University Of Chicago: Obama Was A Professor

A recent Clinton campaign research document charged that Barack Obama was falsely claiming to be a professor:

Sen. Obama consistently and falsely claims that he was a law professor. The Sun-Times reported that, "Several direct-mail pieces issued for Obama's primary [Senate] campaign said he was a law professor at the University of Chicago. He is not. He is a senior lecturer (now on leave) at the school. In academia, there is a vast difference between the two titles. Details matter." In academia, there's a significant difference: professors have tenure while lecturers do not. [Hotline Blog, 4/9/07; Chicago Sun-Times, 8/8/04]

Today, the University of Chicago released the following statement:

The Law School has received many media requests about Barack Obama, especially about his status as "Senior Lecturer." From 1992 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Barack Obama served as a professor in the Law School. He was a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996. He was a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004, during which time he taught three courses per year. Senior Lecturers are considered to be members of the Law School faculty and are regarded as professors, although not full-time or tenure-track. The title of Senior Lecturer is distinct from the title of Lecturer, which signifies adjunct status. Like Obama, each of the Law School's Senior Lecturers have high-demand careers in politics or public service, which prevent full-time teaching. Several times during his 12 years as a professor in the Law School, Obama was invited to join the faculty in a full-time tenure-track position, but he declined.

Comments

[knerd]

The Clintons should have just mentioned that Obama is black...
Geeze Louise!

[lisakaz]

Cont.

Chicago is not lying to protect anyone. They speak to the realities of the academy. If they did offer Obama a tenure track job, that's a very significant statement in terms of their confidence in him and desire to have him contribute -- but NOT as an instructor. Being tenure track has to do with the governance of the department and the university, like serving on committees (future hires as a clear example), designing courses, advising students and observing other instructors.

Still, ANY instructor can bell called "professor" by students -- who rarely take noticeof rank, since rank does not necessarily tell you anything about the quality of the instructor. In other places, the culture may have students use "Dr." Heck, only UVa as far as I know avoids any titles beyond Mr./Mrs./Ms., because they don't want any faculty to have a title superior to "Mr. Jefferson."

As far as I know, I have been a professor since 1996 and a Dr. since 2005 when I graduated.

Obama was a professor and one need not contemplate the whole "lecturer" vs. "senior lecturer" or offered tenure track to say so. That's not a special rule for him. It applies to everyone having such responsibilities.

[veracal]

Nice post, thanks for the clarification.

[lisakaz]

Sure. I tried to type that as fast as I could. My parents didn't get it for a while. Occasionally my dad likes to call me professor but they eventually figured it out and now they call me Dr. and my mail from them usually has Dr. on as well. The Dr. is a way bigger deal and as far as I can tell, Obama never called himself Dr. and he wasn't accused of doing that either. When teaching "Professor" is used as a courtesy title and as such any college instructor can use it and colleges will routinely use it with their instructors. Full professors often get their due when simply called "Professor of History" versus "Associate Professor of History" but even more illustrious is an endowed chair title (or Board of Regents/Governors). I guess people who want to be confused or feign it put weight on the fact that "full" is dropped from the full professor; it is assumed, whereas the qualification for others ("asst" or "assoc") can be listed. But the rank and the courtesy title aren't the same.

[bauersox]

Tell you what, Lisa. I'm okay with calling Obama "professor," provided that word is enclosed in quotation marks.

[lisakaz]

Then it's your ignorance.

[AnninCA]

Nonsense. He didn't accept the tenure track position. He'd have had to then actually MEET the stringent qualifications to get through the tenure process.

Then and only then would he have earned the right to claim that he was a professor.

Slice and dice all you will. The guy taught a class. That's it.

[lisakaz]

Because she's says so? No, I actually work for a university. Places where I have taught include:

University of Tennessee -- Knoxville
Drexel University
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Washington University (St. Louis)
Rutgers University (Newark and New Brunswick campuses)
Seton Hall University

I think I have far more insight about this situation that you or bauersox or HRC does. I was a professor at ALL places irrespective of having my PhD. I only had my PhD at half of those places and at none did I ever have tenure. No "assistant professor" has tenure, visiting asst professor or not. It would be quite a shock to a number of ppl I know that not being tenured means they're not professors. It's utter rot.

[lisakaz]

Guess what: I just "taught a class" in lots of places. AND THEY CALLED ME PROFESSOR. Deal with it. HRC is wrong, probably wilfully since she ought to know better.

[lisakaz]

You are as bad as the lies HRC tells. He "taught" for 12 years and 3 classes a year. Even if it were only 1, the students would still call him "professor." It AIN'T High School; he's not "Mr. Obama." The fact that you cannot admit that someone who actually is in position to know the truth says otherwise shows you're a fool. She knows better and wilfully lies.

[lisakaz]

Some HRC supports just have to make all sorts of wild assertions about this to presume how she's supposed to be right. Well, she's not. I can cite my own academic career.

Over a decade ago, when I finished my M.A., I was employed as an adjunct for a community college. Mail to me and such ALWAYS referred to me as "professor."

When I return to grad school to finish a PhD, I taught some more and applied for jobs soon after becoming ABD (All But Dissertation; you've taken exams and such and are done with classwork, having reached the final stage before the degree is confirred). Prospective employers sending me corresponding ALWAYS referred to me as "professor."

After defending my dissertation and receiving my degree, some mail (internal to employer) calls me "professor" but most mail calls me "Dr." Being a "Dr." is considered more significant as a credential than the inexact "Prof."

The title is NOT related to status within the university. I am not going to be called a "lecturer," even if that is my title at the moment. Sure, you can point to some similarity between "full professor," "associate professor" (usually those 2 have tenure) and "assistant professor" (tenure track unless "visiting assistant professor" which can be a yearlong replacement for faculty on leave or a standout from another institution -- often a full professor -- in residence in a special capacity).

See cont.

[BeeClone]

Nice try Lisakaz, but you do know some people don't want to know the truth it only makes their heads hurt.

Professor of not, he taught consitutional law, a plus in a presidental canidate.

[Passenger57]

...So the University is lying,lisakaz...?

[professorai]

I'm a tenured full professor. Lecturer and senior lecturer are British synonyms for assistant and associate professor.
A guy like Obama would have tenure at Harvard or Stanford a couple of weeks after asking even without aa/eoe concerns.

[bauersox]

"I'm a tenured full professor. Lecturer and senior lecturer are British synonyms for assistant and associate professor."

Perhaps that's the case in the UK. In this country, and specifically at University of Chicago, lecturer and senior lecturer are NOT synonyms for assistant and associate professor. Because in addition to the lecturers and senior lecturers, the universities also employ assistant and associate professors.

I think that in calling himself a professor, Obama intended to mislead. Had he called himself an adjunct professor that would have been less misleading because it would have made the point that the job was part-time and non-tenured. Unfortunately, adjunct professor was not his real title either.

[BrooklynLager]

"In this country, and specifically at University of Chicago, lecturer and senior lecturer are NOT synonyms for assistant and associate professor."

Perhaps you didn't notice - the University of Chicago already weighed in on this. It's detailed in the article you're commenting in.

[AnninCA]

*cough*........baloney

Did you know he never once published anything as head of the Harvard Law Review? Not a single word. He was the ONLY one ever to not publish in that position.

:)

He was remembered as being lazy by some of his classmates.

[mcgreen]

oh right, haha, like you're a peer of his class mates. lol!

[bauersox]

He was also remembered as being lazy -- and also bad-tempered -- during his stint in the Illinois State Senate: http://www.houston-press.com/2008-02-28/news/barack-obama-screamed-at-me/full

[lisakaz]

Maybe you should clarify that you're not "insulted" by the name "Professor Obama."

[texanna]

I am less concerned about the semantics of his former status with the University of Chicago than I am about his association with it at all. UC was the genesis of Milton Friedman and his Free Market Economics theories. Theories that were put into practice by his disciples, the "Chicago Boys" and others throughout the world that can be traced directly to our current economic problems as well as those of nations from the 50's to the present. How influenced is Sen. Obama by this association? What does he think of Friedman and his descendants? Would he try to enact real change for the USA by moving away from these doctrines and theories by say, changing our relationship/control of the World Bank or the IMF? His speech last week that was supposed to be a major policy speech on economics didn't seem to offer me much in the way of what his actual policies might be, just that what we've got isn't working. To which I say, "NO, DUH!". Before you Obama supporters go nuts, I am not a Clinton worshipper or Clintonista or any other silly name you'd like to tag me with just because I'm not wearing Obama Rose-colored Glasses.

[simplecitizen]

Penn and Wolfson et al a bunch of "brillant" campaign managers. They certainly don't do much research before they throw everything at the ceiling to see what sticks. If HRC is so brillant that this team is the best she can do then one must question her judgement when the phone rings at 3 am. When it comes to the ability to tell the truth I think the Obama campaign is way ahead.

[OlskoolDem]

HRC is making Dick Cheney look like a nice kid !

[cybersense]

We really don't know that much about Obama do we?

What about his claims about that asbestos case? What about that Rezko thing? I don't want all this coming out in the General. I say, we need to see more on him. This whole warm and fuzzy thing about "change and hope" is not a new campaign either.

I expect some embellishments during a campaign. I just know to expect it because I have been around to see this happen. But, honestly....what well come out in the General? This is not something we should not consider.

[pbfishtaco]

How much does Clinton pay for her opposition research?

[nwdenverdem]

As a proud graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, I'm offended by the Clinton campaign's amateurish attempt to claim that Obama lied when he stated, accurately, that he was a professor at my law school. As a lifelong Democrat, I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

A two-minute Internet search would have uncovered a news release http://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/law-students-gave-Obama121807/index.htmll) by the law school last December. That release pointed out that Obama taught constitutional law while he was a state senator in Springfield; that students consistently rated him one of the best professors in the law school; and that he could have become a full-time professor any time he wanted. Two students' comments were particularly revealing. One said:

"Some professors are just kind of going through the motions with you. He actually seemed to take everyone's point of view seriously."

Another: "He was not an ivory tower academic. The class was not his first love. He was basically in the trenches. These were real problems to him. That kind of on-the-street realism was really refreshing."

No wonder Clinton did not want to publicize this information. Remember, Obama had to travel 200 miles each way to Springfield; had a full schedule as a state senator; taught a very demanding course; and taught a classroom full of extremely bright students, many of whom were conservative and undoubtedly disagreed with his interpretation of the Constitution.

[Sloane7]

Not a lot of truth comes out of the Clinton camp. Remember how Hillary said she was named after Mt. Everest climber Sir Edmund Hillary? Problem was, she was born in 1947 and he reached Mt. Everest in 1953. When she was born, he was just a beekeeper no one knew.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/clinton-hillary-obama-2007270-bill-edmund

[Bozwellian]

Anne reminds one and all of similar sorts that YET claim to support Bush and think HIM magnificent despite REALITY of what he and his have wrought down on all !!! Delusional at best, scarey too for such blindeyedness merely points up how some are truly INCAPABLE of handling FACTS or TRUTH !!!

[mykindoftown]

Folks, being a lecturer at one of the top law schools in the country is far different that teaching English 101 at your local community college. For those of you who haven't attended law school, please understand that the titles used for instructors are different than for undergraduate and graduate classes. When I attended law school, all of my instructors, except for first-year legal writing teachers, were called "professor." The same holds true for medical schools....many practicing physicians teach at medical schools and have the title of professor or assistant professor, even though they are not tenure track positions. To teach Constitutional law at the University of Chicago means you are one of the best legal minds in the country. If U of C says he's a professor, than he's a professor.

And by the way, Hillary flunked the bar exam.

[cbmtrx]

Booya! That's gotta hurt.

Try again, Lady Macbeth.

[scruffyandspunky]

As a law student at U of Chicago when PROFESSOR Obama was there, I can attest to the fact that he was considered to be every bit as much a professor as any other faculty member.....this has to rank as one of the stupidest attacks on him so far. I can understand why some of the people who are taking this up as "evidence" of "lying" might be confused, as you obviously have not BEEN to a university, much less law school, but for the Clintons to allow such nonsense is a different matter. So sad.