Some observations after 33 years on the faculty at Iowa State:

Raising money may not be the most important thing at a university, but it is way ahead of whatever is in second place.

Operating the university “like a business” makes sense if one understands that all that counts is bottom-line dollars.

Administrators always strive diligently to get faculty and staff to do their work for them.

Focusing on being a good teacher at a university ensures slow academic advancement.

Usually, more faculty hours and dollars are spent seeking outside monies than the institution realizes in new financial resources.

Faculty members only want to be led in a direction that they are already going.

Faculty contributions to university committees are only considered valuable when the final committee recommendations agree with those of the appointing administrator.

A university teaching or research team is one in which only the leader is rewarded; all others are ignored or criticized for wasting time.

Researchers revel in using graduate students to perform menial tasks and claim that this “work experience” is an important part of graduate education.

Researchers consider peer reviews of journal articles most helpful when they receive no critical comments and few suggested changes.

The prestige of a technical journal article is enhanced by a long, complex title that even colleagues can barely understand.

Students typically want the least amount of education that they can get for their parents’ money.

Students are certain that they know more about what they should be taught than their old, out-of-touch professors.

Students are typically considered most important by professors at the end of the term when the course is being evaluated.

Based on job success of graduates, grading of students should be based on how well they are liked rather than how smart they are.

Baseball caps are worn by students to avoid combing their hair and avoiding bad-hair days not to show their independence.

ISU sports fans are not used to winning teams, but they probably could adapt.

Dean R. Prestemon

Professor Emeritus

Natural Resource Ecology and Management