Maybe he tried and this was the only way to get a policy change. Maybe this causes other institutions to check they aren’t doing the same. Educational institutions are more like law firms where everyone is the boss than like companies that have an all powerful controlling ceo/coo.
You are correct to push me on this. It is possible he tried that. If he did, and then also let them know he would go public with it unless they confirmed to him that they wouldn't do that anymore, then I'd give him a pass. Just as an overall though, I don't think outside of that that getting a policy change is his business here, and it's not important enough to sh!t on your employer like that.
A professor's job is to give the best education he/she/they can possibly give to their students. It's not to get involved in any kind of political drama. My wife is a college professor, and let me tell you, professors who do sh!t like this guy did are not looked upon favorably by their peers.
I was a college professor, and let me tell you, many of his peers approve of what he did.
You are correct to push me on this. It is possible he tried that. If he did, and then also let them know he would go public with it unless they confirmed to him that they wouldn't do that anymore, then I'd give him a pass. Just as an overall though, I don't think outside of that that getting a policy change is his business here, and it's not important enough to sh!t on your employer like that.
A professor's job is to give the best education he/she/they can possibly give to their students. It's not to get involved in any kind of political drama. My wife is a college professor, and let me tell you, professors who do sh!t like this guy did are not looked upon favorably by their peers.
I was a college professor, and let me tell you, many of his peers approve of what he did.
Here is an article. I love the guy who wrote it, former Rhodes scholar Michael Thaddeus who is a math prof.
“I do actually have the best interests of the institution at heart, even though it might not seem that way,” he explained. “The way I look at it is it’s only fair to hold Columbia’s administration to the same standards of integrity as we hold our students to.”
It reminds me of WADA and doping. We have to hold them to high standards.
He looks like an older Version of the guy that Matt Damon asked if he likes Apples on Good Will Hunting. Why does every IVY League professor look like an @$$ Hole? I get it they are some of the brightest minds in the world but they all look like straight up pricks. This guy looks like the type of guy that is IQ loaded but would lack the common sense to walk away from an argument with a Gang Member that said something to him.
Here is an article. I love the guy who wrote it, former Rhodes scholar Michael Thaddeus who is a math prof.
“I do actually have the best interests of the institution at heart, even though it might not seem that way,” he explained. “The way I look at it is it’s only fair to hold Columbia’s administration to the same standards of integrity as we hold our students to.”
It reminds me of WADA and doping. We have to hold them to high standards.
What a dumb@ss and a punk. Who gives a sh!t where colleges are ranked by US News and World Report? Columbia is an Ivy League school. I don't care if it's ranked 2nd or 20th. It's still a great school, and more importantly, it brings in great students, so if you are a student you are surrounded by other stellar students, and the degree gives you opportunity that not ALL degrees from other colleges do.
Anyone with half a brain knows that any ranking of colleges is mostly subjective. Yes, there are some objective things that go into it, but this math professor should not give a crap.
He's a bit self-important if you ask me. Absolutely NO REASON for him to write that. If I were a member of the university higher ups, I'd be looking for ways to get rid of him. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. There are reasons to push back on an employer...this ain't one of them. What an a$hole.
Totally disagree.
-LOTS of people give a sh!t where colleges are ranked by US News. Some do because they think it's real, the rest give a sh!t simply because they know so many other people give a sh!t. This circle of giving a sh!t just because other people give a sh!t is very dumb, and any article that reminds people of this has some value.
-Thaddeus seems to feel that Columbia went too far in gaming their stats. Based on what I've read, I don't disagree. There are probably many people who understand that school rankings are BS, but do not realize that things like the reported "average class size" stats are also BS. Maybe some good will come of this and many schools (not just Columbia) will reign it in a little bit, out of fear of embarrassing scrutiny.
Here is an article. I love the guy who wrote it, former Rhodes scholar Michael Thaddeus who is a math prof.
“I do actually have the best interests of the institution at heart, even though it might not seem that way,” he explained. “The way I look at it is it’s only fair to hold Columbia’s administration to the same standards of integrity as we hold our students to.”
It reminds me of WADA and doping. We have to hold them to high standards.
What a dumb@ss and a punk. Who gives a sh!t where colleges are ranked by US News and World Report? Columbia is an Ivy League school. I don't care if it's ranked 2nd or 20th. It's still a great school, and more importantly, it brings in great students, so if you are a student you are surrounded by other stellar students, and the degree gives you opportunity that not ALL degrees from other colleges do.
Anyone with half a brain knows that any ranking of colleges is mostly subjective. Yes, there are some objective things that go into it, but this math professor should not give a crap.
He's a bit self-important if you ask me. Absolutely NO REASON for him to write that. If I were a member of the university higher ups, I'd be looking for ways to get rid of him. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. There are reasons to push back on an employer...this ain't one of them. What an a$hole.
So, the guy is an a$hole for trying to stand up for truth?
Tenure's an essential shield against politically motivated thought control and silencing, and all credit to this professor for penetrating the cone of silence in which university administrations game the numbers to raise their rankings. I believe this practice to be very widespread and harmful.
This is not news. Yes, it is widespread. No, it is not harmful. No matter how you slice it, Columbia is a better college than Shawnee State University here in Ohio. Better students, better facilities, more accomplished professors, higher expectations, etc. Does it matter if Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, switch around among the top 5 each year? No.
It seems that university admins disagree.
Just absolutely unnecessary bad press for Columbia. The guy is an a$hole.
By your logic, Columbia will be fine, because everyone knows it's still a great school. If these article came out of a small, second rate liberal arts school with little name recognition, then you'd have a point.
You are correct to push me on this. It is possible he tried that. If he did, and then also let them know he would go public with it unless they confirmed to him that they wouldn't do that anymore, then I'd give him a pass. Just as an overall though, I don't think outside of that that getting a policy change is his business here, and it's not important enough to sh!t on your employer like that.
A professor's job is to give the best education he/she/they can possibly give to their students. It's not to get involved in any kind of political drama. My wife is a college professor, and let me tell you, professors who do sh!t like this guy did are not looked upon favorably by their peers.
What a dumb@ss and a punk. Who gives a sh!t where colleges are ranked by US News and World Report? Columbia is an Ivy League school. I don't care if it's ranked 2nd or 20th. It's still a great school, and more importantly, it brings in great students, so if you are a student you are surrounded by other stellar students, and the degree gives you opportunity that not ALL degrees from other colleges do.
Anyone with half a brain knows that any ranking of colleges is mostly subjective. Yes, there are some objective things that go into it, but this math professor should not give a crap.
He's a bit self-important if you ask me. Absolutely NO REASON for him to write that. If I were a member of the university higher ups, I'd be looking for ways to get rid of him. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. There are reasons to push back on an employer...this ain't one of them. What an a$hole.
Totally disagree.
-LOTS of people give a sh!t where colleges are ranked by US News. Some do because they think it's real, the rest give a sh!t simply because they know so many other people give a sh!t. This circle of giving a sh!t just because other people give a sh!t is very dumb, and any article that reminds people of this has some value.
-Thaddeus seems to feel that Columbia went too far in gaming their stats. Based on what I've read, I don't disagree. There are probably many people who understand that school rankings are BS, but do not realize that things like the reported "average class size" stats are also BS. Maybe some good will come of this and many schools (not just Columbia) will reign it in a little bit, out of fear of embarrassing scrutiny.
You are RIGHT that lots of people give a sh!t where colleges are ranked, but my point is that intelligent people should NOT care. It's clear that Stanford is a better school than Illinois State. That's enough.
The gaming the system has been widely known for decades. Not that guy's place to spout that crap about the University that employs him. They ALL do it...they play with admissions rates, pump up their stats in the best possible way, etc. Yes, it is dishonest, and I'm no fan of dishonesty, but he overstepped here.
What a dumb@ss and a punk. Who gives a sh!t where colleges are ranked by US News and World Report? Columbia is an Ivy League school. I don't care if it's ranked 2nd or 20th. It's still a great school, and more importantly, it brings in great students, so if you are a student you are surrounded by other stellar students, and the degree gives you opportunity that not ALL degrees from other colleges do.
Anyone with half a brain knows that any ranking of colleges is mostly subjective. Yes, there are some objective things that go into it, but this math professor should not give a crap.
He's a bit self-important if you ask me. Absolutely NO REASON for him to write that. If I were a member of the university higher ups, I'd be looking for ways to get rid of him. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. There are reasons to push back on an employer...this ain't one of them. What an a$hole.
So, the guy is an a$hole for trying to stand up for truth?
Interesting take.
Yes. If your mother is a whore, you don't need to spew it to the world. Not all truths need to be shouted from the mountain top.
You are correct to push me on this. It is possible he tried that. If he did, and then also let them know he would go public with it unless they confirmed to him that they wouldn't do that anymore, then I'd give him a pass. Just as an overall though, I don't think outside of that that getting a policy change is his business here, and it's not important enough to sh!t on your employer like that.
A professor's job is to give the best education he/she/they can possibly give to their students. It's not to get involved in any kind of political drama. My wife is a college professor, and let me tell you, professors who do sh!t like this guy did are not looked upon favorably by their peers.
So, basically, "Shut up and dribble."
No. We're not talking about racism here or anything that harms people. I already said there are reasons to push back on your employer in this kind of manner. This ain't one of them.
Maybe he tried and this was the only way to get a policy change. Maybe this causes other institutions to check they aren’t doing the same. Educational institutions are more like law firms where everyone is the boss than like companies that have an all powerful controlling ceo/coo.
A professor's job is to give the best education he/she/they can possibly give to their students. It's not to get involved in any kind of political drama. My wife is a college professor, and let me tell you, professors who do sh!t like this guy did are not looked upon favorably by their peers.
That is incorrect. Professors' primary job is research, especially at a research university like Columbia. Its not to be a propagandist for the university or be a teacher. They teach as well as part of the effort to train the next generation of academics and professionals, but ask any prof at a major university and they'll tell you the research is where they spend the majority of their time.
Some of this research has social impact and goes beyond the academic. Thats why the US education system is decent. You'd never see research like this coming out of Russia or China.
A professor's job is to give the best education he/she/they can possibly give to their students. It's not to get involved in any kind of political drama. My wife is a college professor, and let me tell you, professors who do sh!t like this guy did are not looked upon favorably by their peers.
That is incorrect. Professors' primary job is research, especially at a research university like Columbia. Its not to be a propagandist for the university or be a teacher. They teach as well as part of the effort to train the next generation of academics and professionals, but ask any prof at a major university and they'll tell you the research is where they spend the majority of their time.
Some of this research has social impact and goes beyond the academic. Thats why the US education system is decent. You'd never see research like this coming out of Russia or China.
Well, that's true at a research university like Columbia. I submit that you are correct. Primarily a researcher or a teacher though, it is NOT the job of a faculty member to publicly scold the University that employs them about a subject that doesn't need that kind of attention. If it's racism or sexism or abuse of some sort, then yes. Gaming the system like all of the universities do and like we all have known for decades though? No.
I was a college professor, and let me tell you, many of his peers approve of what he did.
I am also a former prof and I agree with you. Most people posting here do not seem to have a strong grasp of what a tenured/track faculty member does at an R1 school.
The issue with rankings is not so much whether they accurately represent the school, but the shenanigans that will occur in the pursuit of higher rankings.
Flagpole - you couldn’t be more wrong. There is much more value in exposing the process at Columbia than Southern Illinois because, well, Columbia is newsworthy. Pursuit of rankings leads to administrator proliferation with higher costs passed on to the students. It dilutes programs and impinges on academic freedom. All of these things negatively impact students. They guy doing this is providing a template by which we could get rid of this ‘cancer’ as you’ve put it.
Obviously an institution can lie and buy their way into a top ranking, and I think the scandal with the celebrities buying their doltish children into these top Ivy schools showed what a sham the whole set up is.
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