Professors, Food Stamps, and Stories

I read an article recently about a number of professors who are receiving food stamps. My first reaction: Them damn liberal professors are at it again, feeding at the public trough. Then I thought, no, what this means is, like some of our military folks, there is another group of people who cannot make a living at their chosen profession. The proof is that their salaries are low enough for them to quality for the stamps.

While I’m appalled at both situations, it’s the professorial one that I’m wondering about right now. And this started me thinking about professors I have known.

At the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth I served as dean of Continuing Education for a spell. One evening I noticed a forty-something-year-old man sort of wandering around the reception area and looking uncomfortable. I struck up a conversation and found that he was a successful businessman in Southern New England. The man wanted to prove something to himself. Years ago, he had started college but never finished, and now wondered if he really had what it took to do college-level work. I recognized him as we talked, and knew him to be politically conservative with a strong sense of self-confidence, and a sense of humor. He ran a right-leaning morning talk show out of his diner—one of my favorite diners in the area. So, I suggested that he just take one course and see how it went. I suggested a rigorous course taught by a professor who was respected by students. He took my suggestion, and agreed to check back with me on the progress of the course.

A month later, the businessman walked into my office with a big smile on his face. “The professor is out of his mind, the course is great, I learned a lot, and thank you,” he said. Although he decided not to pursue a degree, the decision was made with confidence and for the right reasons; he knew he could handle whatever the University had to offer.

To me, this story epitomizes the best of what a professor can do. This professor, a left-leaning friend of mine, was a practicing Irishman, president of the American Federation of Teachers union at UMassD,  who took me on several Irish drinking tours of Fall River, Massachusetts—wonderful experiences by the way; he was a master story teller and politician in the best sense of that word. He was witty, engaging, and loved to challenge his students. His long career provided for a marginal retirement income.

There are lots of these people out there. A friend of mine grew up in South Boston, the son of factory workers. I watched him engage freshman English students, students who had difficulty reading and writing, students who had not survived in college elsewhere, students for whom this college experience was their last hope. This professor could relate. They learned. He is now Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, still teaching, now at Goddard College. His income has never been anywhere near commensurate with his status, but he is a professional who does what he loves.

Two friends retired from a major pharmaceutical company and now are professors at a large community college, he teaching mathematics, she English. Both teach at what used to be called a “remedial” level, and although the adjective has changed the reality has not. The students come to the school with serious issues of all kinds—physical, professional, personal—and professors charged with helping them do not stop at the mathematical and reading/writing concerns. It’s impossible. So, these professionals from the “other real world” of corporate America now are professionals dealing with the “real world” of  higher education and changing peoples’ lives. They do not dare calculate how much money they earn per hour, but they are professionals who love what they do.

Lots of stories. Not every professor is on food stamps, but I've never known a wealthy professor. Of course, I've never been allowed to know ivied professors--wonder if they are rich. Not every professor will take you on an Irish drinking tour of Fall River, either, and that's too bad indeed. 

But they all have stories to tell. 

I’m wondering if there is a need to start a new blog, something along the lines of “Fears, Tears, and Beers: Professors’ Stories” to chronicle these stories. Friend John LaNear and I are planning to do so soon, and will be looking for real stories from real, underpaid, overworked professionals who love what they do and want to share some stories from their “real worlds”.

Stay tuned.