Should this guy have been sacked?

kiwi_2005 · 08-10-07, 01:48 AM

The sacking of a university lecturer who denied a student an essay extension saying her father's death was a "lame excuse" has sparked a flood of emails to nzherald.co.nz. In his email, former Auckland University lecturer Paul Buchanan also attacked the "poor quality" of overseas students being accepted for post-graduate courses - and accused the student of preying on "some sort of Western liberal guilt".

Paul Buchanan

* Born in New York, USA.
* Aged 52.
* Taught at US Naval Postgraduate School, University of Arizona and University of South Florida.
* Senior lecturer in politics at Auckland University since 1997.
* Critic of President George W. Bush's foreign policy.
* Opposed sending NZ troops to Iraq after the US invasion.

Quote:

Below is the full text of the email that Auckand University lecturer Paul Buchanan sent to a student from the United Arab Emirates after she requested an extension on an assignment. The text is unedited though the student's name has been removed.
Subject: RE: Extension
Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 19:24:20
From: Paul Buchanan
To: Student
Dear xxxx:
I say this reluctantly but not so subtly: you are not suitable for a graduate degree. It does not matter if your father died or if you have a medical certificate.
I have been too nice and given you too high marks all along (at C+). I do not anticipate that you will do better in the final exercise. You are already a day late.
The extension is meaningless because you have not attended the last few classes and are the worse performer in the class.
Of course by a far stretch, You will have the obiturary of your father, but even if available and the student health people might have believed you, I do not. You are close to failing in any event, so these sort of excuses-culturally driven and preying on some sort of Western liberal guilt-are simply lame.
Prove that your father died and your were distraught and unable to complete assignments-in spite of your abysmal record to date as an underperforming and underquallifed student- and perhaps you might qualify for an extension to get a C-.
But as it stands, you will flunk since your are already a day+ late, and you trrack record is poor.
By the way-are you a Hoadley student? That would explain a lot of things.
In a word: NO-I do not accept your extensuon request.
PGB
Paul G Buchanan
Director, New Zealand Centre for Latin American Studies (NZCLAS)

Maybe from his poor spelling.
Censor him yes but i dont think he should of been sacked.

Full story
http://tinyurl.com/339jx4

Reaves · 08-10-07, 02:00 AM

Hmm tough one.

On one hand he did mention that if all appropriate paper work was submitted he MAY get the extension although he was mainly saying that it was useless as he was the worse performer in the class anyway and in the lecturers eyes not at a level that warrented a pass. Therefore he shouldn't be sacked for not giving the extension as that wasn't the case.

Quote:

Prove that your father died and your were distraught and unable to complete assignments-in spite of your abysmal record to date as an underperforming and underquallifed student- and perhaps you might qualify for an extension to get a C-.

From the letter it seems he WAS sacked for being an idiot.

Quote:

these sort of excuses-culturally driven and preying on some sort of Western liberal guilt-are simply lame.

Even if he thought this was the case, to state it in writing is not needed and if false would be very insulting. I'd sack him for not using tact. He certainly could have handled it better.

August · 08-10-07, 02:30 AM

As a teacher i can see both sides of this argument. First off the letter the Director sent was very unprofessional. That Hoadley crack at the end in particular was unnecessary. The spelling was also atrocious. A quick forum post is one thing but a letter to a student, especially with such a contentious subject deserves a lot more effort than he put into it.

On the other hand I know the type of student he's talking about.

Heibges · 08-10-07, 02:37 AM

Is Senior Lecturer a tenured position?

August · 08-10-07, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heibges

Is Senior Lecturer a tenured position?

According to the letter he is(was) a Director.

jumpy · 08-10-07, 03:19 AM

He's a senior lecturer in politics... what more needs to be said about his usefullness as a human being

But I guess that goes with the bad grammar, spelling and punctuation too.

Quote:

Subject: RE: Extension
Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 19:24:20
From: Paul Buchanan
To: Student
Dear xxxx:
I say this reluctantly but not so subtly: you are not suitable for a graduate degree. It does not matter if your father died or if you have a medical certificate.
I have been too nice and given you too high marks all along (at C+). I do not anticipate that you will do better in the final exercise. You are already a day late.
The extension is meaningless because you have not attended the last few classes and are the worse performer in the class.
Of course by a far stretch, You will have the obiturary of your father, but even if available and the student health people might have believed you, I do not. You are close to failing in any event, so these sort of excuses-culturally driven and preying on some sort of Western liberal guilt-are simply lame.
Prove that your father died and your were distraught and unable to complete assignments-in spite of your abysmal record to date as an underperforming and underquallifed student- and perhaps you might qualify for an extension to get a C-.
But as it stands, you will flunk since your are already a day+ late, and you trrack record is poor.
By the way-are you a Hoadley student? That would explain a lot of things.
In a word: NO-I do not accept your extensuon request.
PGB
Paul G Buchanan
Director, New Zealand Centre for Latin American Studies (NZCLAS)

3/10 see me.

Tchocky · 08-10-07, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumpy

He's a senior lecturer in politics... what more needs to be said about his usefullness as a human being

Wahey.

jumpy · 08-10-07, 06:34 AM

Rather obviously that's meant to be toungue in cheek... but I'm sure I have expressed my rather dim view on anything political in the past. Were he a senior lecturer on Statesmen we might be looking at things differently :hmm: hehe

Tchocky · 08-10-07, 06:36 AM

My sense of humour detection unit requires calibration

A moment please

jumpy · 08-10-07, 08:14 AM

^^

Takeda Shingen · 08-10-07, 08:29 AM

That may be, perhaps, one of the most unprofessional correspondences that I have ever laid eyes upon. Regardless of the student's track record, a collegiate-level professor, let alone a program director, should not act in such a manner. I can understand his frustration with the quality of the student accepted into the program. However, his quarrel would be with the admissions department, not the student that has been accepted into the program. As distasteful as it may have been to him, he would have been personally served better had he simply accepted the late work, documented it, along with the other issues from the semester, and taken his case to the dean and the executive council in hopes to rectify the issue for future semesters. Instead, he acted rashly, giving the university a black eye. Since college education is a business, the university was placed in a position where it was impossible to keep him, and I can completely understand and sympathize with their decision.

If this letter is real, I wonder how a man, writing with such gramatical error, could have possibly landed this position in the first place. He must present one heck of an interview.

SUBMAN1 · 08-10-07, 10:22 AM

The problem is, he wrote that email from an emotional, not a professional level. He is clearly very frustrated with this student, and it is an on-going frustration, not simply an immediate frustration.

I understand his position, but yes, he wrote the email in a non-professional way. It is laced with emotion at every turn, and he is so emotional about it, he didn't even bother to check his grammer.

Both sides have a case on this one.

The moral of the story? Never let emotion interfere with your work. If you are ticked off, do not do anything till you calm down a bit. Then you can attack the problem from a more logical perspective and not an emotional one.

-S

joea · 08-10-07, 10:25 AM

Ok was the death of the sutdent's father the truth or not??

SUBMAN1 · 08-10-07, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joea

Ok was the death of the sutdent's father the truth or not??

That may be in question - THe student seems to have used every other excuse in the book. Maybe this is why the Director thought is was a hoax.

CCIP · 08-10-07, 10:30 AM

Well, certainly if her father had died then his response was totally inapporpriate. However... we don't know enough about the student, either. It's a fact that there are chronically-bad students out there, too. I've had a few of these as a TA - still though, I think he was far too harsh and condescending even if she was the worst student in his class.

I should note with some irony though about spelling/grammar - my prof with whom I'm doing my thesis right now has absolutely horrendous spelling/grammar/punctuation in her emails. Probably on the level of some of our, ahem, young and over-enthusiastic posters here on subsim. On the other hand she's an important expert in her field (and the field has to do with text analysis) and one of the best and most professional instructors I've ever had. So don't be so quick to slam the grammar there

08-10-07, 02:30 AM	#3
August Wayfaring Stranger Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 23,197 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	As a teacher i can see both sides of this argument. First off the letter the Director sent was very unprofessional. That Hoadley crack at the end in particular was unnecessary. The spelling was also atrocious. A quick forum post is one thing but a letter to a student, especially with such a contentious subject deserves a lot more effort than he put into it. On the other hand I know the type of student he's talking about. __________________ Flanked by life and the funeral pyre. Putting on a show for you to see.

08-10-07, 02:37 AM	#4
Heibges Sea Lord Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: San Francisco, California Posts: 1,633 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Is Senior Lecturer a tenured position? __________________ U.Kdt.Hdb B. I. 28) This possibility of using the hydrophone to help in detecting surface ships should, however, be restricted to those cases where the submarine is unavoidably compelled to stay below the surface. http://www.hackworth.com/

08-10-07, 06:34 AM	#8
jumpy Admiral Join Date: May 2003 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 2,139 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	Rather obviously that's meant to be toungue in cheek... but I'm sure I have expressed my rather dim view on anything political in the past. Were he a senior lecturer on Statesmen we might be looking at things differently :hmm: hehe __________________ when you’ve been so long in the desert, any water, no matter how brackish, looks like life

08-10-07, 06:36 AM	#9
Tchocky Navy Seal Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,874 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	My sense of humour detection unit requires calibration A moment please __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

08-10-07, 08:14 AM	#10
jumpy Admiral Join Date: May 2003 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 2,139 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	^^ __________________ when you’ve been so long in the desert, any water, no matter how brackish, looks like life

08-10-07, 08:29 AM	#11
Takeda Shingen Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 8,643 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	That may be, perhaps, one of the most unprofessional correspondences that I have ever laid eyes upon. Regardless of the student's track record, a collegiate-level professor, let alone a program director, should not act in such a manner. I can understand his frustration with the quality of the student accepted into the program. However, his quarrel would be with the admissions department, not the student that has been accepted into the program. As distasteful as it may have been to him, he would have been personally served better had he simply accepted the late work, documented it, along with the other issues from the semester, and taken his case to the dean and the executive council in hopes to rectify the issue for future semesters. Instead, he acted rashly, giving the university a black eye. Since college education is a business, the university was placed in a position where it was impossible to keep him, and I can completely understand and sympathize with their decision. If this letter is real, I wonder how a man, writing with such gramatical error, could have possibly landed this position in the first place. He must present one heck of an interview.

08-10-07, 10:22 AM	#12
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The problem is, he wrote that email from an emotional, not a professional level. He is clearly very frustrated with this student, and it is an on-going frustration, not simply an immediate frustration. I understand his position, but yes, he wrote the email in a non-professional way. It is laced with emotion at every turn, and he is so emotional about it, he didn't even bother to check his grammer. Both sides have a case on this one. The moral of the story? Never let emotion interfere with your work. If you are ticked off, do not do anything till you calm down a bit. Then you can attack the problem from a more logical perspective and not an emotional one. -S __________________

08-10-07, 10:25 AM	#13
joea Silent Hunter Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: At periscope depth in Lake Geneva Posts: 3,512 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Ok was the death of the sutdent's father the truth or not??

08-10-07, 10:30 AM	#15
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Well, certainly if her father had died then his response was totally inapporpriate. However... we don't know enough about the student, either. It's a fact that there are chronically-bad students out there, too. I've had a few of these as a TA - still though, I think he was far too harsh and condescending even if she was the worst student in his class. I should note with some irony though about spelling/grammar - my prof with whom I'm doing my thesis right now has absolutely horrendous spelling/grammar/punctuation in her emails. Probably on the level of some of our, ahem, young and over-enthusiastic posters here on subsim. On the other hand she's an important expert in her field (and the field has to do with text analysis) and one of the best and most professional instructors I've ever had. So don't be so quick to slam the grammar there __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)