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Feb 11, 2023Liked by Martin Hackworth

Dear Martin: Read your op-Ed first in its shorter form on the ISJ. I left a comment as Guest137 noting the administration’s readiness to accept all whining by this “cohort” uncritically. During this time I also noted that very competent Jewish faculty were being purged on specious pretexts: Carl Levinson in Philosophy. Sharon Sieber in Languages. A professor in Mathematics. And others. The pandering and nepotism at ISU are monumental. But there is also this current of anti-Semitism.

My great issue in the College of Arts and Letters is that Departments seemed to despise any student counseling other than pushing them to pursue graduate degrees or law school - as if this country has a deficit of lawyers or Ph.Ds! I saw this as very irresponsible since it would burden these graduates with more student debt while many of them would never find fulfilling employment in academia or the law professions. Also I thought that by pandering to students with grade inflation we were setting them up for crushing awakenings in the more demanding grading systems of law schools. So I would never push law school or graduate school on every adviser but instead urged them to pick up elective credits in information systems security or some business school courses which might open some doors in the private sector. This earned me some ill will from my so-called colleagues.

I wish I could talk to you more about these issues. We still live in the same city I believe.

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Jan 20, 2023Liked by Martin Hackworth

Well, I can tell you this. When Dan and I were coming down from Robbers Roost, we met a fellow on a bike. We mentioned what we were up to and your name. His face lit up like a beacon. He told us that you were a prof of his and how much he enjoyed and respected your lectures. So take that as what your career was really about, and know you did good. Cheers

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Jan 20, 2023Liked by Martin Hackworth

Great article, definitely hit home. Both my parents were teachers and both got unbelievable frustrated with faculty and students towards the end of their careers ~15 years ago, a lot of the same stuff you wrote about. The good students made it worth it, but those were becoming less and less and they could do less and less about it.

I pulled up the article in the NYT - interesting read:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/us/a-middle-eastern-tension-point-pocatello-idaho.html

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Wow thanks for sharing. Largely different issues than what I faced but good to know.

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Incredible, I can see how retirement was really the only way out that situation.

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Yes I did. They have passed away. But Mrs. Zaltmann’s Hebrew course was discontinued for reasons unknown to me.

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