Around the Web

• A recent Ticker post noted that some retired University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professors have offered to teach free. So why hasn’t the administration jumped at their offer? Historiann and Margaret Soltan share their theories.

• Brian Leiter considers whether interviews are a help or a hindrance in hiring the best faculty members.

• GayProf notes that in these lean times many universities are more closely monitoring student enrollment and canceling courses that have too few students. That’s why he’s come up with some nifty ideas for keeping students from dropping his course. My favorites are below, but be sure to check out the complete list:

* If they look under their seat, they will find that each and every one of them has a new car!

* By the end of my class, at least one of them will have a recording contract.

* Instead of lecturers, I will be interviewing numerous guest celebrities.

* Multiple-choice exams will be replaced by connect-the-dot and color-by-number.

* My course is actually the recruiting center for a secret army that will be deployed to fight the agents of darkness.

* During the semester, I will reveal several new weight-loss techniques.

* Each and every week, students will have an opportunity to vote off one of their fellow classmates. The last one standing will be declared one of life’s winners.

* Every student will receive a Snuggie.©

• Female Science Professor lists the top five reasons why she hates faculty meetings. Not surprisingly, the fact that they’re a time suck took first place on her list:

1. Time. I don’t have time for these meetings. No one has time for these meetings except the deadwood faculty. Of course we make time (if we are not traveling or otherwise involved in an activity scheduled for the same time as the meeting), but it is hard to lose time that could be spent on other essential activities.

Why do you hate them?

• It may be time to plan a vacation. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, a new study found that workers who took time off performed better on the job.