Eikenberry denied academic post by pointy-headed academia
Most of you who have been around here for a few years know that Karl Eikenberry, retired three-star general and ambassador to Afghanistan during the Obama Administration was once my platoon leader decades ago. I never liked him much, but now I’m forced to defend him. He was appointed to Northwestern University to become the first executive director of a new global studies institute at the college. But then academia got on it’s high horse and opposed his appointment. Why? Well, here, a grad student explains as reported by the Washington Post;
“An ex-U.S. general will likely think about international politics in terms of war and from the perspective of the U.S.’s interests, and the research agenda will be negatively skewed as a result,” wrote Charles Clarke, a Northwestern graduate student and one of the petition’s backers. “Instead, why not appoint someone who will encourage research that is less belligerent and tainted by U.S. bias?”
[…]
“This is the worst stereotyping I can imagine and an affront to any veteran,” Eikenberry wrote in an email. “What is it about a military officer’s career that makes her or him unqualified to serve as the executive director for an institute of global studies? Their familiarity with leading large organizations, securing resources, directing strategic planning, and implementing institutional change? Their experience of living in diverse cultures abroad (in my case Korea – twice; China – three times; Hong Kong – twice; Italy; Belgium; and Afghanistan – three times)? Or their experience in the field of national security decision-making and international security issues?
Most of the classes that I took in regards to international politics included a lot of instances of war – it is “politics by other means”, according to Clauswitz. Most of the world has engaged in war at some point in it’s history, and if you want to avoid war, no one is more accommodating than a soldier, you know, someone who hates war most because they pay the ultimate price for that endeavor. But, hey, if Northwestern and their grad students want to pretend that war doesn’t exist, I don’t see much of a market for their ideas in the future.
To be fair, many of the people who opposed Eikenberry’s appointment to the post spoke publicly about his lack of academic credentials – that he didn’t have a PhD. I guess someone should care that a PhD. is important for something. While the pointy-head class cloisters itself even further from the real world, the rest of us will look to people with real world experience for expert opinions.
Thanks to Chief Tango and Bobo for the link.
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Liberals keep using that word tolerance I do not think it means what they think it means….
^^^^^
this
Tolerance to the liberal scum means “shut up and let me talk, you do not have an opinion”!!
The fact that he does not hold a doctorate is sufficient to deny him the position. The grad student’s personal view is just that, unless he held sway with the decision makers somehow. He’ll make a dandy guest lecturer or a fine adjunct instructor at a community college. I say tough shit.
Lack of a doctorate would indeed be relevant if the position’s duties involved teaching courses at the graduate level. (Undergraduate level, not so much.)
Last time I checked, most Executive Directors of . . . well, anything didn’t generally have duties that included working as instructors or teachers. Given that, I’m not sure how lack of a doctorate is relevant.
I guess it’s similar to how it works in the military – remember CSM King? I don’t know about you, but someone lacking crucial experience, however it may be defined by a certain field, automatically garners less respect by the subordinates who have put in their time. I’m not bashing Eikenberry’s experience, but I could see how it might matter to some.
Doctorate degrees are usually required for any tenure track professor position at a major university, but not so much for administrative positions. The original job posting makes no mention of an earned doctorate as a required minimum qualification. This was faculty rabble rousing and getting their way, whether or not your a fan of Eikenberry.
The original recruitment ad: https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/0000883001-01
The rabble doing the rousing was also evidently a small minority. The February letter protesting Eikenberry’s appointment was signed by 46 faculty members out of an estimated 3300. In March, the faculty senate voted 30 to 5 to confirm the appointment.
Still another issue is that when Eikenberry was selected in November, he wasn’t just hired off the street, but had been teaching as a professor at Stanford.
Jonn, Please stop holding back on how you feel, let it out!! Karl Eikenberry, that dick!!!!!! Almost spit my coffee!!!
Modern Academia-outside of STEM-is not worth saving. The “Higher Ed bubble” will burst soon enough, when it does we should scrap the lot and leave only the fields mentioned above and some trade school type programs.
I say all of this as a former Community College social science instructor.
So they essentially have admitted that they are afraid of having staff from diverse backgrounds?!?
dafukk?
..and who gives a half a greasy shite what a grad student thinks anyway?
Further proof that “diversity” is nothing more than a code word for skin color.
As well as “Liberals Only”.
And men who want to use the lady’s room.
I’d be interested in knowing more about what it was about him that Jonn didn’t care for. A flaw in the make-up of a lieutenant, such as not being willing to heed the advice of those more experienced and knowledgeable, if uncorrected by life experiences, could become a real problem in a four star.
I was a private at the time, so my opinion of him doesn’t matter. Now, he did some messed up stuff while he was ambassador that members of the staff there told me about him – but nothing that would hinder an appointment to Northwestern.
I did not care for him either RLTW
We are a society where credentials trump experience. A PhD over 4-star flag rank in “global studies” is preposterous, even if Eikenberry is a tool.
It is preposterous in some ways, but if the general wants to teach, he must play by the rules.
At a school, if you don’t have proper credentialing, the classes won’t, be recognized or transfer and the school can lose its accreditation.
Not every subject requires a PhD, it depends on what level the students are being taught and what the terminal degree happens to be in the subject, among other things.
There are things in the military that require a degree, for a degree’s sake and no other real reason.
Doesn’t say he was there to teach, but to be executive director – an administrator and leader.
I would say judging by the one person I know at Northwestern – a journalism assistant prof whose kids run around the house chanting “Obama, Obama” – it may be an institution of higher something, but probably not education.
I saw that, but didn’t know that it would preclude any and all teaching. Thanks for clarifying.
So they’re basically saying he’s going to turn the department into a military organization and somehow, that’s going to make them conscripts.
yeah, I don’t think that changes his legitimate potential to lead them, not in the sky is falling way the petitioner’s are describing it.
hmmm…fukk grammar
This quote is wrong on so many levels: “An ex-U.S. general will likely think about international politics in terms of war and from the perspective of the U.S.’s interests, and the research agenda will be negatively skewed as a result,”
Any officer who has attended mid-to-senior level courses such as CGSC and the War College on up knows that a big part of being a senior officer, to include studying doctrine, involves ingratiating yourself in the perspectives of others, to specifically include non-military aspects, e.g. DIME, etc.
From a Facebook friend:
“The graduate student’s remarks are the modern equivalent of “We reject a negro candidate for the position because he’ll just spend his days eating watermelon and playing the banjo.”
We’re into a whole new world of stupid these days, and this stupid now comes with diplomas.”
Bobo,
I was reading the petitioner’s comments and I would say the analogy is correct. Those are some of the most short sighted and snobbish comments I have ever read and they completely ignore the legitimate, rare and valuable experience the general brings to the podium.
The real problem is, as indicated by the author of this piece, that the academic world is becoming more and more cloistered and internal, rather than external.
Don’t expect those Sons of Yuppies now crossing the campus quadrants to understand that the world outside the gate on Clark Street expects them to actually think or produce something worthwhile. In the rarified and protected air of academia, especially at a private university like Northwestern, the real world is not important. It only exists on the nightly news. For them, rebellious students in Hong Kong are more important than the possibility that China might get twiggy and block entry to the mainland to keep prying eyes away from its military buildup.
I hope that some day, all of these overprivileged nitwits at this extremely overpriced, PRIVATE (not tax-supported) university in Evanston, IL, ($70,000++/2016-2017) have to face the real world. It will be a painful awakening.
“more cloistered and irrational” – I fixed it for ya.
“Alex, I’ll take “Experience Over Degrees” for $2000″
I know a guy that claims “accomplishments include graduating from Catholic University with a BSEE, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and an MS Law in Federal Contracting”, and yet, reading his online comments would lead you to believe that his sperm is not so lucky, since he never mastered the skill of utilizing Spellcheck.
But can he make posts in coherent, sane English?
Regarding the lack of a PhD: My father worked as an historian for both the US Army and for the National Park Service for almost 30 years. Although he was at one time (in my memory) enrolled in a PhD program, he never completed his thesis, preferring work to school (and his first “job” after graduating college was being a 2nd Lieutenant in the Armored Cavalry.)
After he retired from the Park Service he taught at two different universities. It amused him that he was frequently referred to as “Dr.” even though he never got higher than a BA. Most of the students referred to him as such, seems they couldn’t fathom a professor who didn’t have a doctorate but who, instead, had nearly 30 years of experience in the field of history.
This type of foolishness has been going on for a time. Now, there have been hundreds of thousands if not millions of these basement-dwelling, sniveling buttwipes who have graduated into the real world. You know, the world where employers don’t much care about their opinion or feelings. My question is, how is it there has been so little feedback from these graduates to those still enrolled, informing them of the expectations that will be placed on them upon graduation? Are these pansies really finding success in the real world? Aren’t these many of the twinkies who complain about student loans and, specifically, their inability to repay those loans b/c their degree does not allow them to obtain meaningful employment that actually rewards them with an adequate income? Assuming this flow of information takes place, why is it the pansies still enrolled don’t get their act together? They can survive in the protected environment of academia, but the real world will eat them alive. Really, how many with degrees in women’s studies or similar touchy-feely degrees are able to get employment in their field of study, surrounded by others with similarly (IMO) worthless degrees? As far as a PhD, here’s the explanation for it and other degrees. BA: Barely Able BS: Bull Shit MS: More of Same PHD: Piled Higher and Deeper Speaking of student loans, how is it society’s fault that these twinkies find themselves unable to repay the loan? My favorites are those with huge student loan debt who are now an MD, Psychologist, DO, lawyer, etc., but blame the ‘system’ for their debt. Following close behind are those with a degree in women’s studies or A-A studies who bitch and moan about being unable to find meaningful employment. And somehow society is responsible? Jeez, people, grow a set. Don’t these groups of people tire of being the ‘victims’ of society? Will society ever stop pandering to these people? I know it’s unpopular, but maybe, just maybe, the situation would improve if there was a mandatory 2-3 year period of service, be it in the military or elsewhere. Yeah,… Read more »
Ya know … if I was going to spend 4 or more years of my life doing something besides earning a living, it would be something that more than made up for the lost income. Unfortunately for my formal education, early in life (even before the Army) I found a job that paid pretty well. Four years of salary was a consequential sum so I trimmed my formal education and have been forced to do much learning on my own. What I lost in academic rigor I think I made up by going places and seeing stuff.
As a society we now have special snowflakes who have the academic rigor, and the loans to match, and no life experience to use as a foundation for living their life. If there were only a few of them, the rest of us would keep them on the straight and narrow. But that are a LOT of them and they seem to be successfully demanding that the rest of us conform to their reality – a reality formed by a bunch of academicians many of whom lived a life sheltered by tenured government jobs and who have never had to deal with the real world.
Or, put another way, if they are so smart then why do they have those big loans?
The lunatics are trying to run the asylum and they are getting away with it. How fucked up is that? They are there to learn, much smarter people will choose their instructors.
Remember when Petraeus was attacked at NYU?
Already plenty of big-name GO’s who were gifted cushy academic positions. If anybody really wants to go study under one, they can just go to that school.
But I think universities should make it a standing rule that GO’s don’t get hired if they haven’t actually won a war somewhere. That would be like going to a med school where all the instructors’ patients died. Universities also should not hire GO’s who were relieved of command.
The grad student’s comments are sadly typical (and uninformed). Folks who haven’t actually done anything have a hard time appreciating the real abilities of folks who have. That kid has never been there or done anything, yet he presumes to know what the general has learned, done, and experienced in his varied career. Just stupid. The kid will make a good professor.
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