6122: Corbett wanting to meet some New York list members face to face.

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

>From Bob Corbett:

Getting used to an entire lifeform of virtual reality is a curious
thing.  Now, in just a couple of weeks I will find myself in New
York City with the hard task of interviewing candidates to take
my job and replace me in the philosophy department here at Webster
University.

It's a sad thing to see this market where nearly 300 utterly
exciting people have applied for this tenure-track position,
and we must reduce that list to 12 by late December. I will go to
the meetings of the American Philosophical Association meetings
in New York and interview those 12, reducing that number to
3 whom we will bring to campus for on-campus interviews in
January.

I won't get to participate in those January final interviews
and the decision itself, since I'll be in Vienna, so the New York
interviews are extremely important to me.  I want a strong 
Existentialist to replace me and the department, none themselves leaning
in that direction, have vigorously supported this, but feel a bit
out of it without my participation.

But, the point of this note is I want to meet with some of the
New York list members.  Do you folks still have that Friday
evening gathering you used to have?  We will finish up our last
interview about 5 or 5:30 on Friday December 29th.  Then I will
be free.  I will be in Manhattan, but I can't remember where.
I rely on my colleagues to get me places, but I know it's
in rather central Manhattan at some hotel or other.

So, if there is such a TGIF gathering you have, may I please
come and get to see faces that go with -- well, not even your
NAMES for goodness sake, but with your E-MAIL address!!!!
It dawns on me that this cyber world is curious in that I
will know the thought processes, values and political positions 
of many of you by e-mail address and not by your own name, if it itself
isn't an alias!!!  I love it.

Please let me know if there is a gathering which I may
join.  I actually could do it on Thursday night if you do
that, rather than Friday.  Again, I should finish up the
day's interviews by 5 to 5:30 PM each evening.

Thanks,  Bob Corbett