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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (32078)	10/11/2001 11:12:24 PM
From: J. C. Dithers	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Hi Karen ...sounds much like "West Wing!" Well, of course in a university, style counts for little. Neither does teaching ability, unfortunately. "Research ability" (translation: publications) counts for everything. And "counts" is the right word, because in the end quantity trumps quality. Perhaps you have seen academic "vitas," which commonly can be 30 pages or longer. This emphasis is not entirely arbitrary or a matter of misplaced priorities. Following countless hours of considering teaching and service, the decision generally comes down to the one quantifiable variable -- publications. As to race, what I would have told "X" is that race is an ever present, yet unspoken criteria. My experience goes back to the early 70s. We never had any kind of quotas, but in off-the-record discussions the need to increase minority representation on the faculty was stressed at the highest administrative level. This was sufficiently so to the extent that, even without some official mandate, we always were keenly aware that it was expected that our decisions would contribute to the goal. Put it this way: whether it concerned hiring, promotion, or tenure, we had better have a damn good reason if we voted negatively on a minority candidate. There is no question that the result was that any minority candidate had a distinct edge over a white male. I'm sure this will surprise no one, as academia is almost always in the vanguard of social causes. However, I believe much the same atmosphere exists today in the case of corporate America. Since I was teaching business students, I would always tell my black students, "Put your heart in this, because you are definitely in the right place at the right time." And many of them did, and I hope lived happily and prosperously ever after. Best regards, JC