Write Timing

As I am entering the library earlier this week, I pass by a student on a cell phone and hear the student make the following statement: “I finished all my finals but I still have to write a 60 page term paper which is due in two days.”  As hard as it is to believe, the student clearly stated that the paper is due in two days.  I’m a good writer and assuming all the research is done, I could write a good paper in two days but I seriously doubt that I can write a first rate paper that is anywhere near 60 pages long (even assuming I use large margins and type size) in such a limited time frame.  I know nothing about the student I passed by; he could be an awesome student or an awful student but in either case, I would question whether time management was an area of strength for this person.

I think to some extent we all overestimate what we can do and how long it takes us to do it until the moment of truth arrives.  A 60 page paper is clearly a moment of truth.  And what does the student do at that moment—write continuously, ask for an extension, ask for an extension based on a traumatic event, borrow someone else’s paper?  The alternatives range from not good, to not smart, to counterproductive,  to not ethical, to perhaps fatal.  I still remember the person in graduate school who lost a grandparent every semester at final time.  The first time it happened everyone was sympathetic and the student was given extensions in all his courses. By the third time everyone was skeptical.  To my knowledge this person, though very intelligent, never completed his degree.

One semester in graduate school I had the opportunity to schedule all my courses for the semester on one day, with classes from early morning until late at night.  Since I was doing adjunct teaching at the same time, the one day schedule was irresistible to me.  Everything was going well, with all my exams and papers scheduled on different days until final exam time. For final exams there was a set schedule where the exam was the last class of the semester.  In some colleges and universities there are provisions where a student can reschedule a final if there two other finals are scheduled the same day.  There was no such provision that was available for me to make use of.  And so, I came to class and completed the four finals in one day.  I did very well on the first two, well on the third, and just OK on the fourth (though I knew the material well).  By the fourth exam, I was no longer exam focused.  Not surprisingly, I never took advantage of a scheduling opportunity like this again.

There are so many subjects that we teach well that are critical to a good education but we rarely teach time management.  Some university 101 courses do cover this material but I believe it is presented to a small minority of students and perhaps appreciated by even fewer.  An educated person also benefits greatly by being able to allocate his or her time in the best manner possible.  We should do more to reinforce this concept.

Right Time

Late this week, I received a letter from our longest serving faculty member.  This person has served for over 50 years as a full-time faculty member and continues to be an excellent teacher, an outstanding colleague and a respected scholar.  The letter started off by stating “Much to my own dismay, I have come to the conclusion that now is indeed the time to begin the process of my retirement.” The letter continues by noting that “there are moments when inevitability takes precedence over all else and I must defer.”

This faculty member will be retiring at the end of the 2013-2014 academic year when she will have completed 54 years of service.  Prior to that time she plans to maintain the same sustained high level of activity that has characterized her decades of service up to this time.  In addition she plans to help create a new institute on campus and plan a detective-fiction conference.  As you can tell, this person has been and continues to be a tremendous asset to the University and she will be missed.

Not every career works as smoothly.  When I first arrived at Hofstra there was a person who was both an excellent teacher and a nationally recognized scholar.  This person was one of a handful of Hofstra faculty that I had heard of prior to joining Hofstra.  But this person never wanted to leave even though, over the years, the person’s abilities declined until what remained was a shadow of the original outstanding scholar/teacher.  No colleague ever spoke to this person about what was happening but many colleagues suggested to department chairs and deans that it was, and had been for a number of years, clearly time for the person to go.

When is the right time to go?  The easy answer is when you are still at the top of your game, or in baseball terms, when you are still a 300 + hitter.  Life and finances sometimes makes that hard to do.  Lack of feedback also makes it hard to do.  I never cease to be amazed when faculty or administrators come to talk to me about the diminished skill set of a colleague without every talking to the colleague, even though this happens on a regular basis. Why can’t they talk first to the person they are talking about?  Students also tend to talk to other students about faculty but you can’t expect them to talk to the faculty member about these issues even though they are being shortchanged. Teacher evaluation programs can help but that feedback alone may not be sufficient.

For someone who has served many years, a soft landing is essential.  On-going comprehensive feedback is also essential.  The feedback can’t just be there when everything is going well.  With that combination together with the common sense of the overwhelming majority of faculty, I think the answer to when is the right time to retire will be clear.

Test Takers

I had a terrific experience as a doctoral student. The courses, the faculty, the other students all made for a wonderful educational journey. I was certain economics was the right field for me before I began and I was even more certain by the time I graduated.  Within this wonderful experience, one moment still stands out, not because it directly involved economics, not because it represented an intellectual breakthrough, but rather because I learned an important life lesson.

That moment was when I took my statistics qualifying examination.  That day approximately a dozen students came to take the exam.  The faculty proctor handed out the exam and we all began.  Now the statistics qualifying exam had a reputation for being rigorous but also had a reputation as an exam where typically 5 people passed.  If there were a small number of test takers or a larger number, the results always seemed to be the same—five students passed.  About thirty minutes into a two hour exam, the proctor decided to leave the room while we all continued working on our examinations.  Shortly thereafter one thing changed.  Even though this was not an open book examination, one of the test takers took out the textbook plus a notebook, and began working on the answers with the added support in clear view. What did I do and what did the rest of the class do?  Each of us just kept working on the examination and following the rules.

About an hour later, the proctor returned for the last 30 minutes of the examination period.  Within a few minutes most of us handed in our exams and left the room.  I thought I did well on the exam but nevertheless, was a little apprehensive.   I didn’t say anything to the proctor as I was leaving about the person cheating, and to my knowledge neither did anyone else.  A day or two later, I found out that one of my classmates reported the student who cheated.  His exam was disallowed and I was told he was suspended from the program.  A penalty that was certainly deserved.

When the results of the exam became known about two weeks later, I was relieved to learn that I had passed.  Five students passed this qualifying exam, and going from highest to lowest passing grade, I was number 5.  If the cheater hadn’t been turned in, I assume I would not have passed.

I have been thinking about the Long Island students who paid other students to take the SATs for them.  For a few thousand dollars, they were on the fast track to a much more impressive SAT score and the resulting benefits in terms of gaining admission or being awarded a scholarship.  But very often, just as was the case in my statistics qualifying examination, someone cheating their way to admission or a scholarship likely precluded the person deserving the recognition from receiving it.  In all the publicity regarding the exam takers and those who paid for someone to take the exam, the real potential victims have not been identified. They are the individuals who did everything right, but nevertheless would have been shortchanged out of the positive results of their efforts.  I know it can happen.  It almost happened to me.

I often think that we are not as stringent as we should be in our monitoring and enforcement of academic honesty and I also think that we are often too lenient in the penalties we impose for violations of academic honesty.  If we are to be fair to the individuals who do everything the way it should be done, we (faculty, students, and administrators) need to do more to eliminate cheating. If we turn the other cheek to cheating, we are hurting ourselves and cheating the system that we are part of.

Failure

The news from the congressional supercommittee was not surprising.  No budget deal – meaning we now will have an automatic triggering of across-the-board budget reductions.  What a bad decision by our Congressional leaders, what a bad impact for our economy, and what a failure to read the will of the public.

How did we get here?  Clearly, too many lines in the sand.  A reluctance to cut spending coupled with an equally forceful reluctance to increase any tax rates.  Leadership by following a "my way or the highway philosophy."  There are without question some areas in social services, health, and defense where spending reductions should be very measured.  There are also many tax rates that should under no conditions be increased.  But there is also without question justification for some spending cuts and justifications for some tax increases (or loop-hole decreases).

But where we are now, with across-the-board adjustments the default position, is on the verge of doings greater harm to the economy.  With the triggering of across-the-board cuts, spending in areas such as health, research, some kinds of student aid, and even defense all are about to be reduced.  Who loses by doing this, other than those directly involved in these industries?  We all do given the critical nature, the future consequences, and huge impact of the industries involved.   And are we really sure that this budget reduction number even makes sense for the economy or is it another case of a guesstimate by Congress, which can now lead to another line in the sand?

Most of us know that compromise is possible if politics move to the sideline and national interest moves to the forefront.  Most of us also know that the best interests of our economy and our country require compromise.  Will our nation's leaders jeopardize our best interests by cutting without thinking or will our leaders rise to the occasion?  We don't need or want more political rhetoric.  Instead, we need thoughtful solutions to cut the deficit brought about by thoughtful elected officials.  For the current crisis, the last best time is clearly now.

Happy Birthday Chevrolet

This month, Chevrolet turns 100 years old.  Happy Birthday Chevrolet.  In the Chevy line-up over the years are many of the models that I fell in love with when I was growing up.  I still love seeing an early Corvette and I have always been crazy about the ‘57 Chevy Bel Air hardtop, ideally in candy apple red though I could do without the fluffy dice hanging from the rear view mirror.  But the Chevies I most wanted, came out when I was nowhere near driving age.  When I reached driving age, the first car I bought and paid for was a ‘69 Chevy Nova.  The car was OK transportation.  The car had three options—a (powerglide) automatic transmission, an AM radio (with one speaker), and for $6.95, real vinyl upholstery.  The car was reliable transportation but nothing more.  I really wanted a car along the lines of the more classic Chevrolets. I wanted a car that I could connect with on an emotional level.

In 1974, a new Chevrolet Vega came out.  The car was nicely styled, especially the hatchback and I purchased it with almost every option that Chevrolet offered.  And in fact not only did I purchase a Vega, I convinced two of my friends who were in the market for new cars to purchase a Vega as well and by purchasing three at the same time, we got as good a price for the car as possible.  The car was a sales success, not only among the three of us, but it also resonated well among the general public.  It may not have been a 1957 Bel Air or a Corvette, but I liked driving it and  even looked for reasons to drive.  So far so good.

Within months, the  three speed automatic transmission started slipping and shortly thereafter my three speed transmission became a one speed transmission.  In rush hour, when I needed to drive at 15 miles per hour or less, I was fine; otherwise I was going nowhere fast…except back to the dealer.  The dealer was courteous and immediately kept the car to repair the transmission.  It seems that there was a synthetic transmission oil that had replaced the previous oil and no doubt GM saved a few cents on each car by this change.  Which is fine…as long as the replacement was thoroughly tested and as durable as the original product.

Now, any car can have a one-time problem and especially in the mid 1970s one time problems were the norm on cars, not the exception. But there was one other flaw that quickly developed. Though the car was  economical  in terms of gas mileage (very important given there was a gas crisis a few months earlier), it tended to burn oil continuously which quickly negated the savings on gas. Lemon laws were no doubt inspired by cars like this.

Though I would pay the price for the Vega a second time in terms of trade-in value, I was ready to trade it in ASAP. My next car was a ‘76 Toyota Corolla.  No problems whatsoever; no emotional attachment whatsoever. It took me more than a decade before I would drive another American car, and the vast majority of cars I have purchased or leased since that time were not built in the USA.

I wish Chevy well in its next 100 years and I like some of the cars that they are making today.  But Chevy and GM will always provide a classic business lesson for all of us.  If you take your customers for granted, if you always assume that people will see the USA in their Chevrolet, the customers and your market may diminish or disappear.  In this very competitive environment, complacency will not carry the day in the automobile industry or in higher education nor does it deserve to.

Pride

About a week ago one of my earliest students was appointed superintendent of a very important neighboring school district.  He was a very smart student more than 35 years ago and he is still smart today.  The students will benefit greatly from his leadership and my sense of pride is enormous in recognition of his accomplishments.  I have stayed in touch with this particular alum over the years.  We even played tennis a number of times but I am a better educator and economist than I am a tennis player so the tennis matches were few and far between.

There are also some former students I have lost track of, and then fortunately we are able to reconnect.  A few years ago, a personnel folder crossed my desk for a new hire in the education area.  The person was an experienced high school teacher who was now beginning a new career in higher education.  The name was familiar, though hardly unusual.  And this person’s undergraduate degree was from the institution where I began first teaching as an adjunct while completing my doctorate.  Sure enough when I looked further, he was my former student. He has been a tremendous asset to Hofstra in the decades since he first began teaching on our campus. Interestingly enough, when this person was an undergraduate and my student, he complained that I wasn’t liberal enough for his political positions.  Decades have passed and he is still complaining.  Middle of the road economists have trouble gaining appropriate respect from either the left or the right.

As I think back to the students I taught in my early years in teaching, I can easily identify a now university president, a professor of English, a number of psychologists, lawyers, successful business people, all individuals I have stayed in touch with.  One of my former students is  even a University trustee and a number of years ago, there were actually two of my former students on the trustees. There are other former students that I am not in touch with or have lost contact with and I am sure within this group are many successful individuals. I hope my economics courses made a difference in their education and their lives and I am humbled by the thought that I have had a positive  impact.  I want every Hofstra graduate to succeed but I do care even more about those I know and have worked with personally.

It’s interesting that as a dean and as a provost, I have hopefully impacted positively the education of tens of thousands of students. Knowing that I have been able to play a leadership role for decades and have made a difference on many key issues, brings a great sense of satisfaction.  But in a University, it is ultimately the relationship between students and faculty, or students and advisers, or students and their coaches that make the greatest difference.  That personal touch can help inspire and there is no substitute especially for an undergraduate.  As we look to make the best decisions in a time of  constraint, we should all strongly advocate for keeping   as much of a personal touch in education as we can.

Occupy Wall Street

As I’m walking in a midtown subway station, a group starts yelling “Occupy Wall Street, all day and all night” over and over again.  And this is followed by “We are the 99 percent” also over and over again.  The message is clear whether it is delivered in Zuccoti Park, in a subway station or anywhere across the country.

As I reflect on the movement, I am sympathetic to the calls for tax reform.  There are, in my opinion, federal tax rates that are too low for the income involved, and there are rates that are too high.  And yet many in Washington are opposed to any changes or fine tuning whatsoever.  Many of these same individuals also champion a more balanced budget.  That leaves spending cuts as our sole present fiscal policy tool.  But cutting more in social services or in defense spending in the short term may not be a desirable option.  And, besides, too many spending cuts are counterproductive to a struggling economy. Going back to tax rates, what makes our current structure so perfect (loopholes and all ) that there is significant opposition to any changes?  Were they set with such precision or were they set through a series of political compromises that yielded the present matrix (which may or may not be the best possible matrix for our economy)?  And if we focus exclusively on the top 1% of our population (in economic terms) , which is getting richer and richer over time, are they really paying the taxes they should or does the system  provide them with more than their fair share of benefits?

Periodically, the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are joined by prominent individuals and celebrities in a strong show of support.  The support leads to more airtime for the demonstration and as such serves to highlight both the person and the movement.  I sometimes  wonder how strongly the celebrities share an on-going commitment to change.  How politically active are they and how involved are they in moving forward the agenda of needed change?  Are some looking for a photo opportunity or to move forward a cause?

I have two other observations.  The demonstrators clearly have Wall Street as their target giving a misleading sense that wealth is concentrated solely in these individuals.  Wall Street  employs many people who are far from wealthy, and there are many areas  outside of Wall Street where the wealth and income of individuals involved is at the top 1% level.  Though clearly there needs to be more transparency in the dealings of financial institutions and more reforms are still needed, the target should be the tax rate structure rather than the street address.

I worry about how the demonstrators will make the transition from protest movement to major political force to be reckoned with.   If the major presence of the Occupy Wall Street movement  is in Zuccoti Park and like places, the movement will have failed.  It needs to transition to a strong political movement.  The Tea Party is not my drink of choice but I give them great credit for not only standing up for what they believe in, but also in impacting the political landscape and the halls of government.  To really be successful, Occupy Wall Street needs to march out of the park and into the 2012 election.