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MIT-Affiliated Lab Tops Ranking of Best Places to Work for Postdocs

March 2, 2011, 1:29 pm

The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, an independent lab affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ranks No. 1 on The Scientist’s latest ranking of the best places for postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences to work in the United States. University College London was the top international institution.

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  • sullivab

    One has to wonder about the validity of this survey when one see’s programs jumping 30 places in the ranking in just 1 year. Did the institution improve that much in 12 months? Did they start pandering to the ranking criteria? Or is the survey just a piece of crap, like US News, etc.? See Malcom Gladwell’s piece in the Feb 14 issue of the New Yorker.

  • walkingtree

    I love MIT, please choose me as your postdoc.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Gutierrez/20002222 Robert Gutierrez

    The article I want to read is how to confront ignorance and prejudice in internet forums and comment sections. I’m a daily reader of the chronicle and I am astounded how absurd, closed-minded, and often down right offensive the comments on many of the chonicles articles here read.
     

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Gutierrez/20002222 Robert Gutierrez

    I apologize, I did not mean for that to be a reply to hotice, just a general comment. I hopefully will figure out how to remedy that.

    Hope theres no ard feelings.

  • burger1376

    “we must acknowledge that faculty, especially those with tenure, are largely white and male.”  

    That is a racist statement right there.  The color of their skin doesn’t matter.  We can also use other groups such as most faculty were born above the poverty line.   How about seeing how many faculty come from the north east and the west coast.  If you are going to teach our future University students, I have no hope for the Higher education system in America.  Take your racism somewhere else.  

  • burger1376

    And ask yourself how many times those “black men” said something racist to whites, Latinos, or Asians?  Open your eyes!  It goes both ways, and more likely blacks spew racist comments more often since the racist higher education system in the US says only whites can be racist.  

  • burger1376

    Blah blah blah.  

    How many times have you said racist or discriminatory things about other people? And don’t lie.  Tell us the real number.  

  • burger1376

    Yes, if there were any scholarship for whites only, it would be called racism. If there were any groups for whites only, it would be called racism.  If a white person gets in to a university, it is called racism. If a white person gets a job, it is called racism.  If a white person makes any money, it is called racism.  If a non-white person does any of these things, it is called progress.  

    Lets not forget that many “white”groups have been discriminated against in history, some more violently than most non-white groups, such as the Irish or the coal miners of Appalachia.  Nobody helps the poor whites in Appalachia get out of the cycle of poverty because they are considered a “majority” member.  If these people make it out of poverty, it truly is progress.  Minorities have been given the opportunity since affirmative action times and many still struggle.  That is their own fault, while others never had the attention.  Poor whites are shoved under the carpet of a racist liberal movement.    

  • burger1376

    You are “astounded” by people who have different experiences and opinions than you?  That truly is the main problem with US higher education.  

  • jffoster

    Offensive to whom?  To youm?   

  • hotice

    I have not seen ONE example of higher education in the US saying that ONLY whites can be racist.  Very easy to impose that, however.

  • hotice

    Burger 1376, I fail to see how any of the examples you mention point to the idea that discrimination today is directed EXCLUSIVELY toward whites.  I don’t even need to challenge the veracity of any of your claims, in order to have a problem with that kind of logic!

  • hotice

    Looks like I misunderstood you, Jason–I reread what you just wrote here, and appreciate what it took for you to speak up and say that!  I hope many people respond to that mindset responsibly (though I know many haven’t and will not).

  • mro_cincy

    Reading this article just
    reaffirmed my belief that private sector and community involvement are
    necessary when it comes to improving high school graduation rates, especially
    in underdeveloped neighborhoods. It concerns
    me that senior scholars with this short-sided perspective are the ones leading
    and influencing those who will become our future academic leaders. Everyone is
    a stakeholder when it comes to education. If you want to live in a good
    community with low crime and strong economic growth, then you need to have a surplus
    of citizens contributing to society. Where are these citizens going to come
    from if there is a deficit of educated people? The country’s economic future
    depends on Latinos since they will make up 60% of the U.S population over the
    next 40 years. This is not just a race issue but a survival issue for our country.

     

    1 in 5 students in the U.S are Hispanic. They
    are the fastest growing population in the country with the lowest student
    achievement level with less access to early childhood programs, highest drop
    out rate in high school, and lower odds of attending college than any other
    group in the country. The statistics are not pretty but that’s all the more
    reason why academic authorities should take action on IMPROVING not blaming or
    reverting to the belief of “that’s just the way it is.” Maybe that’s why there
    are more young Latino women getting pregnant—because educators are not showing
    them that there is more out there for them no matter where they came from! I applaud
    those who are truly working to fix the issue, those who DO believe in not
    just “those people” but all people. Believing in the student is just the
    beginning and it’s sad that someone who claims to have the “power” to change the system with their tenure cannot acknowledge that.  

  • mro_cincy

    Why should I or other families, the taxpayers, have to pay for someone else’s contraception or abortion? Government should NOT be involved with an individual’s sexual activity. If someone cannot afford contraception and chooses not use natural family planning then they should not be having sex. There are plenty of local non-profit organizations out there that help pregnant women and provide post abortion counseling. 
    I am pro-life and I have been outside Planned Parenthood (which is now closed and the former director is now also pro-life). I can assure you that no one was foaming at the mouth-save your exaggerations for Hollywood.

  • lucapacioli

    When you “push” students the way you push your own children, what does that do to your teaching evaluations?

  • grendel

    Oh, come on. All this outrage is a bit much. I have to wonder if the people who are responding with angry mini-lectures about “institutionalized racism” have ever actually experienced what it’s like to teach in under-served communities. Usually the students who need the most support are exactly the students who NEVER come and talk to you, who NEVER ask for help or advice, who just don’t show up one day, and then the next day, and then the next, and then one day you see that they’ve dropped your course and you never get a reason why, unless you hunt them down and hound them for it (which feels weird, because they’ve rarely spoken to you). The most needy students are not coming up to you saying, “Oh, please, professor, tell me whether I should drop out. Are there any services I can access that will help me stay in school?” Nine times out of ten they just go completely AWOL. They vanish. And it’s precisely because that’s so frustrating that teachers are inclined to adopt attitudes like, “There’s nothing I can do when students want to drop out.” The reality is that Latinos often do have children at younger ages and drop out at a higher rate than many other groups. That’s something these teachers are observing on a daily basis. So if you want teachers to behave differently, don’t tell them they’re being racists. They’re speaking about what they observe, and they feel like it’s a cultural problem, and they’re frustrated and don’t know what to do about it. Why not frame the discussion like that, rather than saying, “Isn’t it shocking how prejudiced these academics are!” Shocking! Shocking! But not a single poster here can say what a teacher is supposed to DO for these students. That’s the hard part, isn’t it? You’re putting the cart before the horse, acting as if the reason a student gets pregnant is because her teacher suspected that she MIGHT get pregnant. I’m just not buying it.

  • jazrea

    Hello. Many of the responders to this blog have gone off on
    their own personal tangents. Let’s get back to the original problem. A graduate
    student at an academic conference was disrespected and insulted. Where were the
    voices to stand beside her and say this is not acceptable? Educated scholars should
    know by now that it is unacceptable to “otherize,” or stereotype a person or a
    group.

  • hotice

    I must agree that the tangents are taking over–to the destruction of productive conversation!  While any of us would agree that educated scholars should know that it is unacceptable to “otherize,” it would seem that the problem lies not with what the scholars know–but rather with the principles to which they are committed.  The committment wasn’t there.  At least not enough to provoke action.

    Each of us needss to check ourselves, making sure that we are of the  type that will speak up for AL those that are truly being done wrong, not just the group that we want to push into the power positions.

  • burger1376

    Institutional racism against whites is very obvious. If you can’t see it, I can’t help you.  The entire idea in higher education that only whites can be racist is a start.  Look up definitions of racism to begin with.  Then look up the real numbers of people living in poverty and what race they are.  Don’t be liberal and only focus on inner cities.  Look at the history of Appalachia and the legacy of coal mining slavery.  Then look at how much attention those people get in the history text books or how much representation these people have in government, finance, education, etc.  

    Then look at all the programs, books, articles, speakers, groups, and many other things that support “minorities.”  Then look again at how many of these elite minorities point to “white” people as the problem.  Look at how many ignore what you learn about the people of the Appalachian region and other poor, white areas of America.  

    If you do this, you will slowly see what I am talking about.  If not, you will continue to be ignorant to reality.  

  • royal0

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