Collegiate Times

This article is way too long. 6 pages? Wow!

Take the time to actually READ the article. Maybe you will get something worth while out of it. It is a good article and there are good facts in here and good statements that need to be heard.

I'm sure that theres a reason his application was essentially denied twice. Neck certainly won't say anything bad about himself, and it would be very inappropriate for any other faculty member to say anything on the record about him. Furthermore, personnel records generally are NOT available under the FOIA, so the truly may never come out to the public. The article also just repeats itself over and over and makes Neck look like he whines too much. Lastly, if hes already leaving then why say the same thing over and over, it does nothing productive and only stirs us students up about an administrative function that really doesn't concern us.

This is just proof that Virginia Tech is against good teachers and against anyone who doesn't align with their political agenda. If this doesn't cause a rebellion, then the student body and faculty are asleep at the wheel.

I'm shocked. I never had professor Neck as a teacher, but I attended the Legendary Challenge seminar which he spoke at and was given the opportunity to meet him afterwards. He was one of the most captivating presenters and truly cared about passing something on to those who came to listen. Virginia Tech is foolish to let this guy go, and students will miss out on the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest professors this institute has ever seen.

There is NOT a reason for his denial. "If it's innovative and it makes sense, Virginia Tech will not do it." When the politics of academia override the students, I become beyond perturbed.

I had Professor Neck this semester and compared to all professors I have ever been around, (Community College and this University both) I have never met someone with his accomplishments and his willingness to help any student. He gives out his personal phone numbers to students who need to ask to clarify questions in class. This is all politics among academia at VT: And at Arizona State, where he is continiuing his career, he is getting much more respect and ability than he is here and that is a shame. We are truly losing a supreme professor. I am very proud and honored to have him his last semester at VT.

I had him a while back and did not like the class. He is essentially a motivational speaker. I understand that people like him, but the class, Management, was not taught during class IMHO.

Dave, I respect your opinion, but at the heart of good teaching is motivation. The biggest problem in academia currently is that classes are taught without any regard for the motivation of students, especially with respect to use of the material. Do you know how you'll "use this tomorrow?" If not, it's a waste of your time. And, learning outside the classroom is always a requirement.

Look at RateVTTeachers.com. For a guy who cares about his student approval, it sure doesn't look like he has high standards. The main message out of most of the reviews.. "waste of time/money" Sorry, but move along to ASU if that is what you feel is neccessary. If you don't have the credentials to be promoted, then get them. Don't complain about it.

I thought his class was pretty pointless. But I am torn about this decision. The class being pointless is a curriculum issue that should be brought up with the college of business. But he brought a lot of positive attention to the university through his books and articles. I think the technical reason that he didn't get the promotion seems to be lack of scholarly research. If that were a strict standard we would never have any management professors with tenure because management is a BS subject. But in his defense the media of the field of management is not the same as the media of physics, medicine, finance or whatever. Maybe writing books and getting your name in the Wall Street Journal is even more important in management. I guess the only thing that's certain is we'll never know the whole story. The tenure process is clearly very political and very personal and should be done away with completely if we really care about education and research.

I agree with some of the previous posters -- his class is really a big motivational speech with tests. People think he is great, which he is a nice guy, but that doesnt mean he should automatically rise to the top of the faculty ranks. One thing I've learned in the business world since graduating is that your skills and talents aren't always fully appreciated by your employer, and you sometimes have to move on to find a better fit. They never taught me that in any management classes at VT.

Posts critical of his teaching are missing the point. Every teacher is going to have some fans and some detractors. If I understood the article, he has to demonstrate he is strong in three areas - teaching, research and service. Plenty of teaching awards - check. Plenty of articles and books bringing positive attention to VT - check. Service? not mentioned as a reason. Looks like a raw deal to me.

I took Neck's class, and like many of the other posts, found it completely pointless. Was it entertaining, by academic standards? Absolutely, but I can't say I learned anything through it. Neck always seemed like a good guy, and he made it very clear during his class that he did things differently than anyone else, which is his problem. He was rocking a boat to gain popularity with students, which is fine, but he has to accept the consequences that come with that. Whether you're in the academic world or the business world, rocking the boat generally won't be met with promotions or colleagues who like you, and if couldn't realize this sooner, than it was his own fault. In other words, if this were posted on fmylife.com, I'd give it a "you deserved it."

@ The Previous Poster: So, the status quo is what you think you do to make it in the real world? There are two things you can do in life: either play it safe or push the envelope. Do you really believe that playing it safe is the way to make it up the ranks? I applaud Dr. Neck for having the courage to being different. I applaud Dr. Neck for not being traditional. Did you know that VT was the first University to bring PCs onto campus? Did you also know that since we've had Dean Sorensen that we have lost our edge in terms of technology in the Pamplin School? You should want to live your life so that it is not mediocre, not live your life "playing it safe" forever.

Scholarly research is the driving force in promotion to Full Professor. Scholarly research brings in grant money (for most studies) which translate into overhead dollars. Teaching and outreach don't. You can be a member of the teaching academy and the outreach academy here at VT and even have been a Fulbright Scholar. Unless your research outweighs your teaching and outreach activites, you will not be promoted to Full Professor. That stinks.

Another_Student...: My point was that Neck KNEW that what he was doing would hurt his chances of being promoted. He KNEW that the faculty who were in charge of whether or not he would be promoted did not like his style of "teaching." And yet, he did it anyway. Praise him if you want to, but he has no right to complain about not getting a promotion that he should have known he wasn't going to get if he continued to do what he was doing. I personally feel that the right decision was made. You may disagree, and feel that it was unfair. You may be right. But in the real world, life isn't fair. As for your comment about mediocrity vs. playing it safe, I feel that Neck was a mediocre professor, despite his pushing the envelope (using your words). He was entertaining, but I learned nothing of value in the business world. And like I said before, I like the guy on a personal level, but I couldn't like him as a professor of a class that I paid good money for.

There goes my money to Pamplin....

While my comment may be off-topic/may be unrelated to the field of management, this particular case is hardly surprising. Faculty members in universities around the U.S. face tough competition amongst themselves to publish journal articles & books, leaving no time/interest for undergraduate education. Also makes the sense for the universities to retain top researchers for tenure... = more grant $$$. Try reading this recent paper by Emory University professor Mark Bauerlein which looks into this trend: "Professors on the Production Line, Students on Their Own" (http://www.aei.org/docLib/20090317_Bauerlein.pdf).

This is extremely dissapointing to hear. I feel bad for the Tech students who will miss out on the wonderful experience of Professor Neck's class. While at Tech, Professor Necks management course was one of the best I had at Tech and couldn't imagine the class without him. Tech is making a huge mistake by not giving him this promotion. I hope they can make this happen before we lose one of the best.

Whether someone liked his class or not, is not nearly as interesting as the fact that everyone who took his class still remembers his class. If you are like me and have graduated within the past 5 years, think back over the 40+ professors you had while at Tech. If you took his class, I would be willing to bet that Professor Neck is one of the first 5 professors or one of the first 5 classes that comes to memory. Whether you agree with the teaching style or not, he is still very influential and has been a stand-out professor amongst many name-less faces that were some of my other professors. This decision seems less about his qualifications and more about a Good Ole' Boys/Girls society (Pamplin) that was tired and jealous of having Prof. Neck as the face of the College. One additional comment for those of you who doubt his management teaching methods and dismiss him as a "motivational speaker"; you obviously are still in school and have never managed employees. I can assume this because the first thing you realize as a manager, is that motivating your employees is 90% of doing your job successfully. Your employees couldn't care-less about your 4000 level management course's textbook or your grade.

This was a 'long' but needed article. There was a lot of information, some was repeated, but information that needed to be read. And it isn't all one sided, which is nice! However, being a non-business major student, I can't say much about if his management class was worth the time or a waste of time, but I can say I knew about it. His class and his connection with students was known and it is upsetting that he is leaving. I've heard for 3 years about Dr. Neck's class which has to say something. However, what needs to be taken out of this article is if the tenure system for faculty is bias or not. Has this happened to other professors who aren't as open as Dr. Neck? I appreciate the university's efforts for research but it is really starting to lack in the teaching & advising on this campus. Most students just figure it's because we have so many students. That isn't the excuse. From the guidelines to get to the promotion or recognition professors want, it seems that need to research and do service 10 times more than teaching and advising. Personally, I want to see more of a balance. The system isn't completely flawed, like previous stated in the article, but it isn't perfect, especially if it is effecting the learning and help for students on campus.

Wow, I don't know this guy, but his epic whine violates two main tenets of business; it's only business, and; don't burn bridges. Here is another: Coffee is for closers. Hit the bricks, pal.

For those posters who think Neck is whining.................National Rankings have Pamplin ranked in 40s. National Rankings have Arizona State University's Business School ranked in top 12. Sounds like Neck is being vindicated here. He's going from a top 40 school to a top 12 Business School. He's the winner in this and VT is the loser. A top 12 school sought out Neck and yet Neck cares enough about VT to be quoted in this article? Sounds like Neck really cares about VT students. Poster's wake up. Neck has truly made a difference here and we( VT) are the losers. Why don't some of you knock on the doors of some of those high priced adminstrators in Pamplin and Burruss and have them account for pushing Neck out of the door. Good for you Dr. Neck. I was in your class 10 years ago and you were the best professor I ever had at VT. I even called you a few years ago for advice and you returned my phone call immediately and even sent me a copy of one of your books to help me deal with a situation in my life. How many professors would do that posters?

VT is missing the boat here. A University is a place where students go to be taught. There is hardly any classes anymore (especially in your first two years at VT) where a physical teacher is actually teaching you something. Not to mention a teacher being good at it. VT is way to focused on research because of money. I understand VT needs the research money to prosper into the future but not at the sacrifice of the fundamentals of what a University should be doing and that is teaching. VT just lost one of the better teachers they ever had.

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