Professor files grievance over having to teach more than once a week

<p>Do you really want to take a business class from somebody who needs to be told that “the world has changed, in case you haven’t noticed”? How current could his business experiences possibly be and what the heck kind of research could he possibly be working on that he wouldn’t have noticed? I think this fool is just drawing attention to the fact that he is a lazy dinosaur. He needs to keep his head down and look around to see if there is a better option for him before he ends up with no options.</p>

<p>Does anyone really want their children taught by someone who doesn’t want to teach?</p>

<p>Also, does anyone really want their children taught by someone who is completely overwhelmed by student numbers or additional class preps?</p>

<p>I am an academic. My department chair informed me that there is a classroom crunch next semester at the same time that he is being pressured to reduce the number of classes taught by adjuncts. So, he more than DOUBLED the number of students in one of my classes from 40 to 96. He didn’t increase my teaching load, because I am still in class the same number of hours each week. However, his numbers look better since he has freed up two classroom periods and reduced his adjuncts. The administration is happy.</p>

<p>Even as a tenured full professor, I have no recourse. My other class sizes have increased, just not as much. How much attention can I possibly give my students next semester? I know that I won’t even try to learn names in my classes, and I teach at a place that tells prospective students that there are small classes taught by professors.</p>

<p>So, back to the original post. I may not agree with his tactics, but I have sympathy. Even if the world has changed, it is hard to give the personal attention that students and their families want when you are being treated like a production worker.</p>

<p>Oh, and I may be a dinosaur, but I certainly am not lazy.</p>

<p>Have not read whole thread but agree with Sakky, way back on the first page: I can read this guy’s c.v. and he would not get tenure at most of the top 20 schools in management. not by a stretch. He has mostly B journal pubs and I count only one that would be considered A (and I can’t think of any top school that doesn’t primary focus on how many A publications you have).</p>

<p>Will be curious to see how this plays out. Looking at his website, he has a lot of self-promotional stuff going on.</p>

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<p>But like I said, in the case of the Chronicle article that originated this thread, the professor in question is not a top researcher, nor has he demonstrated the potential to be one. In his 18 years since graduating with his PhD, he’s published a grand total of one article in an A-level journal. The rest of his publications comprise lower-level journals, book chapters, and practitioner-oriented materials that do not constitute the portfolio of a top researcher, or one who has demonstrated any potential towards ever becoming one. </p>

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<p>Fair point, which then raises the question of why the university agreed to offer such a teaching arrangement in the first place, and why they allowed it to persist for years. </p>

<p>The real question then seems to be why was somebody whose demonstrated teaching capabilities are far superior to his research capabilities nonetheless allowed to teach so little?</p>

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<p>Heck, it’s somewhat debatable whether he would even place at many top 20 programs, let alone win tenure at one. Like I said, there are current PhD students who have more A-level pubs than Professor Neck does.</p>

<p>How would I go about in finding of list of what are considered “A-level journals” for different fields of studies?</p>

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<p>Apparently so, since so many people are enamored of sending their kids to research universities for undergraduate education.</p>

<p>Did I miss something? How did you come up with the conclusion that professors at research universities do not want to teach? Based on what?</p>

<p>Oh wait, I get it, Anna is going to a LAC next year.</p>

<p>Get off your high horse, annasdad. Some of us students have received a wonderful education at research Us and we have professors who love to teach. I’m glad I didn’t go to an LAC since obviously it creates an elitist mentality (no I don’t really believe that).</p>

<p>Here’s a lengthy article from a few years ago about Professor Neck. He wasn’t promoted to full professor at Virginia Tech (though he had tenure), and consequently moved back to ASU. He talks a great deal about how much he loves teaching. The comments are interesting, too–a split between students who thought he was great, and others who thought his class didn’t really offer much.<br>
[After</a> promotion battle, Neck moves on - CollegiateTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/13710/after-promotion-battle-neck-moves-on]After”>http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/13710/after-promotion-battle-neck-moves-on)</p>

<p>For that matter, the comments in the original link in post 1 are also interesting. A split between faculty who are sympathetic because they themselves have been given much much higher teaching loads, and those who think he’s making the entire profession look bad.</p>

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<p>Have you been following the thread? To save you the trouble of paging back:</p>

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<p>Here’s another source, in case you’re interested (which I seriously doubt):</p>

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<p>[Professors</a> Teaching? N.Y.U. President Says It Isn’t Such a Novel Idea - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/03/nyregion/professors-teaching-nyu-president-says-it-isn-t-such-a-novel-idea.html]Professors”>http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/03/nyregion/professors-teaching-nyu-president-says-it-isn-t-such-a-novel-idea.html)</p>

<p>Then true to form, oldfort goes ad hominem:</p>

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<p>Glad you know that, since neither my daughter nor I know where she’s going.</p>

<p>It must be true because someone expressed such an opinion on CC, and it was printed on paper. Show some data.</p>

<p>I have been following this thread, and so many people are telling you that you are wrong, again, you are not receiving.</p>

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<p>[Three</a> tips from The Thinking Student’s Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education by Andrew Roberts](<a href=“Three tips from The Thinking Student's Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education by Andrew Roberts”>Three tips from The Thinking Student's Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education by Andrew Roberts)</p>

<p>More explicit:</p>

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<p><a href=“Redirect Notice”>Redirect Notice;

<p>I’m wondering if a part of that Prof’s balking is the reluctance to teaching courses for non-majors which are more likely to be populated by less interested/serious students looking to fulfill requirements while trying to get away with doing as little work/learning as possible? </p>

<p>I’ve heard several Profs who had similar attitudes to teaching watered down courses for non-majors. It is a reason why at one university’s CS department that I know of…the non-major courses ended up being taught by TAs/adjuncts rather than tenured CS faculty.</p>

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<p>By far the most reliable (albeit most labor-intensive) way is to talk to various people in each field, especially the untenured faculty. Trust me, all of them know intimately which journals are the A-levels in their field. They have to know, for their entire careers depend on it. Heck, sometimes all they ever seem to talk about is how to wheedle and scheme their way towards getting published in one of those journals. That’s the game that they have to play.</p>

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Annasdad, if you are going to psychoanalyze the rest of us, don’t get too testy when somebody wants to psychoanalyze you. You seem to be trying awfully hard to convince somebody that research universities, and especially high-ranked ones, are a waste of money. Who is it? Us or yourslef? I just hope it’s not some specific kid who wants to go to a research university.</p>

<p>So, you think that it takes the skills of a psychoanalyst to examine the threads here on CC and conclude that “many people are enamored of sending their kids to research universities for undergraduate education?” Seriously?</p>

<p>It’s your frequent suggestion that such people are just after prestige that I was referring to. I’m just wondering who, exactly, you’re trying to convince.</p>

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<p>Anyone with an open mind who is willing to examine data and logical arguments and ignore the ad hominem nonsense that so often clutters these boards.</p>

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<p>I believe the following quote from Professor Neck is most telling:</p>

<p>"What I feel, and people will say differently, is that if you talk to them they will say, ‘Oh, his work was not scholarly enough,’ even though I am in a top journal in my field,</p>

<p>That’s some savvy verbal legerdemain. True enough, he was indeed in a top journal in his field. A single top journal. And only one publication in that top journal. </p>

<p>Which only bolsters the point that I and starbright have been making. The blunt truth is that Professor Neck’s research record is undistinguished. Granted, his teaching record and contributions to the practitioner’s literature seem to be impressive. But his pure research record is middling at best. Frankly, because he had only 1 A-level pub, I’m shocked that he was even promoted to the associate level at all, let alone being considered for promotion to full prof. Like I said, nowadays, having 1 A-level pub doesn’t even assure that you’ll be hired as even a new assistant prof at a decent business school. For example, I know one woman who is finishing her PhD and already has an A-level pub, and she’s receiving numerous rejections for even *job talks<a href=“which%20is%20the%20fancy%20academic%20term%20for%20job%20interviews”>/i</a>. </p>

<p>So I think we can safely dismiss any contentions that Professor Neck needed to be exempt from the classroom 4 days out of the 5-day workweek because of the prolific and prestigious research he was publishing. His academic record exhibits nothing of the sort.</p>