Confessions of a Fugitive Mind
February 08, 2006
It's Out
And now, my thoughts on the announcement...
- The facts are wrong. Amy hasn't announced any new opportunities. But if they said that she was leaving without a new position in place somewhere else everyone would start asking questions only to realize just how bad a situation we've been in. So it's easier to say she's moving on to bigger and better things.
- It is correct in stating that I'm leaving on the tenth. The problem is that the message is dated the eighth. That's right. Just two days before I leave the community. It makes the message less of an acknowledgement of my contributions and more of a slap in the face.
- I haven't heard word one about a contractor coming in to take over maintenance. I don't even know what's going to happen to my students. Nothing has been communicated to me or Amy, so we can't even begin to coach our clients through this transition.
- Tara is getting more props in the message than us. How does that work? I'm beginning to regret saving so many of her projects...
- "...by eliminating technical constraints and delays in updating and maintaining our web presence." What technical constraints? Currently all you have to do to change your Web page is write an e-mail or send a fax to us and we do it for you. And really, I can't call two business days a significant delay for the amount of time and energy it saves departments. But once Amy leaves on February 17, the delay is going to grow exponentially and have a severe impact on the business of the university.
- Back to that contractor... Let's assume that any contractor worth their salt will charge WPI $75 an hour. On a slow week we spend 40 man-hours performing maintenance on a site we know inside and out. Assuming the maintenance load falls, the contractor is quick, and the CMS project takes the projected three months to come online, we'll be spending more than my salary for a year to make piddly little updates to the site for a meager three months. What a wise way to spend money at a university that's still trying to pull out of a budget crisis. And why on earth am I not in this contracting business?
- As William was quick to point out, the announcement doesn't conform to our style guide and identity policies. The word Web isn't capitalized and Web site is smooshed together into website. Very poor form, especially for a message that took almost three weeks to craft.
- I'm exasperated. I knew this was going to be ugly, but I never thought it would be this bungled. Part of me feels bad for the community and the stress our departure is going to put on it, but the rest of me is squealing with glee because I'm getting out of this wreck. It's an unusual confluence of emotions.
Posted by criminal at February 8, 2006 10:40 AM
Comments
Squeal in glee, definitely. You're worth it girl! As for contracting, if you can get healthcare through your husband's job, then I'd say you might want to seriously look into that if you do need work for the future. ;)
I wish you the best this last week of work! And DON'T let them bug you once you're off the payroll!!
Posted by: Ixion at February 8, 2006 06:54 PM