

Mistreated as Student, Alum Donates $10m for $30k Prizes to 'Nice' Professors - cwan
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Mistreated-as-a-Student-an/24841/

======
holdenc
Based on my own experience, kind professors can be more inspiring, and are
often times successful people.

------
jamn
The obvious question is whether this is an effective way to encourage
professors to be nice or simply a nice way to reward those who would otherwise
have been already nice.

In other words, will professors find the possibility of making extra $30k
exciting enough to change their attitude? If the answer is no, then perhaps
this is not a very good way to bring more niceness to the classroom.

~~~
MichaelSalib
_In other words, will professors find the possibility of making extra $30k
exciting enough to change their attitude? If the answer is no, then perhaps
this is not a very good way to bring more niceness to the classroom._

Even if the answer is no, this can still have a positive benefit. Profs with
an extra $30K might use the money to be more productive (i.e., by hiring extra
researchers). More productive profs are more likely to succeed in academia and
thus more likely to select profs with similar values when their department
hires new faculty.

~~~
vecter
That's a valid point, but more successful doesn't necessarily imply "nicer" or
"more compassionate", which I believe was the goal of the donation.

------
huherto
He took the high road. I don't know if I could resist using some millions to
make life miserable to those who mistreated me.

~~~
VictorHo
I take the down votes to signify that this is somehow an unacceptable mindset?

Although I don't hold the same view as the commenter, I do always appreciate
this type of honesty on the board.

~~~
huherto
txs, I was just pointing out that money can be used for good or evil. And he
chose to use it for good. You can always do the right thing in a hypothetical
situation, but you never know until you face the real situation.

------
moolave
This is the best thank you gift you can return to those who "maltreated" you
back then: giving back with kindness. People will always remember you for your
magnanimous charity no matter how terrible the past was.

~~~
hugh3
I don't get the impression the past was _that_ terrible for him, regardless of
the headline. His professors didn't flush his head in the toilet, there were
merely unsympathetic when he was late handing things in.

------
rmason
In my experience the hardest professors were the best ones. I remember
grafitti in the mens bathroom that I read as a freshman about one. When I
finally had a class with her as a senior she turned out to be the professor I
ever had. The lessons I learned in that class have stayed with me throughout
my career.

I relayed some of the grafitti to a female alum many years later. I said it's
glad she never got to read any of it. She burst out laughing and said what
they wrote about her in the womens bathroom was far worse.

------
aswanson
One of the most obnoxious, useless professors I knew spent most of his time in
lecture recalling his myriad accomplishments and praising himself. As an
adult, it's easy to see what a sad, unfulfilled lout he was, but as an
undergrad you can be easily impressed by such buffonery. Please extinct the
tenure system.

------
billswift
To me this just came across as whiny and petty. From my high school experience
and the little time I spent in college, the hard-nosed professors who insisted
on hard work and punctuality actually contribute more to their students'
eventual success than the easy-going, "nice" ones. I strongly suspect this guy
was more successful _because of_ what he calls his 'mistreatment' than because
of the few "nice" professors.

~~~
SapphireSun
Before I was able to find a job, I was taking some classes at a local college.
I was at the end of my financial resources (I could barely afford shoes) and
they wanted me to buy this expensive textbook and problem sets online. I
already had a perfectly serviceable textbook, but I wanted to be able to
practice for exams. I asked the prof. if he could print out a few from his
laptop or something, and he flat out refused, even when I told him that I was
too poor to afford it :-(. There might have been some miscommunication, but
there are times when demands are clearly unreasonable.

~~~
jensv
A kind professor can sometimes use their administrative privileges to create a
"testing" account, which they can pass on to a student. Many of the courses I
took in my undergrad degree required electronic components which may cost as
much as the textbook.

------
ErrantX
Im sure this is hyped up a bit :)

But the idea is extremely sound - good professors mean great students. And
great students == innovation.

