<p>I graduated with a BSEE from a state university in roughly the #70 to #80 range ranking. I have since transferred to a top 5 school.</p>
<p>One of the assistant professors in the math department from my previous college is someone that I consider to be the best professor I have ever had. Not only is he brilliant, but he is a great teacher and actually listens to what students are asking when they have questions.</p>
<p>In my opinion, he is too good for the school he teaches at.</p>
<p>He graduated from a school ranked around the 40s and had a 4.0 throughout all his degrees. I know it would normally be difficult for a professor to get a position at a top 5 school when he doesn't come from a top 5 school, but I think he deserves special recognition.</p>
<p>Now that I am an EE graduate student in a top 5 school, do you think that my recommendation to consider this individual for a future professor position would carry any weight? Or, as a student, would they just laugh at me for even suggesting it?</p>
<p>Any opinions on this matter?</p>
<p>I hate to tell you, but the professor could be God’s gift to teaching and pedagogy and I doubt the top 5 school would care. Frankly, teaching is often seen by research institutions to be merely a distraction from research.</p>
<p>The only way you could hope to help this guy out is to get him invited to give a talk on his research to the department. Most departments have some sort of monthly/weekly seminar series, and they’re always looking for people to give a talk. Hope his is the best they’ve ever seen, there happens to be a faculty position open in his subsubspecialty, and they like him enough to consider it part of an interview.</p>
<p>You also don’t even know if the professor is on the job market. If the job he’s on is on the tenure track/he has tenure, he might not be looking. If he has a family/research money going, he might not necessarily want a new job. I think you’re being presumptuous. Many professors stay at schools longer than they had intended for a lot of reasons: department environment, schooling for kids, spousal careers, etc.</p>
<p>And aigiqinf had it right-- most top 5 schools are chasing after research, not teaching, and if he hasn’t made a splash in the ‘field’ by now, especially at conferences and especially because he has no need to be in the rat race anymore, he might not be at all.</p>