Ivory Tower Power

Vernon L. Jones

Description

C. S. Lewis has thrilled generations through the World of Narnia. Ivory Tower Power takes a Narnian type view of the world of higher education.

Wherever a person earns a living, there may exist an overreaching hierarchy of power. This hierarchy may be invisible to onlookers outside of the workplace. However, for those who earn a living beyond the veiled shadows of this work world, things are not as congenial as they seem from the outside. It is a culture fueled by privilege for the few, timidity, and an air of untouchability by those who call the shots. Striving to keep the establishment functioning and flourishing are those who achieve but are not valued or rewarded for their loyalty nor for their accomplishments. Ivory Tower Power is a satirical work that pulls back this veil and sheds light on the value of those in an organization who are often overlooked by the hierarchy while keeping the wheels of progress rolling forward. Ivory Tower Power is a fun read about a serious subject.

Sujets

• Vernon Jones
• Dare
• Christian
• Fiction
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 10 juin 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781973659129
• Langue: English

Extrait

IVORY TOWER POWER
Vernon L. Jones


Copyright © 2019 Vernon L. Jones.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
ISBN: 978-1-9736-5913-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-9736-5911-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-9736-5912-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019904385
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 6/4/2019
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Epilogue
About the Author

To the overloaded, overworked, overlooked, and undervalued little guy who:
• strains under the weight of the work while a higher-up takes the credit and glows in the limelight.
• is expected to laugh at jokes that badly miss the mark.
• is expected to be on task behind the scenes but not seen or heard.
• is expected to row the boat but not rock the boat.
• is constantly reminded that as goes the pay grade, so go the privileges.
• may learn the hard way that productivity, loyalty, and integrity may not be rewarded.
• gives respect but may not receive respect in return.
Prologue
T IMOTHY TYLER HAS just finished a home-improvement project that he has been looking forward to wrapping up for more than a year. The work had to be put on hold during Timothy’s ordeal in a clandestine South American research compound. And then there were the months of rest and physical therapy as he recovered from injuries suffered during that venture.
A very tired but satisfied Timothy Tyler is happy to finally be able to declare that there is now room in their three-car garage to park three vehicles. As Timothy sits and places his feet up on a box filled with garage items, his wife appears at the kitchen door with a hand behind her back. Lana is smiling even more than usual.
Timothy thinks, Wow, what a beautiful girl. I sure hit the jackpot with her.
Lana saunters up to her husband and says, “Tim, guess what I came across while I was cleaning the attic.”
Timothy has an empty look on his face.
“By the way, this garage looks great.” She kisses him on the forehead. “Now you can actually park your car inside.”
Timothy replies, “Thank you. I’m sure the attic is in tip-top condition too.” Raising an eyebrow, he asks, “Now what could you have found in the attic that would get you this excited?”
Lana giggles and says, “You’ll never guess.”
“Let’s see, is it bigger than a breadbox? Is it entertaining? Is it valuable?”
“No. It is to me. And I don’t know yet?”
“I give up. Tell me.”
Bringing her hand from behind her back, Lana quickly replies, “Do you remember when you wrote this fantasy animal story?”
Timothy adjusts his eyes. “Yes, I remember that.”
“You used to add a little bit to it here and there. Every time you got frustrated with the way things were going at work, you would add a situation to your little fairy-tale animal story. You said that writing it was therapeutic.”
Timothy reaches for the manuscript. “Yeah, this little document was good therapy for me when I got fed up with petty university politics and bureaucratic red tape.”
Like a child with a new toy, Timothy takes his feet down off the box and begins to open the dusty manuscript. Lana sits on a nearby box and looks on as he begins reading his rediscovered work out loud.
“There, at a beloved institution of higher learning …”
Chapter 1
A T A BELOVED institution of higher learning, President William C. Wolffgang has convened his weekly Monday morning 7:03 cabinet meeting. Soft violin music is playing through the audio system and slowly fades as the meeting begins. “Good morning, to one and all.”
In unison, his cabinet responds, “Good morning, President Wolffgang.”
One cabinet member adds, “Good morning, sir. And may I say that you are certainly looking very presidential today?”
“Thank you, Vice President Brownie Noser.”
“You are quite welcome, sir.” President Wolffgang looks over at his executive assistant while exhibiting an air of superiority and says, “Secretary Polly, please call the roll.”
“Yes, sir,” she replies.
Always prepared to call the official cabinet attendance roll, Pennie Polly proceeds and prepares to place a check by the names of the executive committee members who are present and a capital X by the name of any member with the courage to be absent. Anything short of a serious illness or a multiple-vehicle accident was not an acceptable excuse for being absent. Anyone lacking an acceptable excuse would receive the standard certified letter of reprimand. That letter would then be transferred to their official personnel file in the human resources office.
“Vice President Fetcher?”
“Here.”
“Vice President Lizzard?”
“Here.”
“Vice President Brownie Noser?”
“Here. Ms. Polly, I like your scarf. It brings out the color in your eyes.”
Without pausing, Pennie Polly continues with the roll call. “Assistant Vice President Growler?”
In a loud voice, he replies, “Here!”
“Dean Strutter?”
“Here Ms. Polly. I’m here.”
“Dean Noe-Accounts?”
“Here and accounted for.”
“Dean Whootie?”
“Who here. Who here.”
“Is that a question?’’
“Who no. Who no.”
“Dean Gobble? Dean Gregory Gobble?”
“Here.”
“And Police Chief Brutus?”
“Present.”
Seeing that everyone is present and accounted for, President Wolffgang looks at the meeting agenda and then his cabinet. From his lofty seat of power at the head of his cabinet table, President Wolffgang stares at the faces throughout the room. He intentionally had his chair raised five inches higher than all the other chairs around the table. This is a seat of great influence that he has learned to wield very well over the years like a sharp sword. The university’s chief executive officer has learned the art of quiet manipulation through intimidation. If the elevated seat of power did not do the job, the stare down and artful use of hard vocal in-your-face persuasion usually did the trick. President Wolffgang is one wolf who has gotten used to the habit of getting his way and playing hardball when necessary. He sometimes gets emotionally intoxicated on the fumes of fear he has learned to extract from those who come to this very room. He does this from this very seat at this very table. Creating fear in others reaffirms his sense of power, confidence, and self-esteem. It thrills and fascinates him when he sees his cabinet members trying to avoid the seats closest to his throne of power. Though the cabinet meetings convene every Monday morning at 7:03 a.m. sharp, most cabinet members arrive long before 7:03 to avoid having to sit the closest to the seat that supports the penetrating wolfish glare and stare of their CEO.
Somehow, sitting even a few feet down from his hard gaze seems to make the weekly meetings more tolerable. And seats the farthest down the table are always at a premium. At times, premium seaters have been known to give up their distant seats to later-arriving cabinet members, if the price is right.
The fledging higher education boss has read vastly about past leaders of countries and dynasties who perfected the art of fear persuasion. The idea is to instill fear in the hearts of those who answer to you. Not just a small amount of fear, but a very high level of it. Fear to the point where they are afraid to be in your presence and afraid to see you or hear your voice or even your footsteps. They will learn to recognize your footsteps. Fear to the point of seeing a portrait of you looking at them sends cold shivers up and down their spines and tiny beads of cold sweat down their backs. This president has learned that the eyes can be a source of power or weakness. He learned how to stare with a glare of authority and power, penetrate their very hearts with his eyes to make them afraid to look him directly in the eyes, and break their will with a gaze. The slightest rise in his voice caused them