[The_Reader_David]

Those of us who actually went through the “publish or perish” gauntlet to earn the academic title of Professor (without diminishing adjectives like “Assistant”, “Associate”, or “Adjunct”) resent the sloppy usage that styles a mere Senior Lecturer—a position lower than an Assistant Professor in the usual American usage, though U. Chicago may affect the British style in which it is the equivalent of Assistant Professor—as a professor.

If Obama deserves to be called a professor, where are his publications? (No, self-glorifying autobiographies don’t count, actual scholarly publications in refereed journals relevant to his academic field.)

I know, that was question 16 in the the original post. Personally I suspect there aren’t any, and he was never a professor, just a lecturer.

[thecodont]

At a certain law school, there are many academic titles in effect. "Professor" is for the person who has (a) at least a Juris Doctor degree (three years of law school, the "bachelor's degree" of legal studies, the former LL.B., as opposed to the more advanced LL.M., the "master's degree" of legal studies, and the "J.S.D." or Ph.D. equivalent), plus has gone through a five-year review for tenure, which includes teaching evaluations, public and community service work, and publications. The "tenure-track" candidate is "Assistant Professor" and/or "Associate Professor" until tenure is granted.

Beyond the tenured, tenure-track, and retired tenured (read: emeritus) professors, there are the adjunct professors (who have day jobs elsewhere), the lecturers, lecturers in residence, senior lecturers, etc., who are all outside the pale.

If BO was a mere lecturer or adjunct, he deserves a good swat on the behind with a copy of The Chronicle of Higher Education for putting on airs.