Posted on 04/22/2019 5:23:04 AM PDT by reaganaut1
The end of the spring semester marks the 20th anniversary of my professorship at Duke, first as an assistant professor and then as an associate professor of the practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy. During this time, I regularly taught the required ethics class for all undergraduate public policy majors. I won multiple teaching awards, consistently received scores on student teaching evaluations above the school average and, in a Duke Chronicle poll of undergraduates, was ranked as one of the three most popular professors at Duke University for several years.
Therefore, I was blindsided last April when informed that my contract would not be renewed, particularly given that for the past five years (I was on a five-year renewable contract) I was never informed of any problem with any aspect of my performance. Nor was I given an evaluation, despite a change to the Duke bylaws in 2017 mandating such reviews (see here).
When word of the non-renewal of my contract got out, a letter written in my defense, signed by 100 former students, was published in the Duke Chronicle, and these same students and others began a letter-writing campaign imploring the Sanford administration to reconsider their decision.
Last April, I filed a complaint with the Faculty Hearing Committee (FHC), a university-wide committee tasked with hearing faculty complaints on matters such as tenure and contract renewal. In their written report, they made clear (as Sanford never did) the actual reason for the loss of my job: Dissatisfaction with my “classroom performance.” Specifically:
Professor Charney’s tendency to provoke negative reactions, and perhaps harm, among some students in the classroom due to his confrontational teaching style—a style that had a tendency to be polarizing among students, particularly in a required Sanford course
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
I believe that every teacher/professor who gets caught up in these messes with snowflake students are very hard markers. Certainly, if you look at Rate Your Professor that has been a criticism of Camille Paglia. The racism/sexism stuff is merely the cover for teachers giving out lousy grades to stupid students.
The way the Duke Administration worked to throw their lacrosse players under the bus well after anyone with any sense knew the real story told me everything I needed to know about ethics at Duke. I’m surprised this guy lasted as long as he did.
This is what happens when tuition is so high that all the profs and administrators spend too much time driving Volvos with radios locked on to NPR.
In any college with standards, complaints by students who demonstrate that they have no ability to complete any true college curriculum and are doomed forever to the sewers of gender studies and social “justice” should result in the student being asked to leave - and take up something requiring no ability - such as politics (a la Dorkbama) or journalism.
My brother is a high school teacher who for his entire career has taught only engineering elective courses. A couple years ago, they gave him an economics course, which is not an elective.
A few students complained about him and suddenly he was on some sort of probation and they were threatening some sort of internal investigation, because of course, all students are to be fully trusted.
He and I used to coach high school robotics teams and both organizations met up at a match once. I stopped over at his team pits to see if he was there. He wasn’t but several students, upon finding out who I was were wild with praise toward my brother and his teaching skills.
I told him to tell the school overlords that he would welcome their silly hearing, provided it included all of his students, like the ones who made sure to get at least one class from him every year.
The problem dissolved before the hearing and the principal was reassigned
If they want to get rid of you they will find a fake justification and fire you.
I remember around 1960 a few students got together to railroad a history professor. I can’t recall what it was about but they made up a story and told the principal.
My Sister who was in the class told the principal the truth and maybe saved his job.
Years later, I could tell he liked our family.
I had an uncle who taught at the University of Florida for decades. He said he didn't give grades, he just wrote down what the students earned.
They preach liberalism but demand closed-mindedness.
They preach tolerance but demand intolerance.
They preach justice but demand injustice.
If you invite to campus large numbers of students who don’t really value knowledge, don’t want to learn to think, just want to have their little self-referential virtue-signaling mental fantasy world reinforced, this is what you get.
“If they want to get rid of you they will find a fake justification and fire you.”
Very true.
There are two tracks in higher education for faculty. Tenured and non-tenured.
This guy was on the non-tenured track, and as such he should consider himself lucky that he worked at Duke for 20 years. Most non-tenure track instructors either get one contract renewal to look for a tenured offer from a department, or they’re out the door.
Sucks, but it’s better than the corporate world. You had 5 years in which you were more or less guaranteed employment, which can’t be said for most corporate jobs.
I find it very unusual for a faculty member to have 20 years service to the same institution and not have tenure. There is some element of the story that is not being told.
He didn’t play the game right.
1. Get a tenure-track position
2. Blow rainbows up everyone’s rear end for six years
3. Get tenure
4. Say your peace
It sounds like this guy took delight in undermining student’s Christian faith. (He disparaging referenced a Christian student’s article on the difficulty of being a Christian at secular Duke.) If this guy is your standard liberal anti-Christian, then good riddance. (Unfortunately his replacement may be worse, such as Boxer->Harris.)
I’m seeing major disastrous changes at Duke.
For example, the Dean of the Chapel who was a great intellectual and administrator left to work with the Archbishop of Canterbury and they hired a charismatic black man to replace him who is intellectually deficient and sings during his sermons. I despise people who use emotional manipulation of people.
There was a mass exodus from the congregation.
I’m seeing the special interest groups hiring more of their own rather than selecting the most qualified person.
I have always enjoyed when I have had a chance to train or instruct. I have found a joy in getting up in front of people and drawing out responses to new information...watching their eyes light up with recognition.
I have seriously considered a few times teaching HS or college as a career change, but this stuff has always been the line I just couldn’t cross. I have enough grief in my life without having to dwell in the sewers of daily political and popularity fights.
Plus as I have gotten older I tend to not care what others think of me, so my tolerance for this stuff has gotten much lower.
Classes must be so boring in colleges now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.