March 14, 2010

Charging That His College Undervalues Teaching, a Professor Strikes Back

A Professor Says His University Cares Little About Teaching 1

Aaron Peterson for The Chronicle

Madhukar Vable, a professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological U., has denounced what he says is his university's neglect of the classroom experience for undergraduates. To protest, he has taken down and returned his teaching awards.

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close A Professor Says His University Cares Little About Teaching 1

Aaron Peterson for The Chronicle

Madhukar Vable, a professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological U., has denounced what he says is his university's neglect of the classroom experience for undergraduates. To protest, he has taken down and returned his teaching awards.

By David Glenn

Last October, Madhukar Vable said farewell to two teaching prizes that he had won a decade earlier. He packed the plaques in envelopes and shipped them back to the university and state offices that had awarded them.

His packages included long letters about the condition of higher education. Too many colleges, Mr. Vable wrote, chase prestige and research grants at the expense of undergraduate instruction—and his own institution had penalized him because he had not done the same.

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