I don't have much sympathy for Bower.  

It's been clear for a couple years now that Alaska's budget is in a tailspin and even if the price of oil hadn't crashed, declining production was going to impact state and university spending.  And then the online education stuff.  You'd have to be in a coma to be a college educator and not be aware of the rapid trend to online education.  His world was changing and now he's angry because the buggy-whip factory shut down.

But I think there's still hope for him.  Trump is a big supporter of creative writing.  Just listen to one of his speeches.