And meanwhile Cicero in her corner office. Cicero, busy with her mathematico-philosophical stuff. Cicero, flying in and out of America, on her mathematico-philosophical research funding. Cicero, busy with her meeting with higher ups stuff. Cicero, doing whatever she did to keep it all going.
And leaving us to get on with things.
And all the while panning to fuck us over… For how long? Did she always know? Was it in her head all along? A few years, that’s what she gave us. A few academic years. And then … She called us in. A meeting. In her enormous office. A nine in the morning – strangely early.
Someone else was there. A stranger. Some professor. Some high up.
The Head of Organisational Management, Cicero told us, as we thought, in our innocence, What’s Organisational Management? We’d never heard of Organisational Management. We’d never thought about Organisational Management.
The Head of Organisational Management had come over from the new campus – the Organisational Management campus, Cicero told us. We’d only heard vague things about the construction of a new campus. We’d heard only general rumours at what they were building on the demolished Newcastle Brewery site.
The head organisational manager, in Cicero’s office. The head of Organisational Management, addressing us calmly. Asking us things about our work. Polite stuff. General stuff.
And then, the news: the head organisational manager wasn’t here for a social visit. The Head of Organisational Management had come to meet the Philosophy team, before our move to Organisational Management, and to the Organisational Management campus.
And the additional news: Cicero was retiring, and wouldn’t be part of the Organisational Management move. Cicero was leaving the university after her long and distinguished career, and now it would be up to us to carry the flame of Philosophy forward at the university.
Work in Progress 