From: bobh@troy.uucp (22131-hettmansperger)
Subject: Re: Imposters in the Temple -- Part 2
Reply-To: bobh@troy.UUCP ()
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 92 21:11:29 GMT
Keywords: treachery trickery deceit deception

In article <Brr1qv.4up@news.cso.uiuc.edu> bfrg9732@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Brian F. Redman) writes:
>
>
>o -- Tenure. Tenure became a faculty right less than fifty 
>     years ago. "Ostensibly put in place to guarantee academic 
>     freedom, to prevent a professor from being fired for such 
>     things as unpopular political views, tenure quickly 
>     transformed itself into a 'job for life.'"
>

Please, I'd like some real evidence that tenure is abused more than it is
used as intended.  It's very easy to make sweeping generalizations about 
tenure abuse, but I have never once heard anyone back up their argument with 
anything other than anecdotal stories of abuse.  Any system is subject to 
abuse.  I want proof that it is abused more often than it helps.

>o -- Extraordinary flexibility as to when they work. Except for 
>     when they must be teaching a class, attending meetings, 
>     etcetera, they can adjust their schedule as they please.
>

Numbers, please.  I'd like average hours worked on research, lecture 
preparation, and grading compared to that of equivalently payed professionals.

>o -- Long vacations. 3-4 month summer vacations as well as 
>     Christmas and Spring breaks.
>

I guess teaching summer classes, doing research, fighting for grants, 
collaborating with others on technical papers, and taking classes/going to
conferences are just little distractions that these academic intellectuals 
must bear while they are out tanning themselves on the beach all summer.

>o -- They are well paid. "The highest-paid professors are at 
>     Harvard, where their average salary was $89,000 in 1991. At 
>     the other end of the academic spectrum, the two-year 
>     colleges, full professors average about $45,000 a year and 
>     assistant professors $32,000."
>

Well, you've already said that they are important to society.  Care to offer
a different metric about how to measure their intellectual worth?

>o -- Because professors do not punch a clock, there are 
>     additional opportunities to increase their income through 
>     moonlighting. Many professors "earn substantial amounts of 
>     money from private consulting, speaking fees, book 
>     royalties, and other miscellaneous work."
>

Oh no.  You don't actually mean to say that they can earn extra money by
doing extra work on their off hours, do you?  

>o -- Fringe benefits including medical and dental coverage and 
>     generous retirement plans.

Are these really that special for someone working for a "large" institution?
My company is 8,000 people and I have these benefits.

>
>o -- Perquisites. Payment of tuition for the children of 
>     professors, subsidies for faculty housing, cheap or free 
>     automobile parking, excellent insurance policies, subsidized 
>     meals at the faculty club, substantial discounts for car 
>     rentals from Hertz or Avis, and full expenses paid for 
>     travel to conferences. The professoriate also get free use 
>     of recreational facilities as well as access to special 
>     university events.
>

Except for the tuition break for children (official nepotism, perhaps) these
are all pretty normal for employees of "large" companies.

>"Taken all together, the package of pay and benefits and perquisites 
>and general working conditions for academic intellectuals is better 
>than that received by 99 percent of the workers in America."

Than why is there such a shortage of good professors?  Perhaps the hard work
it takes to become qualified to be a professor is more than 99 per cent of
America is willing (or able) to do.

Oh, why bother.  You won't be happy until you've made the American University
system into a glorified capitalistic trade school.  There *should* be a 
difference between academic and professional intellectuals.

-Bob
Newsgroups: alt.activism