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[peewee at no-name U]

I am curious to know if the good Dr. Schwartz would be willing to apply the same process when determining who teaches at which institution? Couldn’t a pool of good enough candidates be gathered together and then be randomly selected to teach at various colleges? Perhaps, Dr. Schwartz would be willing to give up his spot at Swarthmore for no-name U?  Anyone who has been to a prestigious school knows there is immense pressure on professors (especially untenured ones), to the point where many of them suffer mentally and physically (lots of broken marriages, etc.). Perhaps, random assignment of jobs would allow professors to lead more normal lives. Why ever select for the very best, when mediocre will do?

[Patrick Mattimore]

Dear Dean Inzer,
       Although you addressed your comments to Professor Schwartz, I hope you will respond to a few of the concerns I raise. I have written articles for the Stanford Daily, The Dartmouth Daily, and the Los Angeles Daily Journal (California's primary legal newspaper) about what I think is driving a great deal of college admissions these days- the magazine rankings. I would hope that Hamilton along with other colleges might insist that the Association of American Colleges and Universities establish an independent method of letting applicants know what the schools have to offer. In the alternative, I believe that the government will ultimately have to step in to prescribe procedures for collecting data.
         I don't doubt that you and your admissions staff believe your process is one of "integrity" and that you are interested in an applicant's "fit." I just question whether you or anyone else has any divining capabilites beyond chance level. Several years ago Malcolm Gladwell spoke at the American Psychological Association. The title of his talk was "The Quarterback Problem." He pointed out how with all the best football minds available, with the expenditure of enormous sums of money, and with sophisticated testing equipment at the combines, the NFL still did no better than chance at selecting college quarterbacks who would become good pro quareterbacks. Gladwell, of course, went on to make a number of other interesting points, but I think the quarterback lesson is applicable to college admissions.
         My son, a junior in high school, has received numerous college solicitations, including one a couple of days ago from Hamilton. I would love for you to explain exactly how you will determine if he is potentially a good "fit" at Hamilton.

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[M Baker, Queens College CUNY]

This suggestion (random selection among a pool exceeding a cutoff) was proposed by Robert Wolff in his 1969 'The Ideal of the University.'  for many of the reasons outlined in the article by Barry Schwartz.  It's a nice idea that probably deserves to be tried.  Wolff's book is excellent reading on several academic-existential questions and one that I am always tempted to make my students read, even in intro Bio.

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[Staff Person]

peewee

What a wonderful posting. Unfortunately, your comment will be dismissed by most of the "educators" who are supporting Schwartz's proposal. After all, one certainly couldn't expect those high-roller PhD's from super U or wealthy-U to be put on a competative level with PhD's from mid-level U.  People might discover that mid-level U educators and researchers are equal to, if not better than the named school educator/researcher...

[John Elliott]

A lottery?  How PC!!

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