The Shakespeare Requirement

“She left you this.” Ashkir handed Fitger a personalized copy of the faculty meeting agenda:
Welcome back.
You are the chair.
Committee assignments. (Do not allow faculty to change assignments.)
The Statement of Vision.
Other/adjourn.

In Fran’s opinion—not that anyone ever asked for her opinion—it was not a good idea for the incoming chair of a department to be absent during the very first week of the semester, to cancel his first class and his office hours and at least two meetings, and to tell his assistant to say he was sick (he didn’t sound sick) and could be reached via e-mail at home.

Why, why, why, Fran thought. Why was not the right question. At Payne, the only question that could reasonably be answered was what. What was that in the corner of the chair’s office? A broken shredder. Why was it broken? The second question had no response