POLL: 79% Of ASU Faculty Say Obama Should Receive Honorary Degree
TEMPE, ARIZONA - This week, two Arizona State University physics professors, Mike Thorpe and Jose Menendez, polled ASU faculty on whether President Barack Obama should receive an honorary degree when he delivers the commencement speech next month.
When news broke last week that ASU may not confer the customary honorary degree on Obama, it ignited a public backlash and a media firestorm. This week, Thorpe and Menendez, who felt faculty had no voice in the process, sent a poll to all ASU faculty via email asking each faculty member to reply with "yes" or "no" in the subject line.
The polling email:
Tuesday April 14, 2009
To ASU faculty:In discussions on this issue, the ASU faculty has yet to be heard from. Express your opinion via this informal poll by voting on the following:
"President Obama should receive an honorary degree when he visits ASU as the commencement speaker on May 13"
To vote, hit "*reply*" and put either "*yes*" or "*no*" somewhere in the subject line. Votes received by midnight Thursday will be automatically tabulated (no replies will be read so don't waste time with comments etc.) and you will receive an email Friday with the result. All names and email addresses will be kept confidential. This email is being sent to all faculty on all ASU campuses.
Mike Thorpe, Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jose Menendez, Professor of Physics
Approximately 4 out of 5 faculty members (79.5 percent) who voted said they are in favor of giving an honorary degree to Obama. Only about 1 in 5 faculty members (20.5 percent) voted against giving Obama an honorary degree.
The results email:
Friday April 17, 2009
To ASU faculty:The result of the ASU faculty vote was 579 "yes" votes and 149 "no" votes - which is 79.5% "yes" and 20.5% "no".
We stress this is a very informal survey and agree with any and all criticism that it is non-scientific. The numbers should therefore only be taken as a very rough indicator of faculty sentiment. This information has been transmitted to the chairs of the relevant university committees and to President Crow.
The total number of emails received was 955, after subtracting "out of office', undeliverables etc. and 3 duplicate votes (nice try!). Only those emails with "yes" or "no" in the subject line were counted (case insensitive), so that for example "no later" was counted as "no" and "yes maybe" as "yes". We eliminated 227 emails for not voting in the subject line. No spam or irregularities were detected. The vote count was verified by us both independently.
Mike Thorpe, Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jose Menendez, Professor of Physics
Earlier this week, an ASU spokesperson now confesses, "we blew it," and concedes that the university likely would have conferred the honorary degree, but once it became a controversy, ASU administrators were too worried about appearing insincere.
Read here for more background information on this story.
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Considering Obama's refusal to have the Justice Department indict those at the CIA responsible for torture as well as Bush and Cheney, Obama should get an honorary swift kick in the ass.
Hang it up, YOU LOST!!
Why do you think that someone who criticizes the President has to be a supporter of the opposing party?
The President -- should realize that his schedule is to busy, and there is a conflict with his agenda: then suggest that John McCain give the address!
ASU does not deserve the President's time -- they are not worthy. Maybe their enrollment will decline.
I am sure he is not too bothered by this.
Besides, he is President of all Americans, even the stooopid ones.
Perhaps the Prez should politely decline the "honor."
Can we please stop blaming ASU (the campus, the city, the students, the alumni, the programs, the professors) for the boneheaded decision of a few individuals out of our control?
The urge to blame a whole group for the actions of a few has a bad history.
And referring to a university like it's an individual with a single consciousness ("ASU thinks...", "ASU wants...") is borderline psychotic.
Why should ASU be treated any differently than the whole of the US in the eyes of the rest of the world?
We are judged by the actions of our elected officials. And so is ASU now.
No, it's just as wrong now as it was then.
This is analogous to the University of Idaho web-posting a statement of pride in Sarah Palin during the election last fall. Some administrator made that decision without faculty support.
President Obama has degrees from Columbia and Harvard. Let's face it - any degree from ASU is a step down from that. So let them keep their honorary degree. Our POTUS is so far above it, who the hell cares? I will enjoy watching President Obama "brush off his shoulders" and keep on sailing smoothly along.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlR9DNfqGD4.
I hope he says, " thanks, but , no thanks". I lived in Tempe in '84, they were known as the nunber one herpes capital o the worldf
20.5 percent against is way too high. There should be no one at ASU against this honor. Perhaps they've been so busy teabagging that they haven't felt the public's disgust over their arrogance. I really wish he'd cancel so they can get what the honorary committe really wants; Newt, Sean, Russshhhh, or the remains of Ronald Reagan. Get rid of these bums, Mr. President, they stink!
This is McCain's home state. The Republicans have become the party of the sore loser. These are probably the same 20% who thought Bush did a heckuva job.
the other 21% couldn't manage to get their heads out of their cactus brush.
HMMMM 20 per cent majority, I think it time for mr Crow to eat some. Fortunately for him I believe Mr Obama to be a person of true compassion, and class. I don't think he will even treat this as the obvious smack in the face that it is. I think this comes from a simple philosophy that being a person of color that he will always come up against the 20 per centers!!
no honorary degree?
Wah Wah Wah Waaaaaaaaaaaah
I knew the faculty would come through. I feel sorry for them that they have to try to teach under such administrators. Finding good work teaching in higher education is so very difficult these days. Their academic lives must be miserable. I can only imagine the hostility at ASU university-wide meetings.
I am a native Arizonan, an ASU grad, active in local politics and observer of the university.
This move was not motivated by politics. In fact, Crow has pretty strained relationships with the GOP powers in the state. This was not racially motivated as Crow came long after the MLK flap and has been a champion for Latino kids who are getting jacked around by our local legislature.
No ...Crow made a bad call like we all have in our jobs. He just happpend to do it on a very public stage.
Crow has done a lot for ASU. I've been reading withering criticism of ASU's academics, but I can tell you that many of it's programs are in the top 25% of their discipline. ASU gets as many talented students as any insitution - public or provate. A lot of kids who could have gone to school anwhere go to ASU.
Now Arizona is a very conservative state. And it does border on racist. It was no accident that we were the last state to have an MLK holiday. I've watched white bread Mormons and Midwesterners run the show here for years. Because of their backwards ideology , we rank pretty much last in everything except foreclosures. And we crazy Sheriff who parades Mexicans around like they were zoo animals.
Bottom line - Obama will be greeted by 70,000 screaming fans in Sun Devil Stadium and he will conduct himself with the cool classiness we admire him for.
...I have to strongly disagree with you on the whole "Crow made a bad call like we all do in our jobs"!!!...
...this is the President of the United States of America we are talking about here.... for crying out loud!!!..this is not the same as taking a wrong order at the IHOP!!!
PLEASE STOP TRIVIALIZING THIS ISSUE!!!
.
Gohs, spot on. Thank you.
It really isn't the end of the world. In fact, I bet it looks pretty trivial to President Obama, too.
Not motivated by politics? Do you really expect me to believe that?
*accomplished*
.
1. President of the Harvard Law Review
2. One the youngest US Senators in the history of this country
3. Ran an historic, smooth, powerful, efficient and effective POTUS campaign
4. Powerhouse, epic grassroots fundraiser extraordinnaire
5. Beat out veteran John McCain in the POTUS race
6. Beat out the popular and powerful Clinton Machine in the race for POTUS
7. Author of TWO best selling books
8. First black POTUS
9. Is not even yet in the traditional 6-month probationary period of his new job as POTUS, and has already accomplised more politically than GWB in his 8 years!
...and ASU is refusing/polling President Barack Obama for their sh*tty honorary degree???
...keep your honorary degree, ASU, President Barack Obama doesn't need it...
...ASU honorary degrees can probably be acquired on ebay for a dime a dozen...
...what President Barack Obama needs to be awarded is a friggin' NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!...for all of is accomplishments!...
...ASU...brari bure kabisa!
.
-------- > I CONCUR TOTALLY !
When you are right, YOU ARE RIGHT!!
Sometimes I wonder why I even live in this state. It gets embarrassing.
79% are for him getting an honorary degree and I think the other 21% ought to be dismissed from duty for being so ignorant.
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