Saturday, September 8, 2012

And Now for Something Completely Different: The University of Akron's Adhoc Post-Tenure Under-Appreciated Band Composition: "Bored of Trustees"

Penn State and the University of Virginia have been at the center of movements producing changes in the relationships between Board of Trustees and senior administration.  In the case of the University of Virginia, the changes were ignited internally; in Penn State's case the changes were forced from outside. These are serious matters that will re shape post secondary education for a generation.
(Pix (c) Larry Catá Backer 2012)

Now comes the University of Akron's Adhoc Post-Tenure Under Appreciated Band (Steve Aby, Joseph LaRose, and David Witt) to remind us that even the most important subject can be observed from a variety of perspectives, some of them providing a momentary smile in the middle of the serious business of governance.  And so, without more ado I invite you to listen to the mp3 recording of their song, "Bored of Trustees" which may be accessed below.



ACCESS MP3 BORED OF TRUSTEE HERE.

The Adhoc Post-Tenure Under Appreciated Band also performed at the AAUP Summer Institute in 2009. Starring Steve Aby, Joseph LaRose, and David Witt. YOUTUBE RECORDING HERE.

The Band is a trio of academics who were involved in the (successful) unionization movement at the University of Akron. This from their cover page (the band is the Adhoc Post-Tenure Under-Appreciated Band by the way):

"Woody Guthrie, it is said, used to put the following message at the bottom of lyric sheets he handed out to is audiences that read This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright #154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin' it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ours, cause we don't give a darn. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do. ("Pete Seeger remembers Woody" - NPR Interveiw 1996). . Except for the yodeling part, we pretty much agree completely, so here's the lyrics, audio and some video of our music - no charge - we offer these songs up freely to anyone who wishes to try them out, perform them in any setting, or record them - just sing out strong and often. And if you do get a chance to record your songs, we'd love to hear how they turn out! So go make music ... Up the Union - Down with Corporate Slugs!"

Enjoy!

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