--- Forwarded Message from "David Pankratz" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 13:59:54 -0500
>From: "David Pankratz" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #7574 LangLab director with "fraudulent" PhD

Nina,
I agree that Ms. Mentor has responded wisely. I especially like her
comment "Often what seems to be the path of righteousness is also the
path of shooting oneself in the foot." And of course in the process many
others can get shot in the foot, too.

My reading of this situation is that the real story behind the scenes is
the lack of "justice and fairness" for so many teachers in the academic
setting, which in turn prompts them to look for somebody to blame or
criticize. Too many people with bonafide credentials are not being paid
adequately, not given any job security, etc.

I hope that in this case the consensus is to leave Phoebe in her job,
which she performs so well. I also agree that not every managerial
position at a university should require a Ph.D. Sometimes the system
sets itself up for trouble. It is a very small minority of people who
have earned Ph.D.'s that are interested in the day-to-day
challenges--and tedium--of "running" a language center. At most
institutions a distinction is made between an "academic director", which
usually requires a Ph.D., and a "manager" which should probably not
require one. The tricky thing is that sometimes these two jobs are
combined into one, which is the case where I work.

David Pankratz
Loyola University Chicago
IALLT Past President