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Re: who really "knows his/her stuff"?



John Denker and others are absolutely correct that (1) having a Ph.D. in
physics does not guarantee the person can do physics; (2) does not
guarantee the person can teach physics, (3) and not having a Ph.D. in
physics does not mean the person cannot do or teach physics.

But where else do we start? When we have a vacancy for a position
normally held buy a person with a Ph.D., we typically stipulate in the
job description that a Ph.D. is required or at least preferred. Once
when we had an opening for a physicist at my college we said, "Ph.D. in
physics preferred; MS in physics will be considered." We said that
because we were not sure we would have enough Ph.D. applicants.
Goodness, were we ever surprised. We had a little over 200 applicants.
Of those, about 150 had a Ph.D. in physics and about 50 had an MS in
physics. There were a few who applied who did not have a physics degree
at all. I do not remember any Ed.D. or similar degrees, but there might
have been a couple.

Some of the MS applicants or no-physics-degree applicants might have
been wonderful physicists and wonderful teachers, but we didn't even
read their applications beyond noting they did not have a Ph.D. We
would indeed have read them and considered them if none of the 150 Ph.D.
applicants had worked out. But we never got close to that point. I
personally read all 150 Ph.D. applications, taking careful notes. Two
others on the search committee did the same thing. We independently
listed 20 that we liked. When we compared notes we found that the three
top-twenty lists contained 9 names in common. After a bit of
discussion, those 9 and a few others became our working list. One of
those was eventually hired.

I think this is one of the purposes of a degree. The degree is not a
ticket for a job, but it is a ticket to the applicant pool. If the
applicant pool is not restricted to those with a specific degree then
those with the preferred degree earn a higher position in the applicant
pool.

Given this situation, I can think of three ways an applicant without the
preferred degree can get careful consideration. (1) The applicant knows
someone who knows someone... (2) The applicant is already in the
institution in a lower-level position and has proven to be an
exceptional talent. (3) The number of preferred-degree applicants is
very small or zero.

Once the person is hired we need to remember the tenure process. If we
goof and hire someone who is not as good as we thought, that person
might be denied tenure. At a small college this could happen because of
poor scholarship or because of poor teaching. Having the proper Ph.D.
does not guarantee tenure.

Like others, I have known people without a Ph.D. who can run circles
around some who have the Ph.D. In higher education these people face an
uphill battle. I fought to get an MS person tenured. When that failed
I began fighting to have the person put on continuing two-year
contracts. That would not be the same as tenure, but it would mean the
position is filled and we are not looking. At the present time this
fight has neither been won nor lost. The administration is still trying
to decide whether to keep this wonderful person or go after a Ph.D. In
view of this type of situation, it's sad that the piece of paper carries
as much weight as it does, but that's the way it is.

In summary... (1) Those exceptional people without a Ph.D. are going to
have a significant uphill battle, particularly trying to land their
first job or to move to a different institution. (2) Those who have a
Ph.D., but aren't very good, can be weeded out. I admit this does not
always happen.

Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics and Chemistry
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu