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Of course. I did research in my grad program. My oldest didcresearch in her undergrad and is now doing research as part of her grad program, my youngest did research as part of his undergrad though the field work was halted by covid.
More so I have selected, managed, reviewed, and evaluated about 8 figures worth of university and small business research grants. So yes I do have some understanding of university research. And if those professors arent doing the research they proposed, they dont get the next grant.
You and your kids may have done research, but I doubt the professor actually was, while the professor was getting paid to do nothing.
Even if the professor really was doing research, people should not accept research as an excuse for poor teaching.
R4T, that's a great question. Seems related to the other thread on the antipathy toward education. One of the things that intrigues me is so many of the Greatest Gen couldn't finish high school due the depression and the war but were all well read and supported education. Today we have so many who do complete high school yet disparage education. I dont understand why states dont support what they once considered an essential public duty alongside safety and security.
Right. Education used to be regarded as a pillar of democracy; a well-informed public is essential. Otherwise, the votes can be too easily manipulated. *cough* Too easy to sway people to vote against their best interests. hmm..... Maybe that's what the "dumbing down" in some states is all about. It could be part of the grand plan. And for the people who insist on thinking for themselves, there's always vote suppression.
The problem is, a weak education system makes us less competitive globally. A higher ed system that's only affordable to the upper classes leads to a shrinking middle class, which in turn causes political instability.
I think the prof in the OP got canned mainly because he wasn't tenure-track. He wasn't the only one who wasn't passing a significant percentage of students. It's standard practice in O. Chem.
They've been forced to raise tuition to an astronomical extent, because of the loss of state government support. State governments used to value higher education. Whatever happened to that basic value? Why haven't state governments been able to better steward their own economy?
Most public universities still receive hundreds of millions of dollars a year from state governments, and in addition millions of dollars (sometimes billions) in federal grants for research. Inflation plus shrinking enrollments plus easy access to student loans plus administrative bloat have all contributed to the dramatic rise in tuition in recent decades.
And you seriously believe these professors are actually doing research? All they do is bully their grad students and collect a paycheck.
Not all professors do research and publish, though now there's a lot more pressure to publish than when I was in college. And not all research is funded by grants. Most profs in my observation do research as part of the job they're paid by the university to do. However, when profs don't do research or publish, they're expected to teach a higher load of classes.
Most public universities still receive hundreds of millions of dollars a year from state governments, and in addition millions of dollars (sometimes billions) in federal grants for research. Inflation plus shrinking enrollments plus easy access to student loans plus administrative bloat have all contributed to the dramatic rise in tuition in recent decades.
A lot of that money is for maintenance, the building fund, supplies (new computers & other tech and tech maintenance), and other budgetary categories that don't cover teaching.
Not all professors do research and publish, though now there's a lot more pressure to publish than when I was in college. And not all research is funded by grants. Most profs in my observation do research as part of the job they're paid by the university to do. However, when profs don't do research or publish, they're expected to teach a higher load of classes.
But my point is that the teachers in question were very poor teachers who did not take the teaching part of their job seriously at all. Students would just keep defending them, saying that they do really good research. But these students knew nothing about the alleged research that these professors do. And, it's extremely unlikely that these professors were actually doing any significant research.
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hmm..... Maybe that's what the "dumbing down" in some states is all about. It could be part of the grand plan. And for the people who insist on thinking for themselves, there's always vote suppression. 
