Whoever started this petition is very ignorant and inconsiderate. Penn has its standards, and it cannot offer tenure to every single "good" professor that a senior has. We have seen Professors who are brilliant at teaching yet lack research and not receive tenure, and professors with brilliant research but cannot teach receive tenure. This is how it works at Penn and the rest of the ivy league.

But seriously this should not even be news. 100 people? You can fill a facebook group with 100 people in 5 minutes just by selecting all your friends, and also gopetition.com signatures are meaningless.

I think it is completely absurd for students to think they know who is qualified for tenure. Maybe thats why you guys are in the college. Did this professor give you guys all A's too? The grade inflation needs to be fixed in college, but these college students aren't griping about it.

Wharton 09' SAS 09'

Jon Bart C '78

I read this piece with interest, for it is not every day that a professor's tenure denial is the subject of such a reaction, especially in a relatively small area of the University such as honors history. He must have made quite an impact in the lives of these students. Then I had the misfortune of reading the comment of Wharton '09 above. Is this the kind of mindset that Wharton is spitting out these days? He argues that these students should simply accept the decision because it is a "Top-Down Process." They should simply shut up (and are called "very ignorant and inconsiderate") because "This is how it works at Penn and the rest of the ivy league."

Ugh. Here's a guy really ready to be one of the leaders of the business world. Don't challenge that with which you disagree, but accept the decisions of your betters because "This is how it works." Is it any wonder that we (as a society) fell victim to a national Ponzi scheme involving overvalued mortgage backed securities and credit swaps with a guys like this running our businesses? He manages to compound his hubris by suggesting that this "ignorance and inconsiderat[ion]" is why these student are in the College (as opposed to that bastion of free thought, Wharton) and that they all must have gotten A's from this professor.

Well, Mr. W '09, there is are principles even older and wiser than greed and the acceptance of what you are told----free speech and even more importantly, free thought. The signers of this petition are willing to put their names on the line for a principle, even though it might come back to haunt them if they go into academia and why? Because these kids were touched in some significant way by this teacher and believe that great teaching should be part of the tenure calculus. And you know what? I agree with them. If Penn gives up its great teachers, it loses its attraction for students who want to learn. It may not matter to you, for whom the degree obviously means far more than the path to that degree, but it is important to many of us. And they have the cojones to speak up (which is their right, remember that 1st Amendment?) to demand that Penn hold onto such an asset.

You may have your degree, but it is very disappointing that Penn creates the mindset you have displayed in your letter.

There is a reason that students choose schools. Many of them make a choice because they believe they can learn something from professors who are well steeped in their research and subject and who care about passing it on. Teaching is one part of the requirements for tenure, yes. But if the research wasn't there, if the publications were weak or few, it is highly doubtful at this level that a professor could teach with the quality and finesse that is required.

It is misinformed to assume that Granieri has not met the research requirements when one has not actually looked at the record. Granieri's research is well documented. It is his work in the archives and publications that allow him to reach students with such a high degree of integrity. Let's not forget that there are graduate students here as well who respect Granieri and his work and seek him out based on his area of expertise. And he has the support of his colleagues in the department.

I highly doubt Penn would have hired Granieri if he were not qualified. His scholarship over the past few years is exemplary. That he is a fine teacher, adviser and mentor is an additional quality that should not be overlooked as well.

Many are affected by this decision and everyone would feel this loss differently. The students will protest what affects them most -- their learning experience at Penn. It is not correct to criticize a protest that students feel very strongly about. That is inconsiderate of the right to speak freely, and the comments above are ignorant of the case and the record.

"Maybe thats why you guys are in the college."

that's funny, you sign off w/ SAS.... school of arts & sciences is the college.

I think you totally miss the point of the petition.

You say that "We have seen Professors who are brilliant at teaching yet lack research and not receive tenure, and professors with brilliant research but cannot teach receive tenure. This is how it works at Penn and the rest of the ivy league."

But isn't this why students are protesting? Because they don't want to see this? Because they don't want to accept this?

@Dabien

Yes the tenure process spits out decisions that are not to some people's liking. But you are absolutely wrong in believing that "it is completely absurd for students to think they know who is qualified for tenure." It is extremely presumptuous of you to believe that these people don't know what they're talking about. This isn't some Save The Whales campaign where some hipster girl (as cute as she may be) is behaving like a clueless idiot. Remember these are thesis writers. This specific group spends an lot of time in the department and I can assure you that it will likely have an intimate understanding of this case and its implications.

While I cannot say for sure, it is premature to attribute the professor's tenure denial to a lack of research. Remember that SAS did face a budgetary shortfall that required a sizable reduction in standing faculty. In any event, I have some reservations about the ability of "a group of faculty representing the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences" to fairly assess a historian - especially a diplomatic one. How dare you allege that the professor in question is not a serious researcher. Remember this: [Kathy Peiss, the History Department chairwoman]did, however, say that, as a colleague, “I think that [Granieri] earned tenure at Penn and that his being denied tenure is a loss for the University and especially for the students.”*

Loyalty is in short supply these days. If some people are passionate about defending a person, who the fuck are you tell them that they're wrong?

*http://thedp.com/article/tenure-denial-under-fire

1. I'll be watching this case with interest, because I think the dean will find it difficult to accept the recommendations of the petition, as this will set a negative precedent of students petitioning every time a professor is denied tenure (obviously, numbers of signers will vary, and will depend on whether the DP covers the story like it did to this case). A handful of my great professors were denied tenure (including another great one in the poli sci department, for whom a petition was sent but went unheeded), but if we were going to open up the floodgates like this, it wouldn't bode well for the administration's authority in the review process that's currently in place. I never took Granieri but heard nothing but great things about him. All I'm saying is, this needs to be handled with care and we need to be understanding of however the dean handles this....

2. As a WH/SAS myself, I will join with @Dabian's other detractors and point out that his last paragraph in the comment above was extremely unhelpful. Based on my experience, I actually found the comment factually incorrect as well; College classes require much more reading than Wharton courses, and the implication that a college student can waltz in and get an A isn't true at all.

It seems to me that the reality of the Ivy League is that professors have to be top-notch researchers to get tenure--teaching alone isn't enough. And the reality is that Granieri is almost fifteen years past his Ph.D and has published only one book. That's just not enough to get tenure.

Russ97: I agree with you, the college professors with tenure agree, the people making decisions agree. I still do not understand how this is frontpage news. Rebecca Kaplan is reporting something that happens year after year, where hundreds of unqualified professors are denied tenure because they lacked research. If you are in the college and you want only professors with excellent teaching skills but subpar research, maybe you should've went to Williams, Swarthmore, Pomona, or other top notch liberal arts school.

These type of news is why the DP cannot match up with the Crimson. There are brilliant writers in the DP, and they post very good articles, but there are always these bad eggs, and with just ones like these, it tarnishes the whole basket.

Kaplan and editors, please don't post crap like this again. Having hundreds of signatures for an online petition does not mean much at all. Student leaders who are trying to let the world hear about their discontent just look like fools. I know he gave you an A+ so you can apply to lawschool and get that 4.3 bump in GPA, but just because he is so nice does not mean he deserves to have tenure at Penn. It's not Penn State. Get your facts straight.

Wharton 09' SAS 09'

There is a good chance of getting it done.

and

Here's a guy really ready to be one of the leaders of the business world. Don't challenge that with which you disagree, but accept the decisions of your betters because "This is how it works." Is it any wonder that we (as a society) fell victim to a national Ponzi scheme involving overvalued mortgage backed securities and credit swaps with a guys like this running our businesses? He manages to compound his hubris by suggesting that this "ignorance and inconsiderat[ion]" is why these student are in the College. | |

This information was very helpful. I am really interested in this petition and you have really helped me learn more about it. Hopefully I can get a chance to read more about this.

Thanks Katie Richards

This information was very helpful for my research paper. Thank you for posting this - it helped me alot.

The petition is addressed to School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rebecca Bushnell, who has the power to send Granieri’s tenure application to the Provost Staff Conference, the next step in tenure review. Then it would be considered by the provost, deputy and associate provosts and a group of deans. Some automakers use a plastic wrap to protect the entire vehicle or sensitive areas. Heavy tarps mounted on the trailer sides can protect the lower vehicles against debris

Oh, yes, you know, some people are only good at writing petitions and stuff!!

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It's a process for a reason Whoever started this petition is very ignorant and inconsiderate. Penn has its standards, and it cannot offer tenure to every single "good" professor that a senior has. We have seen Professors who are brilliant at teaching yet lack research and not receive tenure, and professors with brilliant research but cannot teach receive tenure. | |

There will be a lot of that is affected by this decision and everyone would feel this loss differently. The students will protest what affects them most. |

Yeah, those are very well made points. I'm gonna chip in here with this comment because yours is nicely placed on this page to keep me getting bumped in future. I'm sure you don't mind! | | |