[ECOLOG-L] MSc Assistantship for human dimensions/furbearer project, University of Alaska Fairbanks (corrected salary)
A MSc position is available to work with Laura Prugh in the Biology and Wildlife Department http://www.bw.uaf.edu/ at the University of Alaska Fairbanks starting January 2012. Dr. Prugh http://ecnr.berkeley.edu/persPage/dispPP.php?I=1512 will be joining the faculty at that time, and the student will help to initiate a research program focused on mesocarnivore conservation and management. Specifically, the student will be expected to develop a research project on furbearer harvesting in Alaska. A research assistantship is available the first year, after which teaching assistantships will be available. Requirements: A bachelors degree in wildlife/biology/ecology, GPA of 3.0 or greater, and competitive GRE scores. Applicants must be self-motivated, hard-working, and have strong quantitative and social skills. Good written and verbal communication skills are critical. Applicants must be comfortable interacting closely with government agency partners and Alaskan residents, especially fur trappers. Students with an interest in interdisciplinary, human-dimensions work are especially encouraged to apply. Salary: $24,016 per year plus tuition and health benefits To apply: Please send a cover letter and cv (including GPA and GRE scores) to Laura Prugh (pr...@berkeley.edu) by September 1st.
[ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
On 8/19/2011 11:07 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Was it about unethical hiring practices like spousal hirings, nepotism, etc.? These are RAMPANT in Academia. I have no serious problem with spousal fires, because it means that the hire committee/dean/chair/ has basically concluded that hiring the two of them is the best choice for the university, even if the spouse is maybe not of the same level of what they otherwise could get. Sometimes, like I have seen here where I work, the money for the hire would not have been freed at all, and the spousal hire effectively resulted in a extra hire. Offering spousal hires often is part of the hiring negotiations because split families means that your candidate is at far larger risk to keep looking for a job elsewhere after you hire them so s/he can be with his partner again. It is easy to rail against spousal hires if you are single, or have a partner who has a career that is portable so you can just go where you want to go, or when you don't care to live at the other side of the country. It is a different story of you have a family and like to be with you family. And universities understand the two-body problem and spousal hires are just one way to ensure you can hire the best candidates. Kim
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Well I suppose everyone has a need to vent about the jobs that they didn't get, and certainly some Federal hiring practices are arcane (of course no less than those in industry or NGO's, gee whiz, no favoritism there), but to say that spousal hiring is unethical is absurd, especially given that you are making the assumption that the spouse is less qualified than the hire themselves. After many years in academia it is clear to me that there is no pattern in the qualifications of spousal hires -- just as frequently the spousal hire is better qualified than the primary hire, there just wasn't an open position in their discipline. Might a University be better off if there was an open search (my guess is that at most universities the spousal hire isn't an open search) -- probably from the disciplinary point of view but then from a personnel management and teaching point of view they get much greater stability and dedication from couple hires. As someone who was hired in the pre-spousal hire era I've watched many marriages and families dissolve under the pressure of jobs in separate cities, etc. I've also seen faculty who spent a substantial amount of time interviewing at other institutions, rather than focusing on teaching and research, because no provision was made for their well qualified spouse. And to all you folks that are grousing about not getting jobs. Of course there are many factors that go into not getting interviewed or not getting a job when you are interviewed. You should realize that these negative, venting, posts that you've made are available to any search committee that knows how to use google. Is this how you want to present yourself to a search committee or hiring office? Do you think that these posts will help demonstrate your positive attitude, ability to deal with adversity, etc.? I hope that some day we have a society that values ecologists as much as it values medical doctors and that everyone has a job! Gary D. Grossman, PhD Professor of Animal Ecology Warnell School of Forestry Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens, GA, USA 30602 Research teaching web site - http://grossman.myweb.uga.edu/http://www.arches.uga.edu/%7Egrossman Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish Sculpture by Gary D. Grossman www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=2002317id=1348406658http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/album.php?aid=2002317id=1348406658 Hutson Gallery Provincetown, MA - www.hutsongallery.net/artists.html
[ECOLOG-L] Looking for volunteers for our groundbreaking free R esident Naturalist Programme at the Explorer’s Inn in Tamb opata, Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon
Dear all, We are looking for volunteers for our groundbreaking free Resident Naturalist Programme at the Explorer’s Inn in Tambopata, Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon. If you have a degree in life sciences and at least three months available (preferably 6) please contact safa...@amauta.rcp.net.pe AND jygb...@gmail.com for further details. Please check out our webpage here http://explorersinn.com/rainforest-tours/research-opportunities.php We will give preference to applicants that can come in September or October Awaiting your kind replies, we remain ** ** Cordially Yours ** ** Jan H. N. Ygberg Public Relations Resident Naturalists Programme Coordinator EXPLORER'S INN in the TAMBOPATA NATIONAL RESERVE A PERUVIAN SAFARIS ECO LODGE – A LODGE WITH A DIFFERENCE Since 1976 A SHOWCASE OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST Peruvian Safaris S.A Alcanfores 459 - Miraflores Lima 18 - Peru Phone: (51 1) 447 Fax: (51 1) 241 8427 E-mail: safa...@amauta.rcp.net.pe / sa...@explorersinn.com Web Site: http://www.explorersinn.com FB FANPAGE:https://www.facebook.com/explorerslodge
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist
Just looking for work, and I discover this!? I try to remember that my mind contains many parts...the part that creates logical constructs and analyzes systems is just one of the parts, not the whole thing. It cannot provide the solution to survival by itself. Our minds, our systems, and our solutions require us to create them. We have the ability to analyze, feel, empathize, sacrifice, surrender, love, grasp, need, and many other subtle variations. We are illogical beings in many cases. If I can recognize when logic serves the goal and when it does not, I am progressing. This discussion has drawn some beautiful minds to it, allowed some passionate and well constructed perspectives to be shared, and just about everyone who has spoken has expressed some level of acceptance (at least for each other). Focusing on developing my own ability to accept people who I don't share much in common with has proven to be a wonderful skill. It helps me let go of my frustration, avoid developing bitter feelings and memories, and generally just feel better. And I am not even that good at it (yet)! But I am good at ecology, and analyzing systems, and what I recognize is that no system is chaos, a malfunctioning system creates sadness (or anger, or despair), and a good system can create joy and love. Every human system contains logical and illogical components. None will be perfect, and I can and will love imperfection, nurture it, and finally let go of it (what a relief letting go is). Does this qualify me to be a GS-11 in northern California? I know a bit about forests, plant communities, and nutrient cycling. Sure sounds like it could be a fun job. I encourage you all to keep the discussion pointed, clear, and I promise to try to keep the love alive! Jed :)
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's, Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those who receive government grants/funds) or even society's responsibility. The stake holders here are not just that family and those they work with - the nation and world depend on the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities - science such as biomedical discoveries, engineering, education, etc. The stakes are just too high to not pursue the highest germane standards based on emotional or nepotistic considerations. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: I hope that some day we have a society that values ecologists as much as it values medical doctors and that everyone has a job! Only married ones, right? :) Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: As someone who was hired in the pre-spousal hire era I've watched many marriages and families dissolve under the pressure of jobs in separate cities, etc. I've also seen faculty who spent a substantial amount of time interviewing at other institutions, rather than focusing on teaching and research, because no provision was made for their well qualified spouse. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: Might a University be better off if there was an open search (my guess is that at most universities the spousal hire isn't an open search) -- probably from the disciplinary point of view but then from a personnel management and teaching point of view they get much greater stability and dedication from couple hires.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Viewing things from a Manichean perspective isn't going to contribute to constructive discussion of important issues on this list, but I'd love to see your evidence that spousal hires have any impact whatsoever on the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities. Please provide some data to back up your claims, Aaron. On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 11:46 AM, Aaron T. Dossey bugoc...@gmail.comwrote: Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's, Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those who receive government grants/funds) or even society's responsibility. The stake holders here are not just that family and those they work with - the nation and world depend on the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities - science such as biomedical discoveries, engineering, education, etc. The stakes are just too high to not pursue the highest germane standards based on emotional or nepotistic considerations. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: I hope that some day we have a society that values ecologists as much as it values medical doctors and that everyone has a job! Only married ones, right? :) Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/**Curriculum_Vitae.pdfhttp://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: As someone who was hired in the pre-spousal hire era I've watched many marriages and families dissolve under the pressure of jobs in separate cities, etc. I've also seen faculty who spent a substantial amount of time interviewing at other institutions, rather than focusing on teaching and research, because no provision was made for their well qualified spouse. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: Might a University be better off if there was an open search (my guess is that at most universities the spousal hire isn't an open search) -- probably from the disciplinary point of view but then from a personnel management and teaching point of view they get much greater stability and dedication from couple hires. -- Gary D. Grossman, PhD Professor of Animal Ecology Warnell School of Forestry Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens, GA, USA 30602 Research teaching web site - http://grossman.myweb.uga.edu/http://www.arches.uga.edu/%7Egrossman Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish Sculpture by Gary D. Grossman www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=2002317id=1348406658http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/album.php?aid=2002317id=1348406658 Hutson Gallery Provincetown, MA - www.hutsongallery.net/artists.html
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Yeah, the claim that spousal hires are unethical is ludicrous. I'd love to know what ethical precept it violates. On the other hand, spousal hires conform to the family values our nation so loudly proclaims. Given that, a spousal hire policy would seem more ethical than policies that promote family breakups. It is also wise human resource policy for the reasons specified below. It makes for much more productive employees -- I know from experience that long-distance relationships take a toll on all involved, no matter how well adjusted the parties are. Dave On 8/20/2011 7:07 AM, Kim van der Linde wrote: On 8/19/2011 11:07 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Was it about unethical hiring practices like spousal hirings, nepotism, etc.? These are RAMPANT in Academia. I have no serious problem with spousal fires, because it means that the hire committee/dean/chair/ has basically concluded that hiring the two of them is the best choice for the university, even if the spouse is maybe not of the same level of what they otherwise could get. Sometimes, like I have seen here where I work, the money for the hire would not have been freed at all, and the spousal hire effectively resulted in a extra hire. Offering spousal hires often is part of the hiring negotiations because split families means that your candidate is at far larger risk to keep looking for a job elsewhere after you hire them so s/he can be with his partner again. It is easy to rail against spousal hires if you are single, or have a partner who has a career that is portable so you can just go where you want to go, or when you don't care to live at the other side of the country. It is a different story of you have a family and like to be with you family. And universities understand the two-body problem and spousal hires are just one way to ensure you can hire the best candidates. Kim -- -- David M. Lawrence| Home: (804) 559-9786 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: d...@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com -- All drains lead to the ocean. -- Gill, Finding Nemo We have met the enemy and he is us. -- Pogo No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku -- Richard Brautigan
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Do you believe in evolution? So, let's take a specific amino acid in a protein as an example. If there is a selective pressure to maintain a tyrosine at position 37 (ie: the most important thing is the relationship that the candidates being considered for a position is their relationship to a specific other person, or even each other - which is the same because ALL CANDIDATES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INDIVIDUALLY), and none on the other positions in the protein, the others will change over time either randomly or based on weak minimal requirements of stability of the protein/system (ie: the candidate has a Ph.D. in the field, so they are qualified, and by God they have a tyrosine at 37 and no one else does, so they are hired!). If the selectiv pressure is artificially induced in the lab (ie: this person MUST be married to person X) rather than through natural selection (ie: they have the most publications, best topic, objectively the best formulated research goals, the most grants, etc.) then the overall organism (field, department, institution, etc.) over generations will not be as adapted to the environment and thus not competitive or even viable in a real life setting. This isn't to say they might not hold onto some form of existence and survive, but the entity certainly will not thrive - whereas those with more germane selective pressures will and will certainly out-compete the latter. The point is (to answer your question): you get what you prioritize, and everything else will go to chance - and there are no guarantees in chance of quality or anything else. If you priorities superfluous and non-germane criteria, the quality of things like efficacy in the field will inevitably wane over time in a department, institution, or field overall. Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 12:36 PM, Gary Grossman wrote: Viewing things from a Manichean perspective isn't going to contribute to constructive discussion of important issues on this list, but I'd love to see your evidence that spousal hires have any impact whatsoever on the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities. Please provide some data to back up your claims, Aaron. On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 11:46 AM, Aaron T. Dossey bugoc...@gmail.com mailto:bugoc...@gmail.com wrote: Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's, Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those who receive government grants/funds) or even society's responsibility. The stake holders here are not just that family and those they work with - the nation and world depend on the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities - science such as biomedical discoveries, engineering, education, etc. The stakes are just too high to not pursue the highest germane standards based on emotional or nepotistic considerations. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: I hope that some day we have a society that values ecologists as much as it values medical doctors and that everyone has a job! Only married ones, right? :) Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: As someone who was hired in the pre-spousal hire era I've watched many marriages and families dissolve under the pressure of jobs in separate cities, etc. I've also seen faculty who spent a substantial amount of time interviewing at other institutions, rather than focusing on teaching and research, because no provision was made for their well qualified spouse. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: Might a University be better off if there was an open search (my guess is that at most universities the spousal hire isn't an open search) -- probably from the disciplinary point of view but then from a personnel management and teaching point of view they get much greater stability and dedication from couple hires. -- Gary D. Grossman, PhD Professor of Animal Ecology Warnell School of Forestry Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens, GA, USA 30602 Research teaching web site - http://grossman.myweb.uga.edu/ http://www.arches.uga.edu/%7Egrossman Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish Sculpture by Gary D. Grossman www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=2002317id=1348406658 http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/album.php?aid=2002317id=1348406658 Hutson Gallery Provincetown, MA - www.hutsongallery.net/artists.html
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
I'm not sure if everyone is aware, but there is also what is called a shared position. Basically, the school hires the married pair and they share the opening. They each share teach responsibilities (and the salary) and both must make tenure or neither does. It is virtually impossible to know which spousal hires are in this arrangement and which are not from the outside. THis is often a win-win for the everyone involved. If a school wants the candidate and it is an isolated position, they will frequently...as part of the contracthire both candidates separately. However, one caviate is the continued employment of the second party is contingent on the further employment of the candidate. Sometimes the spouse is hired as contingent faculty, other times just as another faculty member. Sometimes even as an administrator or staff member. Other times a school will talk to other schools/agencies/businesses in the area to get a spouse a job. WHo knows what happens behind closed doors. Is any of this fair? Life isn't fair. Some of us lose our jobs after stellar performance. Some don't get jobs despite stellar credentials, others get hired and promoted despite a lackluster and even pathetic showing. All of us, regardless if you feel slighted by a previous employer, skipped over by a prospective employer, or even just getting tired of the process need to take a step backwards and consider what we are doing to ourselves and others when dwelling on these issues. (I'm not saying to ignore them, rather learn from them and figure out how you can use them to your advantage). If we we spend our lives dwelling on all the unfair and even illegal things that happen to us, we will spend our lives bitter and unhappy. In the end, the people who slighted any one of us may or may not get theirs. But worrying about that is not productive. Further who cares if they get theirs! What we need to be concerned with is making sure we get what we want and deserve. Unfortunately, it is sometimes very difficult not to appear bitter. This can clearly overshadow your real personality or the potential/performance you display. Anger, jealousy, suspicion, envy, and sometimes even a deep desire for others to get the justice they may indeed deserve, are negative feelings/emotions that do more damage to ourselves than to anyone else. This also doesn't exactly make us look like pleasant people to work with when our applications are reviewed either!!! We all need to keep our chin up during our time in this crazy world. Malcolm On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 6:07 AM, Kim van der Linde k...@kimvdlinde.com wrote: On 8/19/2011 11:07 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Was it about unethical hiring practices like spousal hirings, nepotism, etc.? These are RAMPANT in Academia. I have no serious problem with spousal fires, because it means that the hire committee/dean/chair/ has basically concluded that hiring the two of them is the best choice for the university, even if the spouse is maybe not of the same level of what they otherwise could get. Sometimes, like I have seen here where I work, the money for the hire would not have been freed at all, and the spousal hire effectively resulted in a extra hire. Offering spousal hires often is part of the hiring negotiations because split families means that your candidate is at far larger risk to keep looking for a job elsewhere after you hire them so s/he can be with his partner again. It is easy to rail against spousal hires if you are single, or have a partner who has a career that is portable so you can just go where you want to go, or when you don't care to live at the other side of the country. It is a different story of you have a family and like to be with you family. And universities understand the two-body problem and spousal hires are just one way to ensure you can hire the best candidates. Kim -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
On 8/20/2011 11:46 AM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's, Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those who receive government grants/funds) or even society's responsibility. Correct, it is the universities task to keep the best workforce around that they can hire. And if they deem that that requires to do a spousal hire, it is in their own best interest to do the spousal hire. In the case I am most familiar with, their trophy employee got an offer from another university, who was willing to hire his spouse. So, his then and current employer made a counter offer including a spousal hire as well. It was competition between universities that resulted in the spousal hire. They did not give a damn about his personal life, they did not want to loose their trophy hire. Kim
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Selective pressure operates on the phenotype and success of failure depends on overall fitness -- a balance between competing selective pressures. A weakness in one characteristic is often compensated for by strengths elsewhere. In this case, the institution would get more loyalty, motivation, and team spirit from those who benefit from spousal hires. Conversely, the single-minded researcher who is best from a scientific standpoint can have a divisive and destructive influence that harms the institution's overall fitness, leaving behind unhappy, unproductive employees; unhappy, unproductive students; wrecked research programs and difficulty in recruiting candidates who can rebuild the institution's fortunes. Hiring is about the best fit for the institution, which is based on a hell of a lot more than just having a tyrosine at position 37. Dave On 8/20/2011 1:05 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Do you believe in evolution? So, let's take a specific amino acid in a protein as an example. If there is a selective pressure to maintain a tyrosine at position 37 (ie: the most important thing is the relationship that the candidates being considered for a position is their relationship to a specific other person, or even each other - which is the same because ALL CANDIDATES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INDIVIDUALLY), and none on the other positions in the protein, the others will change over time either randomly or based on weak minimal requirements of stability of the protein/system (ie: the candidate has a Ph.D. in the field, so they are qualified, and by God they have a tyrosine at 37 and no one else does, so they are hired!). If the selectiv pressure is artificially induced in the lab (ie: this person MUST be married to person X) rather than through natural selection (ie: they have the most publications, best topic, objectively the best formulated research goals, the most grants, etc.) then the overall organism (field, department, institution, etc.) over generations will not be as adapted to the environment and thus not competitive or even viable in a real life setting. This isn't to say they might not hold onto some form of existence and survive, but the entity certainly will not thrive - whereas those with more germane selective pressures will and will certainly out-compete the latter. The point is (to answer your question): you get what you prioritize, and everything else will go to chance - and there are no guarantees in chance of quality or anything else. If you priorities superfluous and non-germane criteria, the quality of things like efficacy in the field will inevitably wane over time in a department, institution, or field overall. Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 12:36 PM, Gary Grossman wrote: Viewing things from a Manichean perspective isn't going to contribute to constructive discussion of important issues on this list, but I'd love to see your evidence that spousal hires have any impact whatsoever on the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities. Please provide some data to back up your claims, Aaron. On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 11:46 AM, Aaron T. Dossey bugoc...@gmail.com mailto:bugoc...@gmail.com wrote: Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's, Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those who receive government grants/funds) or even society's responsibility. The stake holders here are not just that family and those they work with - the nation and world depend on the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities - science such as biomedical discoveries, engineering, education, etc. The stakes are just too high to not pursue the highest germane standards based on emotional or nepotistic considerations. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: I hope that some day we have a society that values ecologists as much as it values medical doctors and that everyone has a job! Only married ones, right? :) Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: As someone who was hired in the pre-spousal hire era I've watched many marriages and families dissolve under the pressure of jobs in separate cities, etc. I've also seen faculty who spent a substantial amount of time interviewing at other institutions, rather than focusing on teaching and research, because no provision was made for their well qualified spouse. On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote: Might a University be better off if there was an open search (my guess is that at most
[ECOLOG-L] ECOLOGY OF OUR WILD HOMES
ECOLOGY OF OUR WILD HOMES Dear colleagues, As ecologists, you may have wondered: are there any unnoticed ecological processes going on in your backyard? Any undescribed insects in your basement? Any interesting dynamics in the microbial jungle of your kitchen? We want to answer these questions, but we need your help! We are looking for volunteer participants in a large study of the little known biodiversity in our backyards, our homes, on our bodies. Please visit our website to find out more: http://www.yourwildlife.org/domestic-biomes-the-wild-life-of-our-bodies-and- homes/ We hope to see your symbionts soon! On behalf of the team that brought you the Belly Button Biodiversity http://www.wildlifeofyourbody.org/ and the School of Ants http://www.schoolofants.org/, Jiri Hulcr
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
It's easy to rail against those who demand higher ethical standards when one benefits personally from lax ethical practices. Personal interests like but my wife/child/friend wants a job too! should not be a consideration of any hiring entity. Where does it end? Is it ok for a chair and group of faculty to decide only to hire members of their church or their own religion, or only hire other atheists? Is it ok for them to only hire their friends to the exclusion of all other applicants regardless of QUANTITATIVE qualification/skill/talent (which are frequently quantified for other purposes such as grants etc., so this well, everyone with a Ph.D. and the minimum credentials is basically equally qualified excuse often used is BS)? Maybe a department wishes to be all white, or all Chinese, or all Jewish? Kosher? I understand in England that there are even laws against nepotism even in the private sector? If so, they will probably over-take us in science soon if they haven't already. Spousal hiring is not benign, it is not a victimless crime. It is an unethical tragedy which is leading to many very good hard working scientists to leave the field and their dreams, some of us who have worked hard all our lives toward this goal of starting our own lab one day, and were the first in our families to even go to graduate school (and second to college at all). The American Dream has been dead in the private sector for many years, is it dead in Academia too? If you want to say well, what about the trailing spouse? what about their plight? - I will leave you with the following scenarios to consider: 1) The department decides not to hire the primary recruit and the spouse. What of the spouse? So now we have a home with one spouse bringing in a new faculty salary, both of them are likely covered under the one person's healthcare plans and other benefits. The unemployed spouse has access to their spouses lab, University resources (core facilities, library, etc.). They have a home and bills paid. With these resources, they can likely continue much or at least some of their research endeavors, continue to apply for positions at that or a nearby institution as they come up (if they deem it necessary, which it might not even be to continue their professional/research interests) and likely even write grants submitted through the department as PI on a guest appointment of some sort and possibly even leverage a position of their own with said grants. Hell, their spouse might even be able to hire them as a postech, adding an additional small salary to the home. What of the top candidates who were not the trialing spouse? Well, one of them will get the opportunity of a lifetime they have been dreaming of: a tenure track position and a lab of their own. Happy day! Rightly so, they've EARNED it! 2) The department decides to hire the primary recruit and the spouse. Yay, happy day for the cute couple. What of the spouse? Well, they've now got the holy grail of all science positions, a tenure track faculty position with a lab of their own, healthy startup package (around a million or more invested in the average hire including startup package, salary, benefits, etc.), the home how has TWO faculty salaries - and all is right with the world. HOWEVER: What of the candidates whose qualifications outweighed those of the spouse. who don't have a leading spouse of their own to leverage a position for them? Well, they're unemployed. No salary, no benefits, no way to pay their bills, etc. Not ONLY that: BUT they NOW also have no way to continue even the smallest shred of their research. They languish for a year or more longer, not being able to publish or apply for most federal grants or generate preliminary data. Some of their projects fall to the back burner of their collaborators, some may even be scooped in the mean time. All the while, this person looks unproductive and they fall under the trap of the self (or departmentally/societally) fulfilling prophecy that they are not qualified because they're not being productive - thus making it even harder to land the next position. Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 7:07 AM, Kim van der Linde wrote: On 8/19/2011 11:07 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Was it about unethical hiring practices like spousal hirings, nepotism, etc.? These are RAMPANT in Academia. I have no serious problem with spousal fires, because it means that the hire committee/dean/chair/ has basically concluded that hiring the two of them is the best choice for the university, even if the spouse is maybe not of the same level of what they otherwise could get. Sometimes, like I have seen here where I work, the money for the hire would not have been freed at all, and the spousal hire effectively resulted in a extra hire. Offering spousal
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
On 8/20/2011 1:05 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Do you believe in evolution? Yes, and evolution by means of natural selection predicts that the best adapted individual has the best change of surviving. It does not predict what the best adaptation is. If a man has a special good way of scoring a highly valued wife, he has far more change of having his genes propagated. When she can get a good job and he gets a job through spousal hire, he must have done something right by selecting his mate. Obviously, natural selection is flavoring this man based on the total of his genes, not just his academic credentials genes. Kim
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Excessive celebrity worship in science is a related, but different problem. Consider the alternative that I bet never occurred to the hiring officials: They could have also decided that it was arrogant for this star to insist that the institution hire their spouse (or child, or friend, or... whoever else) and that this is a buyer's market for employers, especially employers of Ph.D. scientists, and that they could easily replace that star and their spouse with 2 or even 3-4 others in the field currently seeking positions. Let them go. Instead of getting one must have and one because we have to, why not go look for TWO must haves? Or even 3-4 (considering entry level faculty have less financial requirements and can be obtained at lower costs often) seem to be very good, let's see what they can do's? Multiple benefits: 1) more scientists hired, 2) avoid the dodgy ethics of nepotism, 3) better bang for the hiring buck and 4) you MIGHT, just MIGHT get someone even (sit down, get ready for it) BETTER than the star you let go? God duth forbid the blasphemy! :) Did you also consider the (real life) scenarios I described before and weigh them against the idea that spousal hiring is either good or necessary? Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 2:38 PM, Kim van der Linde wrote: On 8/20/2011 11:46 AM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's, Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those who receive government grants/funds) or even society's responsibility. Correct, it is the universities task to keep the best workforce around that they can hire. And if they deem that that requires to do a spousal hire, it is in their own best interest to do the spousal hire. In the case I am most familiar with, their trophy employee got an offer from another university, who was willing to hire his spouse. So, his then and current employer made a counter offer including a spousal hire as well. It was competition between universities that resulted in the spousal hire. They did not give a damn about his personal life, they did not want to loose their trophy hire. Kim
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Article about global warming articles in the news media vs. the scientific literature
Would it be Climate of scepticism: US newspaper coverage of the scienceof climate change published by L. Antilla in Global Environmental Change in 2005? Virginie Rolland, PhD Arkansas State University Department of Biological Sciences 870-972-3194 From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] on behalf of Jessa Madosky [jessa.mado...@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 12:41 PM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Article about global warming articles in the news media vs. the scientific literature A while ago there was an article where the author analyzed the number of articles in the scientific literature that disagreed with human driven climate change (very few) vs those in the news media (about 50/50 support/deny). I would like to assign it to my intro class for non-majors, but I'm having a hard time finding it again. Anyone remember the title or have a copy they could forward me? Thanks! Jessa Jessa Madosky University of New Orleans Biology Department Office #: 504-280-5534
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
I think it's telling that the only people, at least is this dialogue, who use words like ludicrous and absurd and resort to personally attacking someone's character (note the whole lesson on how not to live one's life as a bitter wretch) are those proponents of spousal hire. Using such words and directions makes you look defensive and incapable of having a discussion simply on the merits. You only use words like absurd when you are trying to belittle someone's argument not when you plan on providing a useful counterargument. As I would bet that the vast majority of those supporters of spousal hire are or have been married, or plan to use this marriage perk in the future, I would ask that you take the YOU out of the discussion or at least acknowledge that you are asking for special treatment because of your marital status. Julianne, An apparently bitter, bitter, single scientist On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 10:54 AM, malcolm McCallum malcolm.mccal...@herpconbio.org wrote: I'm not sure if everyone is aware, but there is also what is called a shared position. Basically, the school hires the married pair and they share the opening. They each share teach responsibilities (and the salary) and both must make tenure or neither does. It is virtually impossible to know which spousal hires are in this arrangement and which are not from the outside. THis is often a win-win for the everyone involved. If a school wants the candidate and it is an isolated position, they will frequently...as part of the contracthire both candidates separately. However, one caviate is the continued employment of the second party is contingent on the further employment of the candidate. Sometimes the spouse is hired as contingent faculty, other times just as another faculty member. Sometimes even as an administrator or staff member. Other times a school will talk to other schools/agencies/businesses in the area to get a spouse a job. WHo knows what happens behind closed doors. Is any of this fair? Life isn't fair. Some of us lose our jobs after stellar performance. Some don't get jobs despite stellar credentials, others get hired and promoted despite a lackluster and even pathetic showing. All of us, regardless if you feel slighted by a previous employer, skipped over by a prospective employer, or even just getting tired of the process need to take a step backwards and consider what we are doing to ourselves and others when dwelling on these issues. (I'm not saying to ignore them, rather learn from them and figure out how you can use them to your advantage). If we we spend our lives dwelling on all the unfair and even illegal things that happen to us, we will spend our lives bitter and unhappy. In the end, the people who slighted any one of us may or may not get theirs. But worrying about that is not productive. Further who cares if they get theirs! What we need to be concerned with is making sure we get what we want and deserve. Unfortunately, it is sometimes very difficult not to appear bitter. This can clearly overshadow your real personality or the potential/performance you display. Anger, jealousy, suspicion, envy, and sometimes even a deep desire for others to get the justice they may indeed deserve, are negative feelings/emotions that do more damage to ourselves than to anyone else. This also doesn't exactly make us look like pleasant people to work with when our applications are reviewed either!!! We all need to keep our chin up during our time in this crazy world. Malcolm On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 6:07 AM, Kim van der Linde k...@kimvdlinde.com wrote: On 8/19/2011 11:07 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Was it about unethical hiring practices like spousal hirings, nepotism, etc.? These are RAMPANT in Academia. I have no serious problem with spousal fires, because it means that the hire committee/dean/chair/ has basically concluded that hiring the two of them is the best choice for the university, even if the spouse is maybe not of the same level of what they otherwise could get. Sometimes, like I have seen here where I work, the money for the hire would not have been freed at all, and the spousal hire effectively resulted in a extra hire. Offering spousal hires often is part of the hiring negotiations because split families means that your candidate is at far larger risk to keep looking for a job elsewhere after you hire them so s/he can be with his partner again. It is easy to rail against spousal hires if you are single, or have a partner who has a career that is portable so you can just go where you want to go, or when you don't care to live at the other side of the country. It is a different story of you have a family and like to be with you family. And universities understand the two-body problem and spousal hires are just one way to ensure you can hire the best candidates. Kim -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
First of all, most spousal hires that I've seen get new, specially created positions. They're not outcompeting or displacing anyone. Second, you're assuming that the primary hire has a lab that their spouse can use. But what if the primary hire is a historian or mathematician and their spouse is an ecologist or, worse, a biochemist? Also, please stop invoking nepotism. That word refers to hiring relatives of a person *in power*. If a dean or department chair (or even an established faculty member) insisted that their spouse be hired when they were not the best person for the job, that would be nepotism. Being or hiring a package deal is not. Finally, I would propose that relaxing the emphasis on quantitative qualifications is probably a good thing. This emphasis leads to piecemeal, shallow work that churns out large numbers of papers and an emphasis on flashy, fashionable topics at the expense of others that often have more depth. Of course, this should be changed across the board, but hiring at least some people by a different pathway should be healthy for a university. Oh, and for the record, I am single. Jane Shevtsov On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 8:32 AM, Aaron T. Dossey bugoc...@gmail.com wrote: It's easy to rail against those who demand higher ethical standards when one benefits personally from lax ethical practices. Personal interests like but my wife/child/friend wants a job too! should not be a consideration of any hiring entity. Where does it end? Is it ok for a chair and group of faculty to decide only to hire members of their church or their own religion, or only hire other atheists? Is it ok for them to only hire their friends to the exclusion of all other applicants regardless of QUANTITATIVE qualification/skill/talent (which are frequently quantified for other purposes such as grants etc., so this well, everyone with a Ph.D. and the minimum credentials is basically equally qualified excuse often used is BS)? Maybe a department wishes to be all white, or all Chinese, or all Jewish? Kosher? I understand in England that there are even laws against nepotism even in the private sector? If so, they will probably over-take us in science soon if they haven't already. Spousal hiring is not benign, it is not a victimless crime. It is an unethical tragedy which is leading to many very good hard working scientists to leave the field and their dreams, some of us who have worked hard all our lives toward this goal of starting our own lab one day, and were the first in our families to even go to graduate school (and second to college at all). The American Dream has been dead in the private sector for many years, is it dead in Academia too? If you want to say well, what about the trailing spouse? what about their plight? - I will leave you with the following scenarios to consider: 1) The department decides not to hire the primary recruit and the spouse. What of the spouse? So now we have a home with one spouse bringing in a new faculty salary, both of them are likely covered under the one person's healthcare plans and other benefits. The unemployed spouse has access to their spouses lab, University resources (core facilities, library, etc.). They have a home and bills paid. With these resources, they can likely continue much or at least some of their research endeavors, continue to apply for positions at that or a nearby institution as they come up (if they deem it necessary, which it might not even be to continue their professional/research interests) and likely even write grants submitted through the department as PI on a guest appointment of some sort and possibly even leverage a position of their own with said grants. Hell, their spouse might even be able to hire them as a postech, adding an additional small salary to the home. What of the top candidates who were not the trialing spouse? Well, one of them will get the opportunity of a lifetime they have been dreaming of: a tenure track position and a lab of their own. Happy day! Rightly so, they've EARNED it! 2) The department decides to hire the primary recruit and the spouse. Yay, happy day for the cute couple. What of the spouse? Well, they've now got the holy grail of all science positions, a tenure track faculty position with a lab of their own, healthy startup package (around a million or more invested in the average hire including startup package, salary, benefits, etc.), the home how has TWO faculty salaries - and all is right with the world. HOWEVER: What of the candidates whose qualifications outweighed those of the spouse. who don't have a leading spouse of their own to leverage a position for them? Well, they're unemployed. No salary, no benefits, no way to pay their bills, etc. Not ONLY that: BUT they NOW also have no way to continue even the smallest shred of their research. They languish for a year or more longer, not being able to publish or apply
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Oh, so only single people can contribute to this discussion? I've seen a lot more hyperbole in this discussion coming from the anti-spousal hire side. I've seen more confusing of terms (nepotism is hiring of your relatives, not offering a job to an unrelated candidate and his or her partner) from the anti-spousal side here. I still wait to see Dossey offering documentation to his assertion that spousal hiring is unethical. According to what authorities? As for diminishing the quality of the institution, where's what David Bell, former dean of faculty at Johns Hopkins, had to say in a piece written for the Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/article/article-content/65456/): Critics of spousal hiring often charge that the practice drags down a university's academic quality, but my experience as dean laid that concern to rest for me. To start with, we never forced a spousal hire on a department or approved the hiring of a spouse who we felt could not pass through the university's rigorous tenure process. After seeing the pattern of spousal hiring in my report to the new president, I drew up a list of the partners in question, wondering if it would look like a rogues' gallery of our weakest professors. In fact, in terms of both stature and productivity, it seemed like an entirely random selection. The Stanford report notes that faculty members recruited as part of spousal-hire arrangements have a level of productivity on par for their institutions. Some more thoughts from the Prodigal Academic here: http://theprodigalacademic.blogspot.com/2010/05/spousal-hiring-in-and-out-of-academia.html More facts (based on something called research) can be found here: http://www.stanford.edu/group/gender/ResearchPrograms/DualCareer/index.html On that page I recommend the report Dual-Career Academic Couples: What Universities Need to Know (http://www.stanford.edu/group/gender/ResearchPrograms/DualCareer/DualCareerFinal.pdf) Later, Dave On 8/20/2011 3:25 PM, Julianne Heinlein wrote: I think it's telling that the only people, at least is this dialogue, who use words like ludicrous and absurd and resort to personally attacking someone's character (note the whole lesson on how not to live one's life as a bitter wretch) are those proponents of spousal hire. Using such words and directions makes you look defensive and incapable of having a discussion simply on the merits. You only use words like absurd when you are trying to belittle someone's argument not when you plan on providing a useful counterargument. As I would bet that the vast majority of those supporters of spousal hire are or have been married, or plan to use this marriage perk in the future, I would ask that you take the YOU out of the discussion or at least acknowledge that you are asking for special treatment because of your marital status. Julianne, An apparently bitter, bitter, single scientist -- -- David M. Lawrence| Home: (804) 559-9786 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: d...@fuzzo.com USA | http: http://fuzzo.com -- All drains lead to the ocean. -- Gill, Finding Nemo We have met the enemy and he is us. -- Pogo No trespassing 4/17 of a haiku -- Richard Brautigan
[ECOLOG-L] Gender issues in the ethics of spousal hires
I disagree with you. Universities have to make the choices that are best for them. If spousal hires would be so detrimental as your examples suggest, they would not do them, but reality is that they work well. In the case I am talking about, the department got extra money for the additional position, which was a win for the department as well as a win for the other department that was able to retain her spouse. And the reality is that most spouses are very suited for academic positions. What is sorely missing in this discussion is a far more important issue. namely that most spousal hires are the wives of men. It is one of those many signs of still existing gender bias in academics, but it is also a sign of different priorities for men and women in life. This means that women are far more often decide to go with their husband then men with their wife. This becomes even more obvious once children are involved. A block on spousal hires is only going to aggravate this issue. So, let me ask you a question: would you consider to work in the lab of your partner without pay (which in many cases is actually not allowed because of insurance issues)? Kim On 8/20/2011 3:13 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Consider the alternative that I bet never occurred to the hiring officials: They could have also decided that it was arrogant for this star to insist that the institution hire their spouse (or child, or friend, or... whoever else) and that this is a buyer's market for employers, especially employers of Ph.D. scientists, and that they could easily replace that star and their spouse with 2 or even 3-4 others in the field currently seeking positions. Let them go. Instead of getting one must have and one because we have to, why not go look for TWO must haves? Or even 3-4 (considering entry level faculty have less financial requirements and can be obtained at lower costs often) seem to be very good, let's see what they can do's? Multiple benefits: 1) more scientists hired, 2) avoid the dodgy ethics of nepotism, 3) better bang for the hiring buck and 4) you MIGHT, just MIGHT get someone even (sit down, get ready for it) BETTER than the star you let go? God duth forbid the blasphemy! :) Did you also consider the (real life) scenarios I described before and weigh them against the idea that spousal hiring is either good or necessary? Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf On 8/20/2011 2:38 PM, Kim van der Linde wrote: On 8/20/2011 11:46 AM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's, Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those who receive government grants/funds) or even society's responsibility. Correct, it is the universities task to keep the best workforce around that they can hire. And if they deem that that requires to do a spousal hire, it is in their own best interest to do the spousal hire. In the case I am most familiar with, their trophy employee got an offer from another university, who was willing to hire his spouse. So, his then and current employer made a counter offer including a spousal hire as well. It was competition between universities that resulted in the spousal hire. They did not give a damn about his personal life, they did not want to loose their trophy hire. Kim -- http://www.kimvdlinde.com
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
On 8/20/2011 11:32 AM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Personal interests like but my wife/child/friend wants a job too! should not be a consideration of any hiring entity. I think it should be. You do not want your new faculty member leave after two years for a place closer to her partner. After she spend most of the setup money and forcing you to go through a new hiring round (any idea how expensive they are money and time wise?). Where does it end? Is it ok for a chair and group of faculty to decide only to hire members of their church or their own religion, or only hire other atheists? Is it ok for them to only hire their friends to the exclusion of all other applicants regardless of QUANTITATIVE qualification/skill/talent? Maybe a department wishes to be all white, or all Chinese, or all Jewish? Kosher? You seem to miss the point. A spousal hire is not a prerequisite set by the university before they can hire someone; it is a added issue that needs to be resolved before someone is willing to come. It is not a university set requirement but an applicant set requirement. Having a specific religion etc are university set requirements. Spousal hiring is not benign, it is not a victimless crime. It is an unethical tragedy which is leading to many very good hard working scientists to leave the field and their dreams, some of us who have worked hard all our lives toward this goal of starting our own lab one day, and were the first in our families to even go to graduate school (and second to college at all). I would argue that the opposite takes place. Many highly qualified scientists left and still leave the field when forced to choose between love and passion. But really, when you apply without a spouse needing a job, and you are passed by for a guy who also demands a job for his wife, I think you better start thinking about the quality difference between you and that person. The problem with this discussion is that this is a non-issue. Universities do not ALWAYS hire a spouse. No, they weigh that on a case-by-case basis. The American Dream has been dead in the private sector for many years, is it dead in Academia too? No, you can still make it. The illusion is that you would have MORE changes if there were no spousal hires. Because if a university is willing to pay for a spousal hire, it means that the person they intent to hire is a lot better than the person who does not require a spousal hire. That most likely also means that there are a lot of candidates between you and the top choice. Kim
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
Honestly, with all due respect to Mr. Dossey, do you believe in economics? It seems to me, in my very humble opinion, that universities exist to MAKE MONEY. They take cuts of grants received, pay grad students a fairly minimal wage for teaching responsibilities, and often try to cater to different areas of student interest; the subjects often in the highest demand and/or the highest paying in the job markets. As we know, not all Biology departments are created equal, which is not to say that they are selected against as not fit but may not necessarily be the focal department in a university as a whole. Even if it is the focal department, the University may not have the name recognition as others with no less intelligent and gifted faculty. This is where the star power (not my phrase) comes in. Big names draw more kids ready to spend bigger dollars to study or be affiliated with said big shot. It's not readily apparent that you need to be a star to qualify to have your spouse considered for a position. Maybe just a good fit for what they're looking for in a candidate. My guess is that a hiring committee wouldn't dare hire with out knowing that it was a good investment. And that includes taking a chance on a lesser name. Doesn't it stand to reason that a hiring committe of biology department heads and faculty stand to gain by hiring someone who is going to positively effect enrollment of Biology Majors and potentially increase tuition revenues? I find it ironic that this discussion stemmed from a thread about a FEDERAL position hiring practices. Nope...no spousal hiring there! Take it from someone with NO interest in academia, 15 years experience in multiple disciplines having worked in dozens of US states and Canada, there's not much happening out here either. I've applied for untold number of positions and have come close ONCE last yearI was one of two candidates given an interview for a wetland ecologist position and the DIDN'T FILL the position. It may be time for a career change. It's capitalism. I'm not needed here, so it's retool and go elsewhere. Best of luck and peace to all of you... Eric Eric North All Things Wild Consulting P.O. Box 254 Cable, WI 54821 928.607.3098 Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:23:33 -0400 From: k...@kimvdlinde.com Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist) To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU On 8/20/2011 11:32 AM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Personal interests like but my wife/child/friend wants a job too! should not be a consideration of any hiring entity. I think it should be. You do not want your new faculty member leave after two years for a place closer to her partner. After she spend most of the setup money and forcing you to go through a new hiring round (any idea how expensive they are money and time wise?). Where does it end? Is it ok for a chair and group of faculty to decide only to hire members of their church or their own religion, or only hire other atheists? Is it ok for them to only hire their friends to the exclusion of all other applicants regardless of QUANTITATIVE qualification/skill/talent? Maybe a department wishes to be all white, or all Chinese, or all Jewish? Kosher? You seem to miss the point. A spousal hire is not a prerequisite set by the university before they can hire someone; it is a added issue that needs to be resolved before someone is willing to come. It is not a university set requirement but an applicant set requirement. Having a specific religion etc are university set requirements. Spousal hiring is not benign, it is not a victimless crime. It is an unethical tragedy which is leading to many very good hard working scientists to leave the field and their dreams, some of us who have worked hard all our lives toward this goal of starting our own lab one day, and were the first in our families to even go to graduate school (and second to college at all). I would argue that the opposite takes place. Many highly qualified scientists left and still leave the field when forced to choose between love and passion. But really, when you apply without a spouse needing a job, and you are passed by for a guy who also demands a job for his wife, I think you better start thinking about the quality difference between you and that person. The problem with this discussion is that this is a non-issue. Universities do not ALWAYS hire a spouse. No, they weigh that on a case-by-case basis. The American Dream has been dead in the private sector for many years, is it dead in Academia too? No, you can still make it. The illusion is that you would have MORE changes if there were no spousal hires. Because if a university is willing to pay for a spousal hire, it means that the person they intent to hire is a lot better than the person who does not require a spousal hire. That most
[ECOLOG-L] Medawar: Advice to a Young Scientist
I have found this publication to be very useful during my academic career. It was written by a Nobelaureate. I'm not sure how much of it is good advice in all situations, but at least it gives you something to think about. here is a link to it on Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=BEhtUTdXtG4Cprintsec=frontcoverdq=advice+to+a+young+scientisthl=enei=U2tQTsC6MPCGsAK81ejABgsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=false -- Malcolm L. McCallum Oceania University of Medicine Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive - Allan Nation 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist)
All: It seems to me that, with respect to this issue and the one that spawned (npi) it, that there are two distinct realms, ethics and rules. Ethics are social mores that one does out of conscience and recognition of equity, of a recognition that we are all variations of the same thing, while rules are imposed as part of an hierarchical construct. That is, if social mores are working and people are thinking and adjusting rather than imposing, we don't need rules, artifacts of culture. Intellectual discipline tends, does it not, toward understanding the principles that drive complexity? WT - Original Message - From: Kim van der Linde k...@kimvdlinde.com To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2011 3:23 PM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics of spousal hires (was Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist) On 8/20/2011 11:32 AM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote: Personal interests like but my wife/child/friend wants a job too! should not be a consideration of any hiring entity. I think it should be. You do not want your new faculty member leave after two years for a place closer to her partner. After she spend most of the setup money and forcing you to go through a new hiring round (any idea how expensive they are money and time wise?). Where does it end? Is it ok for a chair and group of faculty to decide only to hire members of their church or their own religion, or only hire other atheists? Is it ok for them to only hire their friends to the exclusion of all other applicants regardless of QUANTITATIVE qualification/skill/talent? Maybe a department wishes to be all white, or all Chinese, or all Jewish? Kosher? You seem to miss the point. A spousal hire is not a prerequisite set by the university before they can hire someone; it is a added issue that needs to be resolved before someone is willing to come. It is not a university set requirement but an applicant set requirement. Having a specific religion etc are university set requirements. Spousal hiring is not benign, it is not a victimless crime. It is an unethical tragedy which is leading to many very good hard working scientists to leave the field and their dreams, some of us who have worked hard all our lives toward this goal of starting our own lab one day, and were the first in our families to even go to graduate school (and second to college at all). I would argue that the opposite takes place. Many highly qualified scientists left and still leave the field when forced to choose between love and passion. But really, when you apply without a spouse needing a job, and you are passed by for a guy who also demands a job for his wife, I think you better start thinking about the quality difference between you and that person. The problem with this discussion is that this is a non-issue. Universities do not ALWAYS hire a spouse. No, they weigh that on a case-by-case basis. The American Dream has been dead in the private sector for many years, is it dead in Academia too? No, you can still make it. The illusion is that you would have MORE changes if there were no spousal hires. Because if a university is willing to pay for a spousal hire, it means that the person they intent to hire is a lot better than the person who does not require a spousal hire. That most likely also means that there are a lot of candidates between you and the top choice. Kim - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1392 / Virus Database: 1520/3847 - Release Date: 08/20/11
