It was my impression from a conversation with Ken that IBM recruited
him before he qualified for tenure rather than the university not
granting him tenure. He was already teaching in the University at
that time and I think he might easily have been their best teacher.
Donna
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On 17-Jul-08, at 7:24 PM, frank clooter wrote:
Winning a Turing or Nobel Prize does not necessarily mean that one
deserves tenure.
Teaching, which at its best happens to be exceptionally creative, is
different from creating in a context of being worth a Turing
(computing's Nobel Prize) or a Nobel Prize or a _______ prize.
That being said, I guess that Dijkstra and Cook both received tenure
later in their careers.
Tenure in itself is not necessarily the great yardstick that it
ought to be.
While presumably based on merit, tenure is just as likely to be based
upon how much revenue one's connections might bring to the tenuring
institution. Politics is likely key. Being engaged to the dean's
daughter probably helps too.
Ken would have likely become tenured had he stayed in academia. For
all intents and purposes, becoming an IBM Fellow is at the very least
equivalent to tenure. To the often exhibited degree that Ken was
talented for and capable of teaching, I think that he could easily
have stood shoulder to shoulder with the cream of the tenured crops.
FC
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