easy to complain or cast stones. It takes a lot more work to get out and make a difference.”
In April, during a break in a question-and-answer session with CSN presidential candidates including Richards, Stewart asked Rosenthal whether she wanted to share her concerns with the faculty senate.
Rosenthal declined. Neither she nor VerNooy, the math professor, sees the senate as an effective voice for the faculty. Though senate leaders are elected, both Rosenthal and VerNooy think many are eager to become administrators and are therefore reluctant to criticize higher-ups.
So, to get his voice heard, VerNooy turns to the blog, which Rosenthal said gets about 200 hits a day.
VerNooy said CSN used to allow employees to vent and debate with co-workers via a group e-mail address that delivered messages to many in-boxes. However, since Carpenter eliminated that capability for the rank and file, Rosenthal’s blog “is the best we’ve got,” said VerNooy, who also received a 10-year service award this week.
“Statements and opinions would come out on her blog that would never see the light of day on the official e-mail system,” he added. “So that I think is an absolutely vital service.”
“As much as I think the blog is nonsense,” Stewart said, “I value the fact that tenure protects a faculty member’s ability to do that.”
Stewart and Rosenthal can agree on one thing — neither is interested in the personal attacks that dominate much of the conversation on the online forum.
Rosenthal said that although she cracks jokes about administrators, her intent is not to be mean-spirited but “to encourage a bit less venom and a bit more lightheartedness.”
“I don’t like gossip ... I wish that were not part of the blog,” Rosenthal said. “But on the other hand, do you not publish it if that’s on someone’s mind? And I don’t feel I have the right to do that. I just wish people would get off of that and engage in some more serious discussion.”
On whether that would happen, she said, “I have high hopes but low expectations.”
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