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Retired UNC-CH professors offer to teach for free

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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

(Updated Friday, December 3, 2010 - 11:37 am)

By
Associated Press

CHAPEL HILL (AP) — Some retired professors from UNC-Chapel Hill say they've received little response to their offer to teach for free to help with budget cuts.

Retired professor Andrew Dobelstein said members of the UNC-CH Retired Faculty Association made the offer in February, the News & Observer of Raleigh reported today.

UNC-CH has had to cut its operating budget 10 percent, or more than $60 million, this year. Dobelstein said the university could soften the blow by taking advantage of the more than 600 retired professors in the Chapel Hill area.

Executive associate provost Ron Strauss said the school doesn't want professors who aren't staying on the cutting edge of their disciplines. It would be wise to use retired professors who match the school's needs, he said.

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Interested

September 22, 2009 - 10:51 am EDT

While I understand the need for one to stay abreast of changes in certain fields (especially in the sciences or higher level classes), there are many entry level classes that could be taught by this pool of generous, experienced faculty. What a wonderful opportunity UNC-CH is failing to take advantage of. I hope they reconsider their position, and if not, I hope the retired faculty will consider putting their skills to use in the public high schools - think of the AP classes that could be offered, giving students potential college credits while still in high school.

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 11:16 am EDT

Whoa.
While on the surface this sounds like a generous and helpful offer, I caution all involved to think about the consequences.
Something taken away in the budget is rarely given back.
Ask the newspaper industry with its free websites if they have seen a severe loss of revenue regarding the sale of newspapers.....
Once retired professors volunteer to teach for free, those paid positions will never get put back in the budget. Now educated, qualified men and women who need to feed their family will be out of a job.
And should you be a blue collar worker, this also applies to you. Imagine if your boss suddenly decided your position should be taken by a 'volunteer.' (...not much different that jobs lost to illegal aliens, if you ask me.) Or what if you were suddenly 'encouraged' to work a few hours 'off the clock' for the good of the company...it would look really good on your next review...hint, hint, threat, threat.
No.
Fund the position or do without. If it hurts the university (in this case), so be it. Let people see that education isn't something you want to buy "on sale." And remember, if you think having volunteers take university professors' jobs is a good idea, don't come crying when your boss decides your job is next on the volunteer block.

nrsux

September 22, 2009 - 11:46 am EDT

Get a Clue -- take your username's advice.

While on the surface this sounds like a generous and helpful offer, I caution all involved to think about the consequences.
***Chicken Little beginning.

Something taken away in the budget is rarely given back.
***Thinking like a Govt. drone.

Ask the newspaper industry with its free websites if they have seen a severe loss of revenue regarding the sale of newspapers.....
***Inappropriate analogy between public and private sector. Also newspapers tend to be ultra-liberal and fail to provide a real diversity of viewpoints.

Once retired professors volunteer to teach for free, those paid positions will never get put back in the budget. Now educated, qualified men and women who need to feed their family will be out of a job.
***Like mill workers, lawyers, clerks and accountants. Thank your elected representatives Rep and Dem for outsourcing, lack of protection of American jobs and NAFTA.

And should you be a blue collar worker, this also applies to you. Imagine if your boss suddenly decided your position should be taken by a 'volunteer.' (...not much different that jobs lost to illegal aliens, if you ask me.) Or what if you were suddenly 'encouraged' to work a few hours 'off the clock' for the good of the company...it would look really good on your next review...hint, hint, threat, threat.
***Not applicable because those with a common skillset cannot afford to work for free and most cannot. They will seek paying jobs.

Fund the position or do without. If it hurts the university (in this case), so be it.
***Who elected you queen?

Let people see that education isn't something you want to buy "on sale." And remember, if you think having volunteers take university professors' jobs is a good idea, don't come crying when your boss decides your job is next on the volunteer block.
***Again -- inapplicable analogy

I can't play every day or even every week bc I have gainful employment and other responsibilities, but GAC you have been taught your lesson. Quit crying, work, and stop believing government is the solution to the problem.

Government is the problem.

Care to comment on the lack of news about ACORN?

www.davidduke.com

Interested

September 22, 2009 - 11:56 am EDT

This loss of positions does not just hurt the university, it hurts the students. These positions have already been taken. To assume they will be replaced anytime in the near future is very optimistic. In the meantime, you have students who are unable to get basic classes. (My daughter, and seven of her high school classmates are freshmen at UNC-CH this year. Of the eight, one was able to get an English class. None were able to get math.) And with the tuition increases, increases in book costs, and increases in room and board costs, they are not getting their education "on sale," but are instead paying more for less (as compared to previous years). Volunteers there are really no different than volunteers anywhere else. They have had volunteers in the local elementary school for the last thirteen years at least. That did not stop the local school board from hiring aides.

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 12:22 pm EDT

Interested, I share your pain with a child of my own in college. The costs go up, the aid goes down, and I'm not getting any richer. But your mentality is why Wal-Mart thrives...or I should say the billionaires in the Walton family thrive while the employees suffer. We settle for the cheap plastic disposable lower-priced geegaw sold by low-paid employees, many of whom used to be our neighborhood small business owners...the ones who sold us the real deal and stood behind their products.
Your willingness to sacrifice the paid positions and livelihoods of others just so your daughter can get her education as cheaply as possible are short-sighted at best. There is no other way to describe it. You should demand more of the college and your elected officials instead of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Imagine once she earns her degree she discovers there are no openings in her field of study because all the positions are taken by retired volunteers. This cycle only feeds upon itself.

Interested

September 22, 2009 - 12:54 pm EDT

Sorry to disagree, but WalMart thrives despite me. I am a "neighborhood business owner," and as such, shop with local business owners, shopping at Wal Mart only for items that cannot be otherwise purchased locally (i.e., within 30 miles - I live in a rural area). I am also intelligent enough to know that you don't turn down help in times of need that will benefit others. Your reasoning could easily be extended to the likes of the Red Cross - why accept their help? Eventually, local businesses can tend to the needs. Let me tell you why - because the help is needed NOW, for students presently enrolled. The best managers know that volunteers cannot replace employees nor vice versa. But in times of need, they can help bridge a gap.

nrsux

September 22, 2009 - 1:42 pm EDT

Still silent about ACORN?

And what about the 35,000 black males convicted of raping white women in 2005 as opposed to only 10 rapes by white men of black females?
(FBI Crime Stats).

LBJ put America on the track to being minority white with his increase of the immigration from non-white areas. Now his decision, along with a lack of a real border patrol, continues to reduce our country to a third world state.

And no amount of sanitizing by the news and record where the "description of the suspect was incomplete" will change the fact that blacks commit an alarming majority of violent crimes. And the powers that be have decided that only whites can be convicted of "hate" crimes.

If you want to look at real hate crimes, copy the link below to your browser.

www.davidduke.com

GAC -- Doesn't it bother you that your country is being overtaken and the media fails to report each and every crime where a gang of blacks attacks white people and children? The david duke website links to many black hate crimes that you will not hear about on Fox, ABC, etc.

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 2:04 pm EDT

I always enjoy when nrsux comes out to play. It's entertaining, to say the least.
One of the benefits to our President Obama's election has been to embolden those who used to hide under pointy white masks to come out and reveal themselves for the small-minded bigots they have always been. So, thank you, nrsux.
P.S.--I am delighted when any person or organization abusing the public trust or public funding is exposed, be it ACORN or Governor Sanford or Hassan Nemazee or ex-President Nixon.

nrsux

September 22, 2009 - 2:13 pm EDT

Your non-response is deafening.

How can you be silent when an entire race of people has declared war on your own race and the media fails to report it? You have no dignity.

How is it radical to ask the media to report on the black crime wave?

www.daviduke.com

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 2:52 pm EDT

nrsux,
I'll be happy to debate anyone on the facts of an issue.
Until then, have a nice life.

Interested

September 22, 2009 - 2:16 pm EDT

nrsux - What does any of this have to do with the letter to the editor?

nrsux

September 22, 2009 - 3:16 pm EDT

2 sheeple.

www.davidduke.com

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 3:30 pm EDT

baaaaaa ;-p

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 2:01 pm EDT

Interested,
I agree with all you say.
But I would split hairs over the Red Cross analogy as one being a natural disaster where lives and safety were immediately in crisis and the fact your daughter couldn't get a specific class as being, well, different. Were I not able to get the class I wanted because of overenrollment I would not dare stand in front of someone from Georgia who just lost everything in that flood and say, "I know exactly how you feel. You've lost everything. I can't take English until next semester." There is a vast difference between taking something to a logical conclusion and playing the 'slippery slope' game.
I also agree with your assessment about what the best managers know. I'd bet we also both agree "the best managers" are not always the ones making the decisions nor the ones controlling the purse strings, so that analogy depends entirely on faith and trust.

Interested

September 22, 2009 - 2:20 pm EDT

You stray - of course the situations are vastly different, but the point is there is no need to turn down volunteers. If anyone is playing the "slippery slope" game it is you - to say that professors will forever be unemployed because a few volunteers fill in is a stretch. The sky is not falling, it is merely raining.

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 2:47 pm EDT

Excellent point. We are both guilty of hyperbole to shore up our points.
What I should have said was that in my limited sphere of experience as a professional educator for 20+ years I have never worked for an administration which discouraged faculty taking on additional tasks (classes, administrative duties) when positions went unfilled due to retirement or RIFfing. That certainly does not make my experiences a universal truth. Please accept my apologies.
In public education all my experiences were as follows: district administrators would file for 'emergency status' to allow classroom numbers to go as high as 40 rather than hire additional teachers to keep then at the still-too-crowded but legal 25. In higher education administration would simply hire adjunct faculty (part-time, much lower wages, no benefits or office space) to replace full-time faculty lost through retirement or attrition. I recently retired from a higher education faculty position (18 teaching hours) and was replaced by 2 adjunct faculty (6 + 6 hours); the remainder of the courses I taught were simply canceled (6 hours). Many students were left with no options but to delay their graduation. The Chairperson was told my position will not be filled by another full-time faculty. Should I volunteer to go back and teach for free?
Keep in mind our college president makes well over 6 figures and did not turn down his most recent raise. We are top-heavy in administration. (I see UNCG is dealing with the same issues.) Many other departments are permitted to hire full-time, qualified faculty to replace those leaving.
Interested, I don't wish to come off as I'm right and you're wrong; I just hope we can both see there are many more sides to this issue. I thank you for providing me with more insight than I had when I first read this article. I certainly hope your business remains successful and your daughter gets all she can from her college education, and in timely fashion.

Interested

September 22, 2009 - 3:04 pm EDT

And I am sorry for the position you find yourself in. Certainly, a number of administrators/managers/CEOs look out for number one, I do not deny that. And as a number of recent articles suggest, the entire UNC system seems to be bloated as far as administrative positions are concerned. Hopefully, with continued media/public scrutiny, admin costs will be reduced and the funds will be reallocated to teaching positions. In the meantime, I hope that someone, whether it be the UNC system or the public school system (if these professors are willing to go that route), benefits from the offer these retirees have made.

Get A Clue

September 22, 2009 - 3:29 pm EDT

Thank you, Interested.
And if Allen Johnson is reading, I hope he recognizes his recent editorial was effective. (I'm trying harder, Mr. Johnson!)
And should a social meeting of contributors come to pass, I hope I have the opportunity to meet Interested, as well as many other contributors.