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