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

[StephenS]

University of Chicago is certainly unusual in saying a senior lecturer is a type of professor, but it's blindingly obviously the Clinton camp should have checked with U of C.

I've been a graduate or teaching assistant at 3 universities in 3 different states, and no school said that a lecturer or a senior lecturer is a professor. Lecturers or senior lecturers were members of the faculty, but they were never a type of professor. Any more than being a professor in a department meant you were a department head. The types of professors were Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor, and Professor Emeritus.

[spacealien]

okg but u of c released an official statement declaring that obama was considered a professor by their standards...stop the hate.

[mhopgood123]

Ditto

[StephenS]

You cannot possibly point to anything in my comment that is hateful.

Yes, I know "u of c released an official statement declaring that obama was considered a professor by their standards", since I was commenting on it.

My contribution was to say that the Clinton camp should have checked with U of Chicago, because U of Chicago is unusual in calling some of its professors senior lecturers. Why, I don't know: maybe they don't have a category of adjunct professor, described by someone above.

[bauersox]

By their standards, he was considered a Senior Lecturer. That's like saying that a page who works in Congress is a Congressman; it's like saying the guy who delivers mail in an advertising agency is an "ad man."

[candlewax]

Are you done splitting hairs yet? You've split them so fine that they're now invisible, just like Clinton's vacuous and empty complaint against Obama.

[ritenow]

Perhaps the University of Chicago is having a "Bosnia" flashback - it's hard to keep track with all that gun fire and whatnot.

[goodsnservices]

You forgot adjuct professor, of which my university has had and has quite a few. It isn't tenure track, as the U of C states, but it is a legitimate professorship. We refer to them as "Professor so and so."

In fact, I am close friends with an Associate Professor (tenure-track bound) who started out as an Adjunct and then moved to Assistant, and now is an Associate. When he gets tenure, he will be a "full professor."

[StephenS]

You're right, of course. I had a couple of night classes over the years from adjunct professors, who we referred to as "Professor so and so".

[Greek256]

Please let me know what universitiy you are at now so I don't send my kids there. I want competent professors...er lecturers teaching them. Obviously you wish to slant the story for the Clintons not just accept the truth.

[phansen]

As others have pointed out, Stephen forgets "Adjunct Professors" ...which are now the MAJORITY of faculty positions... as the NYT has pointed out repeatedly:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/education/20adjunct.html

Like Obama, who was something like an Adjunct, many have other careers they are pursuing. Some by choice, others by necessity created by under-funded universities. This in no way implies that they are not "professors" as opposed to something like guest lecturers.

But, the UofC press release, while not perfectly phrased, is from the horse's mouth. They can employ whatever system of terminology they choose.

[StephenS]

What is your problem, Greek256?

If you bothered to read even my first sentence you'd see that I fault the Clinton camp for not contacting U of C. I didn't distort anything.

And it is in fact unusual for a senior lecturer to be a professor at a university. That is why they do not call them professors, and why the faculty and grad students refer to them as Ms, Mister, Mrs, Miss rather than Professor.

[mponti]

Another Clinton talking point regurgitated by the media -- without independent verification.

[bauersox]

The independent verification could have been had a couple of weeks ago by looking at their web page which listed Obama as a Senior Lecturer. Since then, they have removed his name, no doubt so they can say whatever they like without fear of contradiction.

[gloryoski]

It just gets stupider. But at least because of this one we get to see the pic of him up there, chalkin' and talkin' with his fine self. (Ok, I've got issues...)

[OverIt]

Gloryoski, you are not alone. I'm having more and more of those issues everyday... yum!

[PhoenixtheUndying]

So far I have the following:

Obama is a professor
Obama does not take money from oil companies
There was no sniper fire
Many of Hillary's experience claims are exaggerated.

The "misstatements' keep piling up.

[bauersox]

"Obama is a professor
Obama does not take money from oil companies"

He takes money from Exelon. Along with University of Chicago -- which ought to be spending its money on education and not on doofuses who get them earmarks -- Exelon is one of Obama's biggest donors. Exelon would like to build a nuclear plant in your backyard. It would like to bury its nuclear waste near your kids' school. If you live in Nevada, it already does that.

[Independent voter]

Thank for the truth Chicago!. hillary is in the final round of her death spiral

[GBecker]

So much time and energy expended over semantics. It's a freakin' job title, people.

The only job title that's important right now regarding Obama is PRESIDENT!

Obama '08!

[FreedomLoverX]

So far, every time Hillary has said that Obama made a false claim, SHE WAS LYING. Now, why do you suppose? Could it be that Hillary is a LIAR? False claims? One need look no further than to Hillary Clinton for false claims. But why? Because she is a LIAR.

She doesn't care about me. She doesn't care about you. She doesn't care about the DNC. She doesn't care about much but herself, and being in the Whitehouse. Haven't we had enough of self-absorbed liars in the Whitehouse yet?

A mjor percentage of the folks springing to Hillary's rescue are shills and hacks. But I have a sincere question for the rest of the Hillary supporters. Why do you back this continual LIAR?

Can you not admit that she is a liar? How much more evidence will you need, until you are willing to admit that Hillary is a perpetual LIAR? Can one - just one, Hillary supporter prove to me with any real facts that she is not a LIAR? I would love to hear it! If you can prove it to me with ANY facts, I will stop calling her a LIAR. but until then, the TRUTH is that Hillary is a LIAR.

Moral of the story: Hillary is a...

umm...

LIAR!!!

[candlewax]

I too am bewildered as to why anyone would vote for her. Haven't we been lied to and disrespected enough! Can we please have a president who respects the office and respects the constitution and respects the American people? Why are they still voting for her??????

Hillary and Naftagate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFuA0z4kKD4

Hillary and Tuzlagate
http://youtube.com/watch?v=It6JN7ALF7Y

Hillary and Irelandgate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBCmKkLdCuA

Please people, respect yourself enough to vote for someone that will respect you.

[candlewax]

Yeah, but now you're up there instead of down there!

[candlewax]

Sorry, the above comment was meant in reply to another but this board is messed up.

Briefly, this is what I wanted to mention. I agree with you. I can't understand why anyone would vote for Hillary either. After all the lies we've already endured, haven't we been disrespected enough? Don't we deserve a president who will respect the office, respect the constitution, respect the American people? Do we not respect ourselves enough to believe that we shouldn't be lied to -- that it's wrong to lie to us and by doing so, shows contempt for the victims of the lie -- the American people?

Hillary and Ireland-gate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBCmKkLdCuA

Hillary and Tuzla-gate
http://youtube.com/watch?v=It6JN7ALF7Y

Hillary and Nafta-gate
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wFuA0z4kKD4

Her SCHIP claims are also dubious.

Is she really going to try the war in Iraq?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7pj_hZn_rH4

[GrainOSand]

So the moral of the story is....Hillary is a liar?

[Greek256]

Wow. Your right. I just looked up liar in the dictionary and there she was.

[transendentilist]

"I was against this war from the beginning." This is a whopper too.

[VicPerry]

Ooh ooh, I just thought of how the Clinton campaign can get out of this one: reverse mud spin! Issue a statement that, by the admission of the University of Chicago, Obama is a pointy-headed elitist academic egghead! All real Americans hate intellectuals!! Go Hillary!!! For the Regular People!!!!

[Grunty1]

As furiously as the Clinton Campaign is spinning in its grave, it would not be surprising.

[GoldCanyonGal]

Then why not call them 'adjuct or associate professors' instead of 'senior lecturer' like other universities? The difference is that adjunct/associate professor is a tenure-track position and sr lecturer is not...and it's a big difference, at least in the world of academia.

[GoLeftGoDeep]

U Chicago just made it clear that one more Clinton claim has no basis in fact ... more importantly, rather than spending her time telling the American people what she could do for us as Pres, she first tries to denigrate Obama by spinning a gossamer distinction with no difference ... for someone who clearly remembered running and ducking from sniper fire in Tuzla, Hillary better tend to her own fields

[Sociologist]

No, you are wrong GoldCanyonGal. An "adjunct" is not a tenure-track position. A "senior lecturer" not only trumps the title "adjunct," it has a higher level of remuneration and permanency attached to it.

[GoldCanyonGal]

For shame, you just made me stop and think about my age! 25 yrs ago, when I was at University, both Sr Research Spec and Sr. Lecturer were staff positions. Adjunct professors were professional in their own right who, for whatever reason, did not give a twit about tenure and while they had full access and support of the University's research and publishing if they wanted/needed it, the position was given without that requirement. Associate Profs had higher classroom req's, res and pub req and were certainly hoping for a tenured offer, but no guarantees. The staff positions may have paid slightly higher than the assoc prof positions, but they came without the research/publish perks so it kind of evened out. Perhaps things have changed over the years...or maybe there is a diff between public and pvt universities?

[newshawk14]

You totally misread the article, a lecturer is not in the position of a professor or senior lecturer, who
is accorded the status of a professor, but has a lighter teaching load, and is not on the tenure
track. Obama was offered the position of a permanent professor a number of times, but turned
it down due his involvement in public affairs and politics.

[OverIt]

What is your point? Obama had no desire to become a tenured professor as evidenced by his many REFUSALS for a tenured position with the university not just tenure-track!

[jcrubens]

Ignorance is flying fast and furious on this page. Adjunct professor is NOT tenure track. It is low-paid temporary labor and one of the great shames of the American academy. Associate professor is a tenured position, not tenure track. Senior lecturer is an unusual position at the University of Chicago. For the record, I am an associate professor, and as a professor (because, yes, I am eligible to use that title w/o always attaching associate to it; these terms are in fact fluid in academia), I would urge people to READ THE POST AND PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IT SAYS before commenting on it.

[kcbolden]

Can anyone pontificate on WHY the media allowed Clinton to FALSELY claim 35 years of experience?

[ruscle]

Because she has 35 years of experience... in what, I'm not sure. But she didn't say she had useful experience, just "experience."

[steffianne]

I have been reading many blogs and comment boards, and I just want to say that this one has the most well-informed and motivated participants. Instead of just bashing, you are actually discussing and informing, and that's refreshing!

Thanks to you all for using this space to educate!

[ruscle]

I agree. I've been to several others. But it is much more fun at Huffington Post. More links, more wit, more energy. And they even let those Clinton supporters post from time to time so we have something to debunk. (See, and you thought they didn't have any purpose.)

[zebra3]

This is just about the dumbest attack from the Clinton campaign to date. It is so clear that the U. of Chicago would have loved it if Obama would quit his career in politics and become a full-time professor. It is clear that Obama's primary career focus was on his political career, first as Illinois state senator and then as U.S. Senator, and that this was by choice, rather than because he couldn't get a tenure track position at a university. It's almost laughable that they would insinuate he is "exaggerating" his position there.

[stlswest]

Hillary's campaign "strategy" is to throw as much mud against the wall as they can knowing inevitibly some will stick. The U. of Chicago did an excellent job setting the record straight, and yet there are those who will CHOOSE to be led astray and CHOOSE to believe that Obama was not a constitutional law professor.

[IkeChicago]

Obama could be a professor in any U in the world.

[conscioushope]

Professor Obama is good.

President Obama is grand.

[zine]

Hiphip Hoooooooooooray!

[bauersox]

Maybe he "could" be, but the fact is, he wasn't.

[jetgirl]

Doesn't she realize she can't deflect her own lies by accusing someone else of doing it? Doesn't work that way. Prof. Obama has a nice ring to it!