smclean Professorate

Superstars!!*****
I have to say deep in my heart this section of the book made me happy. I have often flipped the TV to a channel like VH1 and caught part of "The Fabulous Life" which idolizes the lavish lives that celebrities/sports stars lead. Typically I make it through about ten minutes of the show before becoming completely enraged. I always wonder, what have these people done to deserve the kind of attention that us mere mortals lavish upon them and the huge amount of money that they make for doing.... oh wait what do they do exactly to deserve such obsene amounts of money? So, to see scholars that are doing research for the common good and being paid accordingly makes me feel a little better about the world. It's nice to know that somewhere someone realizes that these scholars are doing way more to better society than say Paris Hilton or Shaquille O'Neal.

On the other hand it is a bit concerning to hear about the greed and tasteless self-promotion of some of the "superstars". It seems when egos come into the picture even academic superstars begin to act with the same amount of sense and decorum as Paris Hilton.

I like the idea that some scholars are being paid appropriately for the contributions they have made to their field. However, Nelson and Watt point out the salaries of superstars often lead to resentment from colleagues, particularly when the person dubbed a "superstar" has not really reached that level of scholarship. Should scholars be paid more and accordingly for thier contributions? Absolutely! Should it be at the expense of their colleagues? NO. As Nelson and Watt state, "For higher education only stands to lose if we cannot begin to see ourselves as communities with responsibilities for one another's welfare." I think we should remember that academe is not the corporate world and salries should not reflect that.

A final point that I wanted to address is a very small point that Nelson and Watt make. Superstardom is only obtainable to those faculty members who publish and produce large amounts of useful research. No one will ever become an academic superstar because of their fabulous teaching skills. That is a bit discouraging but of course will most likely always be the case. Last time I checked great teaching skills weren't exactly bringing in the money for a university. Doesn't that show there is something wrong with the picture. What aren't exceptional teaching skills valued more???