--- Forwarded Message from Judy Shoaf <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 15:12:49 -0500
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum    <[log in to unmask]>
>From: Judy Shoaf <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #6509.3 Lab Director/Coordinator/pecking order? (!)
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>

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>
>I imagine that nomenclature is treated so differntly in different
>places that what is important is how the position is treated and how
>you are treated in the position.  My title is "Director", but I gave
>myself the title (and it seems to be the most common for what I do).

Ha! I did the same thing, but at the invitation of my supervisor when I 
started the job. He said I could call myself a manager or a director, 
whichever I wished.

After I got used to being an administrator, I began to realize that 
although the job advertisement said "Manager, Language Learning Center" the 
actual personnel-department name for my position was "Educational Media 
Co-ordinator." And I found that being a Director of a Center is something 
pretty carefully defined by the university administration. Although the 
rooms I run are called the Language Learning Center, they don't have the 
particular privileges accorded an actual Center with which senior faculty 
are associated, etc.

More recently I discovered that another supervisor (successor to the first) 
actually lists himself as Director of the Langugage Learning Center 
although he rarely set foot in the labs, did not know my lab assistants' 
names, and had no idea how anything actually worked. (The previous 
supervisor knew enough to train me, in a basic way, at least.) Apparently 
the de jure Director is the supervisor of the de facto director.

To go back to the original question, the language labs used to be part of a 
campus-wide unit that handled AV and has gobbled up a lot of the IT on 
campus. They were a good outfit in general but there were tensions, 
computing policy conflicts etc. with College IT.  I decided it was better 
to belong to the College simply because it meant only one set of cooks was 
stirring the soup. I have a supervisor who seems to consider it his task to 
make my life a little easier if he can, but I officially answer to the 
heads of the language departments. I like Bob's comment about collecting a 
lot of faculty support--

My transfer and promotion made me, by official title, Assistant In. I find 
that metaphysically satisfying.

Judy Shoaf
Language Learning Center
University of Florida