I listened to this is audiobook format.

This second book in the satirical Payne University trilogy is about the bitter wars between the wealthy Economics Department and the English
Department which is struggling over whether to drop a requirement for majors to take Shakespeare. The bureaucracy and intrigue of an academic environment was humorously captured to the last laugh-or-else-you'll-cry detail. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to complete the trilogy. ( )

"The Shakespeare Requirement," by Julie Schumacher, is an engaging and comical follow-up to "Dear Committee Members." The hapless Jason T. Fitger is chair of the English Department at "midsized, middlebrow" Payne University. Fitger's woes are legion: His office is in disarray. The Machiavellian Roland Gladwell, head of the Economics Department at Payne, is determined to squeeze the English faculty out of its space in Willard Hall. Jason's office has no air conditioning, and his telephone and computer do not work. Jason's irritable assistant, Fran, who is passionate about fostering sick animals, has little patience for Jason's whining. Although Fitger still has feelings for his ex-wife, Janet Matthias, she has moved on and is dating someone else.

Adding to Jason's headaches, the powers-that-be are considering shrinking his department. They claim that, in the twenty-first century, the liberal arts are not as relevant as business, finance, computer programming, and the sciences. In fact, thanks to a hefty infusion of cash from wealthy donors, the second floor of Willard Hall, where Gladwell rules his fiefdom, has been fully renovated and "includes state-of-the-art technology-enhanced classrooms, a fully equipped computer lab, elegant seminar and meeting rooms, faculty offices, and a café."

Schumacher's comedy of errors has sharp descriptive writing and a large cast of eccentric characters. A fossilized professor who has been at Payne for forty-two years, Dennis Cassovan, is horrified when someone suggests that the heretofore-required course on Shakespeare should be discontinued. Others share Cassovan's indignation, and the Bard becomes a cause célèbre. Another subplot deals with first-year student Angela Vackrey, a bright but introverted young lady who, when she gets into trouble, finds support from several unlikely sources. The author's prose is energetic and literate. She skewers hypocrites and blowhards who lack penetrating intellect, genuine humility, and refinement. Schumacher suggests that if a professor wants to get ahead, he must be politically astute and proficient in networking, fund-raising, and self-promotion. Jason T. Figler is a good-hearted fellow, but he will never be one of Payne University's superstars. In "The Shakespeare Requirement," Schumacher entertainingly pokes fun at the bureaucracy, rivalries, and absurdities of academia. ( )

"The Shakespeare Requirement," by Julie Schumacher, is an engaging and comical follow-up to "Dear Committee Members." The hapless Jason T. Fitger is chair of the English Department at "midsized, middlebrow" Payne University. Fitger's woes are legion: His office is in disarray. The Machiavellian Roland Gladwell, head of the Economics Department at Payne, is determined to squeeze the English faculty out of its space in Willard Hall. Jason's office has no air conditioning, and his telephone and computer do not work. Jason's irritable assistant, Fran, who is passionate about fostering sick animals, has little patience for Jason's whining. Although Fitger still has feelings for his ex-wife, Janet Matthias, she has moved on and is dating someone else.

Adding to Jason's headaches, the powers-that-be are considering shrinking his department. They claim that, in the twenty-first century, the liberal arts are not as relevant as business, finance, computer programming, and the sciences. In fact, thanks to a hefty infusion of cash from wealthy donors, the second floor of Willard Hall, where Gladwell rules his fiefdom, has been fully renovated and "includes state-of-the-art technology-enhanced classrooms, a fully equipped computer lab, elegant seminar and meeting rooms, faculty offices, and a café."

Schumacher's comedy of errors has sharp descriptive writing and a large cast of eccentric characters. A fossilized professor who has been at Payne for forty-two years, Dennis Cassovan, is horrified when someone suggests that the heretofore-required course on Shakespeare should be discontinued. Others share Cassovan's indignation, and the Bard becomes a cause célèbre. Another subplot deals with first-year student Angela Vackrey, a bright but introverted young lady who, when she gets into trouble, finds support from several unlikely sources. The author's prose is energetic and literate. She skewers hypocrites and blowhards who lack penetrating intellect, genuine humility, and refinement. Schumacher suggests that if a professor wants to get ahead, he must be politically astute and proficient in networking, fund-raising, and self-promotion. Jason T. Figler is a good-hearted fellow, but he will never be one of Payne University's superstars. In "The Shakespeare Requirement," Schumacher entertainingly pokes fun at the bureaucracy, rivalries, and absurdities of academia. ( )

Funny enough but not as funny a novel of academia as "Nobody's Fool". ( )

Loved it, and not just because a school I'm associated with is planning to eliminate foreign languages and creative writing. ( )