Biology Professor 'Shot Dead Three Fellow Staff'

Its the drugs. Top is confused about a lot of things. Like the belief that what some hick in Louisianna thinks matters to a Seattleite.
 
WinterBorn said:
The rumors I am hearing is that she was callous and unconcerned about her students. I had pictured her as another of those profs who think their job is research and publishing, and that the time with students interfere with that.
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You've just described many of the Prof's I've worked with. Though I don't blame them, it's the Universities that cultivate that culture. People underestimate how stressful and political it can be in academia too and, as I stated in my other post, how some academics develop an inflated ego.
 
Cypress said:
I never got that whole arrogance thing about teaching. Although, I can understand that these dudes and gals are under pressure to make a certain quota of publications a year, and teaching in and of itself takes away time from meeting those publication expectations. These dudes are also expected to bring in a lot of money to the university, by writing grant proposals and bringing in a butt load of bling to the university. So, in a certain respect I can see the inherent conflict between teaching, publishing, and bringing $$$ into the university.

In some respects, that's why I think the level and dedication to teaching at smaller state colleges and community colleges is more valued, and sometimes better than at a major research university. I never got why these dudes hate teaching. I taught at community college and state college, and it was a barrel of fun. How many times in your life to you get to be God, and be the smartest one in the room - the one everyone else is supposed to get information from? You're like the center of attention for a whole hour of class. It's an ego boost! And I tend to be an ego maniac, so I thrive on it.... Ha, j/k. I personally thought teaching was more fun than a barrel of monkeys, and I totally dug it.

But, one also, I think, has to really dig people-to-people and social interactions if one is really committed to teaching. This is totally a gross generalization, but I suspect some of these research university goons never had a real job, they were the science geeks in high school, and they spent their life in academia. So people skills, and social skills might not have been high on the skill sets they developed through life.
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I wish I had seen more of that end of academia. I worked there solely in a research role and it could get ugly. A lot of what occurs in a process like tenure has as much, if not more, to do with politics and tenure as it does with the quality of ones research, it's value, the quantity in which you get published or how much grant money you bring in. You can be world class in all those categories and be denied tenure because the head of your department doesn't like you or resents you. There's many of a story of how a young academics career has been ruined because they've discovered evidence that overturns a pet theory those higher up the food chain have a vested interest in and that person is denied tenure or advancement due to resentments or personal vendettas.

The academic who cracked the Mayan code on Mayan heiroglyphs was denied tenure and it ruined his academic career because his discovery proved to many of his colleagues wrong.
 
HUGO STIGLITZ said:
You're an ignorant ass. Basic research is more useful than paper pushers who just move money around, and it's a tragedy our society doesn't value it.
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Well no shit Captain Dufuss. Who said anything about "paper pushers"? There's a lot of academics who are just exactly that! Like the guy I knew who was the nations second rated Proust scholar. Well there's probably 4 people in the nation who actually give a fuck about Proust. My point is that there are those in academia (and I'm not generalizing here) who think they are of more value and significance to society then people who do hands on work. For example, your typical Professional Engineer (PE) has 4 to 5 years college education but with the apprenticeship and training and experience they must undergo to become a PE many PE's are more knowledgable in their fields then many professors of engineering and they do a greater volume of high value work which society recognizes and rewards them well. Most PE's I know, with a significant amount of experience, earn more then most tenured engineering Profs do and in some respects it's probably more difficult to earn PE status.

So you're missing my point. My criticism is not with Academia per se but with the arrogant academic who thinks he or she is superior to others cause they were a professional student for 10 years and graduated from Harvard but don't have the track record of productivity to back that arrogance up.

If you don't think a high level tradesman like a Millwright or a Shipwright can be as knowledgable in their field as an Academic, then son you need to get out more often and go work with one. You're young ass will be humbled real quick!
 
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