The following appeared in a letter from a department chairperson to the president of Pierce University.
"Some studies conducted by Bronston College, which is also located in a small town, reveal that both male and female professors are happier living in small towns when their spouses are also employed in the same geographic area. Therefore, in the interest of attracting the most gifted teachers and researchers to our faculty and improving the morale of our entire staff, we at Pierce University should offer employment to the spouse of each new faculty member we hire. Although we cannot expect all offers to be accepted or to be viewed as an ideal job offer, the money invested in this effort will clearly be well spent because, if their spouses have a chance of employment, new professors will be more likely to accept our offers."
The above letter seems to be highly flawed as a lot of crucial data is missing in it. It has failed to mention the credibility of the study conducted by Bronston College and what were the basic criteria for the study? Was it to calculate the happiness quotient of the professors teaching over there? Even if the study was actually done on the proper criteria was it evaluated properly so as to claim that the professors are happy living in a small town because their spouses are also employed in the same area? Or is it because of some other reason?
ReplyDeleteNow to propose such an idea, which is completely based on some other university, conducted on people who have no relation with the Pierce University, can be very easily said than done. Nowhere in this world its easy for people to find a job for themselves even when they work so hard for it. If the university claims that it will offer an extra job with the post of a professor then it would cost a much more in terms of time, effort and money which cannot be justified. And it’s not just about getting an employment for the spouse; people have their own likings and choices. To find a perfect combination of job for both professors and their spouses is really very difficult. On top of this there is no guarantee that once a professor is employed there with his or her spouse working as well, he or she may not leave the job for a better offer. In this case all the effort, time and money invested in the whole process would be wasted and again the same cycle would be repeated adding up to the already incurred price.
And even before this offer is actually implemented, it will have a very adverse effect on the current professors teaching in Pierce Univ. They will feel discriminated and less appreciated. And instead of improving the moral of the entire staff it will end up with current professors feeling less motivated. This may even affect their teaching in the class. Further any kind of verbal or physical clashes between new and old professors cannot be ruled out.
According to me the Pierce University should conduct its own study on their professors and try to find out the missing factor among them. This will definitely let them understand what needs to be done in order to attract qualified professors.