Monday Magic in April

Can you say something positive about your school, or about higher education somewhere in the world?

Zooze Newwz

This college professor gives her students extra credit for going on dates

"I Don't Know How Professors Teach Without Fighter-Pilot Experience"

Did I Choose the Wrong College?

Dartmouth College Launches $3 Billion Capital Campaign
(aka "Brother, can you spare a dime?")

"Volunteer adjuncts?" [from Frankie Bow]

The Southern reports that SIU Carbondale's Associate Dean for Budget, Personnel, and Research is asking department chairs to recruit alumni willing to serve as zero-time adjuncts. 

These blanket zero-time adjunct graduate faculty appointments are for 3-year periods, and can be renewed. While specific duties of alumni adjuncts will likely vary across academic units, examples include service on graduate student thesis committees, teaching specific graduate or undergraduate lectures in one’s area of expertise, service on departmental or university committees, and collaborations on grant proposals and research projects.

(In an amusing coincidence, the very next article down in The Southern announces that SIU Carbondale has hired a new associate chancellor for enrollment management. Presumably not on a volunteer basis.)

--Frankie

How Liberty University Built a Billion-Dollar Empire Online [nytimes]

“When I was there, at faculty meetings the commentary was that online was funding the school, while they were trying to just break even on the residential side.  It was understood that on the online side, they were making a killing.”
        --Chris Gaumer, Liberty University graduate and former professor of English

Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/magazine/how-liberty-university-built-a-billion-dollar-empire-online.html

TMI [from Beaker Ben]

Am I a bad professor if I don't want to hear about the students disease that is causing them to miss my class? Bring me a note. I will excuse you and even express sympathy but I really don't need to know your medical history. Save it for your significant other and physician, please.


Cheers,

Beaker Ben

Medal winners [a playlet with Dr. Jekyll and Prof. Hyde]

Dr. Jekyll:  Hyde, have you seen this memo?

Prof. Hyde:  Careful, Jekyll, or they will call you the crazy one.  To what are you referring?

Dr. Jekyll:  Apparently, our dear employer is holding a week’s worth of celebrations and appreciations of our donors.

Prof. Hyde:  That seems reasonable to me, especially in light of decreased state funding.

Dr. Jekyll:  Yes, yes, but do you know what they want some of the faculty to do?

Prof. Hyde:  No, but you are about to tell me.

Dr. Jekyll:  You may remember that all faculty with named positions, such as my DuPont Professorship in Chemistry, are given a medal to commemorate the position.

Prof. Hyde:  Yes and you look quite good wearing the medal over your regalia at graduation ceremonies.

Dr. Jekyll:  That’s just it!  They want us to wear our medal all week – in class, at meetings, any time we are on campus.

Prof. Hyde:  Perhaps if you explain to those that ask that it is an Olympic medal it will be less embarrassing.

A Break in the action [from Suzy from Square State]

I often have my students break out into groups of 2 or 3 neighbors to discuss a point and then have them report on what they decided, in the middle of a lecture. Rather keeps them on their toes, and is a nice little break from the torture of listening to me talk.

Today I had the Advanced Basketweaving class discussing a particular weave, and as soon as the group work began, two students got up and left the room. As the first returned, I handed him a board marker and requested that he draw his solution on the board. "But I don't know how?!" he answered. "Oh, you left the room so I assumed you already knew how to do this." He got right to work with this neighbor... The second person also got offered the board marker when she returned, and widened her eyes in shock. No, she was absolutely unable to do that. So maybe you should not leave class???

--Suzy from Square State

Bulldogs

"What I love about being an American professor is my right to free speech, and what I love about Fresno State is that I always feel protected and at home here. . . ."

http://metro.co.uk/2018/04/18/professor-blasted-calling-barbara-bush-amazing-racist-raised-war-criminal-7477666/

a comment via Dan Galvin @TAMU.EDU

                                                                     *

     "I'm returning this note to you, 

      instead of your paper,

      because it (your paper) presently 

      occupies the bottom of my bird cage."

               --English Professor, Providence College

Manhattan college takes lead on green energy by setting up vast array of solar panels [nydailynews.com]

The flava:

High above the fume-spewing cars and trucks near the Holland Tunnel in Tribeca is a huge hint of the "green," fuel-saving happenings at the nearby Borough of Manhattan Community College — the largest array of energy-grabbing solar panels in Manhattan sitting atop the school's roof.

The article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-college-takes-lead-green-energy-array-solar-panels-article-1.3935360

Moriarity from Midland sends in a link

This article is from the "Crampicle," but it still made me think.  Perhaps it's post-worthy?

"The Honorable but Thankless Work of Leading Sexual-Assault Investigations"
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/2031-the-honorable-but-thankless-work-of-leading-sexual-assault-investigations

--Moriarity from Midland

Having standards. Measuring students. Refusing to budge. [a flashback]

Ten years ago on RYS:

http://rateyourstudents.blogspot.com/2008/04/it-be-easier-asking-leopard-to-change_5078.html

When Penn introduced faculty-student relations ban, most Ivies had already done the same [The Daily Pennsylvanian]

The flava:
A new policy banning all sexual relations between undergraduate students and faculty members at Penn went into effect on March 28. This restriction — which applies to academic advisors and program advisors as well — marks a shift from the previous rule that prohibited faculty-student sexual relations “during the period of the faculty-student relationship." 

The article:
http://www.thedp.com/article/2018/04/sexual-relations-assault-student-faculty-policy-ban-upenn-ivy-league-penn-philadelphia-education

That's ok, but why is that the point you choose to sell? [from Wombat of the Copier]

What they say: No GRE required!
What they mean: We want your money.


I get that the GRE is not important to a lot of elite grad programs. I do. I really do. Standardized testing is very flawed and the better the program, the more adept we can expect them to be at discerning viable candidates from poor candidates without the use of a crutch.

But if that's your selling point, you're going after people who themselves don't think they can cut it. You don't care if they quit. You'll gladly take their money until they do.

--WotC