Ann Coulter article

[DrAmazon]

http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/welcome.cgi

I'm thoroughly annoyed by Ann Coulter's latest article where she equates college professors with oil company executives and rails against them as overpaid, underqualified and useless.  

In order to post on her forum, I have to publicize my e-mail address, so I'll just vent here a bit.

As most of you know, I'm a college professor.  I in no way shape or form have anything in common with Ward Churchill.  Ok, I'm a homo sapiens, but other than that...

I'm a conservative professor, but keep politics out of my classroom because it doesn't belong there.  As for being overpaid, I'm barely making ends meet.  I'm almost ashamed of how little I make, compared to how long I was in school and how many hours a week I work.  I spend my "free time" writing grants so I can have a little research program and pay students to work in my lab and buy their equipment.  

She blames faculty salaries for the current high price of college tuition, when one of the biggest things driving up tuition is the students' demands for services and programs, which we feel compelled to provide in order to compete with other schools to attract and retain the best students.  Colleges spend a ton of money on IT infrastructure to accomodate music streaming, real time networked video games, hard drive and server space.  Students want and expect  state of the art fitness centers, pools,  gourmet dining halls, ample parking spaces, seats in any class they want, any time they want, free tutors, special advising, small class sizes, free wireless, subsidized health clinics and pharmacies, apartments (not dorms).  They protest for "living wages" for custodial and food service help, but then complain when room and board fees go up.  

At the state schools, the other huge factor is the states' decreasing support for higher ed, as K-12 and medicaid programs grow and grow every year.  Many states had complete hiring, budget and wage freezes during 2001-2003.  

Gaargh!!  

Thanks for listening...I'm feeling better now.  

DrA

[RevDisk]

Now now, Doc, you're expecting logic from Ms Coulter.  That was your first mistake.  

As for the rest, you're correct.   All of the services and facilities you meantioned do cost a ton of money.    But more than a few colleges and universities make extremely bad financial planning.   My university sold their on campus concession rights (book store, pseudo mini mart, etc) for insanely cheap rates, and the companies that bought the concession rights are making money hand over fist.   Look over any college's books, and you'll see a large number of questionable expenses.

Most profs I had were ordinary folks.  Some were "good", some weren't.  Most are just folks making a living.  Overpaid, they are not.   I've known very very few teachers who make extremely good pay.   It's one of those jobs you do because you enjoy, or are masochistic, not for the money.   Obviously there has to be something about the job ya love, otherwise, you'd have moved on.   So, let's here it.  Why ya do it?   What's your motivation?

[Justin]

Coulter hasn't been rational for the better part of five years.

[El Tejon]

She left Michigan and started drinking whatever is in the water in DC and NYC and became a superflake long ago.

[roo_ster]

DrAmazon:

I think you're reading a bit too much into her column.  She thinks it is useless to rail against oil industry salaries, especially in relation to their products' prices.  Even if they are paid a lot, they provide us all with the go-juice or autos need.  PC lefty profs of worthless fields get paid...for providing no real utility or product.  Yet the oil execs get the vitriol from the MSM for salaries.

Note, that she held up Ward Churchill as her whipping boy.  $120K/year for what?  Department "chair" of the Ethnic Studies Dept ay CU.

Who, outside of lefty academics, thinks being in charge of such a worthless, PC dept is worth more than minimum wage?  "Ethnic Studies?!"  What a waste of tuition, taxpayer, and endowment dollars.

How many other worthless PC departments feed at the higher ed trough?
Womyns Studies
Victim Studies
Gay Studies
etc.

Each such dept requires funding for salaries, equip, IT, and overhead.

Throw in all the other boondoggles I saw in college: health clinics, separate student unions for different ethnicities, recycling programs, etc., and we get soaring tuition.

Let's face it: higher ed is a sh!tty steward of resources.  Anything that sheds light on that fact is welcome, even if it is in a somewhat scattershot Ann Coulter article.

[charby]

Dr A,

I work for a state university and I totally agree with you. The regents here asked the legislature for more money last budget year and in return only raise tuition at rate on inflation, legislature agreed to follow through. Well 2 years in a row the legislature underfunded us again, so looks like the regents are going to raise tuition substantially.

In the past three years I have worked here each salary increase has fallen short of inflation rate. 1st year .4 %, 2nd year .74%, 3rd year 3.0% rumor has it that we might get 2.5% this year.

I think many professors are underpaid just because the amount of hours they put into work, many are on 9 month appointments but work year round because of research projects. I also think some are overpaid for what they do, but you find that in all industries.

C

[jefnvk]

His list of academic achievements consists of his majoring in communications and graphic arts. That's the only part of his resume that has not already been proved false, probably because no one would make that up.

Haha, so true.

It seemed to me more of a 'If this makes no sense to do to Professors, why do we do this to Oil Execs' than 'College Professors are overpaid'.  Which they arent.

If you want to know why prices are so high, look at a bill sometime.  Last semester, lab fees for labs I never even use cost me $250.  A can of pellets for the rifle class cost me $40.  Student Government fees, which are split up among all the student organizations, of which the ones I participate in have to still charge dues because tey recieve less money than the stupid ones I don't want to participate in but are deemed more worthy of money,  cost me $150.  I had a $10 social fee charged to everyone living in the dorms.  That is almost $500 right there in costs that I am getting almost nothing back on.

I don't mind paying for the classes.  I mind paying for all these stupid social and activity fees that I don't want to participate in.

And BTW, I still must be going to the wrong school, because I still have yet to see any of this indoctrination that is making me graduate as a liberal parasite.  I still ahve to pay for internet, cable is provided but i am pretty sure it is worked into the cost of housing.  Our dining hall, while very nicely done (was built in the 30's), is definitely not gourmet in cooking (probably everyone's biggest complaint, considering we pay about $9 a meal for heated up crap).  The school (certain departments at least) definitely has no problem telling us to shove it when we have a scheduling problem or there are too few seats.  Our special advising is to walk into a teachers office when they have advising hours.  Parking?  I park in a dirt lot about a quarter mile away.  Freshman park in a dirt lot 2.5 miles away.  We do have an onsite doctors office and pharmacy, but it is because there is a nursing school on the other side of the town that gives it its labor.  And it is definitely not subsidized.  State of the art phsical facility, fine, I concede that point.

[garyk/nm]

Professors overpaid? Well, maybe some, but for the most part, no. Now administrators and football/basketball coaches? That's a whole different kettle of stinky fish.

[Sergeant Bob]

Dr A,

I work for a state university and I totally agree with you. The regents here asked the legislature for more money last budget year and in return only raise tuition at rate on inflation, legislature agreed to follow through. Well 2 years in a row the legislature underfunded us again, so looks like the regents are going to raise tuition substantially.
C

Therein lies the problem. The legislature doesn't have money to give. They only have what they rob from others.

[charby]

Dr A,

I work for a state university and I totally agree with you. The regents here asked the legislature for more money last budget year and in return only raise tuition at rate on inflation, legislature agreed to follow through. Well 2 years in a row the legislature underfunded us again, so looks like the regents are going to raise tuition substantially.
C

Therein lies the problem. The legislature doesn't have money to give. They only have what they rob from others.

Yeah and they made a cash cow to the state illegal this session too, banned touch play lottery here in Iowa. They have money just keep throwing it at the wrong areas, I'm still trying to figure out why Iowa needs all this money for tourism attractions? People come to our state because we are Iowa not some theme park destination state.


C

[m1911owner]

I think you missed the point of her sacasm.  As I read her piece, she was trying to show just how ridiculous it sounds when you take the exact, same words that are being said about oil companies, and replace "oil company" with "university."  The point being that oil companies aren't the devils that the media are making them out to be; they're behaving pretty much just like any other organization that needs to stay out of bankruptcy.

(I acknowledge that as a secondary theme, she did throw a few punches that connected with Ward Churchill & Company.)

[DrAmazon]

Thanks for the responses and support gang.  I do see what you are saying about her sarcasm, but many don't understand sarcasm, and will walk away from that artcile thinking Profs are overpaid.  

My bloodpressure has returned to normal.  I made a concerted effort to not take my annoyance out on the lab reports I was grading.  

jefnvk-sounds like your college experience is a lot like mine was, and I think the bigger state schools are feeling less pressure to "satisfy the customers".  I've been in the smaller schools for several years now, and some of the attitudes make you want to puke.   Several of you pointed out all of the PC/diversity stuff, and I'd actually forgotten about that stuff (I see less of it being a science prof).  You guys are right, we do seem to throw a lot of money at that stuff, which should be secondary to what goes on in class.

Thanks again,
DrA

[Justin]

His list of academic achievements consists of his majoring in communications and graphic arts. That's the only part of his resume that has not already been proved false, probably because no one would make that up.

As a person with a BA in Computer Graphics Technology, having worked in high-end video production, broadcast television production, 3d animation, motion design, digital post-production, compositing, and now print design, I could get all huffy over this comment.

Suffice it to say, the odds that she even has a clue regarding High-Dynamic Range Imaging, Inverse Kinematics, font design, color balance, or proper use of whitespace, are probably less than zero.

On the other hand, I can be snarky, condescending, dismissive, and sarcastic, too.

Justin: about 50
Ann Coulter: 0

[Standing Wolf]

I do see what you are saying about her sarcasm, but many don't understand sarcasm, and will walk away from that artcile thinking Profs are overpaid.

Yo, Dr. Amazon!

I'm sure very few people turn to Ann Coulter's column for factual stuff. Anyone who would walk away from that article with the conclusion college professors are overpaid is probably too dumb to read all those big long words in the oft-cited "first place."

I think colleges would do a much better job if they were taken off the government teat and told to stand on their own hind legs in the real profit and loss world. Many would declare bankruptcy in a few weeks, of course; the survivors, however, would soon discover offering real knowledge can be very profitable.

[grampster]

I'm with Standing Wolf.  I like to read Coulter's rants because I enjoy seeing in print sometimes, what is running through my head regarding the present left wing gallavant through the realms of the fantasy land in which they live.

The Left seems to get away daily with outrageous behavior and self righteous comment.  I see Coulter as a counter to that.  It makes my heart soar like an eagle when she smuts on them and actually name's names.

Don't get me started on the state of government education.  I for one, could never tolerate being a teacher or professor who was actually trying to impart legitimate knowledge to her students given the atmosphere in those hotbeds of PC and socialism.

Doc A, I bet it would be fun in your classes, though.

[jefnvk]

The other part of me sees all of the mindlessly retarded excuses for social binge drinking, frat parties, and general idiocy combined with grade inflation and rampant cheating, and whispers in my ear if getting a diploma from a mill is really that bad in comparison.

You mean its not a good enough excuse to drink just because it is a Wednesday?

Once again, I am unexposed to this so called grade inflation that seems to be a topic of complaint.  One of my friends classes specifically said 'You will not get an A in this class unless you go above and beyond the requirements'.

Maybe I need to transfer to UM or MSU for a semester, to see for myself all these complaints.

[SteveS]

The other part of me sees all of the mindlessly retarded excuses for social binge drinking, frat parties, and general idiocy combined with grade inflation and rampant cheating, and whispers in my ear if getting a diploma from a mill is really that bad in comparison.

You mean its not a good enough excuse to drink just because it is a Wednesday?

Once again, I am unexposed to this so called grade inflation that seems to be a topic of complaint.  One of my friends classes specifically said 'You will not get an A in this class unless you go above and beyond the requirements'.

Maybe I need to transfer to UM or MSU for a semester, to see for myself all these complaints.

Hey, I never saw grade inflation at MSU...and there were a few classes where I wish I had.  

MTU is definately not a hotbed of liberalism, or at least it wasn't when I lived up there.  I don't think engineering tends to attract many libs.

[DrAmazon]

Doc A, I bet it would be fun in your classes, though.

We did have a blast this semester.  We laughed entirely too much for an 8 am organic chem class.   The class painted the campus "rock" for me this past week.  We were laughing about it when I passed out the final, and my Dean heard the laughing from across the hall and wondered what was up (eek!).  Some of the particpants in rock painting may not pass the class, but they still learned a bunch.  

General chem turned out ok too.  On their final, I asked them the coolest thing the'd learned in the class and everyone wrote something, and most of them seemed genuine (not just suck-upy).