In article >,
Pennyaline > wrote:

> On 2/13/2010 22:59, Dan Abel wrote:
> > In >,
> > > wrote:
> >
> >> On 2/13/2010 20:13, Nomen Nescio wrote:
> >
> >>> There are many reasons why Monica Pignotti was FIRED FROM FSU.. Generally
> >>> she is just unfit to teach.
> >
> >> Wow. Academic freedom doesn't mean anything anymore.
> >
> > Who says?
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomen_nescio
> >
> > "Nomen nescio, abbreviated to N.N., is used to signify an anonymous or
> > non-specific person. From Latin nomen, name, and nescire, not to know,
> > be ignorant of. Together, I do not know the name."
> >
> > When you see "Nomen Nescio" as the author on the internet, that means
> > they are using an anonymous remailer to post with, as they don't want
> > anybody to know who they are.
>
> But... but... but I... <arg!>
>
> Will I ever learn to not make a joke in this group?

Or you'll learn, the hard way, like I did, that you have to say that
it's a joke. I worked at a University for 25 years. Although I was on
the staff, I did interact with the faculty some, and I taught a few
classes. There were basically two types of faculty, permanent and
temporary. The permanent could not be fired, although the President
laid off 24 tenured faculty one year, and since it was obvious to
*everyone* that he got rid of the ones he didn't like, we got censured
by a national faculty organization, and the local court become a
revolving door for those faculty (after the first couple, the judge
didn't want to hear the cases, just ordered that they be rehired, with
full back pay). Temporary faculty could, and were, let go at the end of
their contract (maximum one year, often one semester). We had one
"temporary" faculty member who had been there 20 years. He had a Phd in
the field, and was published. But the other faculty in that department
didn't think he was tenure-track material, so he was never offered a job
leading to a permanent position.

So, to make a short story long, a professor with tenure has lots of
academic freedom. A tenure track professor who hasn't gotten tenure yet
better watch everything they say or do, or there's up to 18 years of
work down the drain for one little thing (4 years as an undergraduate,
up to 7 years to get a Phd and up to 7 years to get tenure). And I
don't think they get another chance elsewhere, depending on the
circumstances. A "temporary" faculty member doesn't have much to lose,
but still, if they **** enough people off, they won't get renewed and
word can spread that they are a troublemaker, so they'll have trouble
getting other jobs nearby.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA