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



Joe Heafner writes:

What they really need to do is 'fess up and admit up
front that their faculty are NOT hired based
on teaching competence, but are hired based on their (somehow
quantified) potential to bring in the grant $$$. Undergrads need to be
aware of this from day one.

The tarring brush is a bit broad, here! Research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions are not the same thing, nor are their hiring and tenure policies the same.

Actually, we do hire based on prior demonstrated teaching ability. And, tenure at our institution (4-year college, no graduate students) requires continued demonstration of teaching excellence. Professional activity and service are also required, but they are explicitly secondary. If the teaching isn't there, the other two factors cannot save you.

********************************************
"Border relations between Canada
and Mexico have never been better."
- President George W. Bush
********************************************
George Spagna
Department of Physics
Randolph-Macon College
P.O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005-5505
phone: (804) 752-7344
FAX (804) 752-4724
e-mail: gspagna@rmc.edu
http://faculty.rmc.edu/gspagna