It was with great disdain that I read the article "After tenure battle, Neck moves on" (CT, May 1) in Friday's Collegiate Times. Having taken Christopher Neck's Management Theory and Leadership Practice course last fall, I feel completely bewildered as to why the College of Business would deny tenure to and treat so poorly one of the best professors this university has ever had.
Granted, Neck is quite unconventional in his teaching. But perhaps this is what makes him so highly regarded by so many of his students. Instead of the usual monotone, PowerPoint college lecture, Neck brings teaching to a whole new level.
From getting "Jared the Subway Guy" to come in and speak, to having Frank Beamer talk about his personal views on how to lead, to even creating his own rap for the class at the end of each semester (check it out on YouTube if you haven't already), Neck is able to make business and leadership come alive in a way no one else can.
Neck's books and articles are also wonderfully unique. Often times using his own experiences in "self-mastery" in conjunction with his own brand of poetry, Neck's writings on leadership are a breath of fresh air in a field of research that seems crowded by scientific attempts to explain what Neck seems to suggest is more of a beautiful form of art. Wishy-washy mumbo-jumbo?
Some people think that. But there is simply no denying Neck's ability to motivate when reading one of his books or articles - and motivation (both of oneself and of others to achieve personal or organizational goals) is at the very core of management and leadership.
Ask yourself this question: How many professors are able to motivate a three-hour long, 500-person class on Friday afternoons to such an extent that students stand up to do "the wave" as if they are at a Hokie football game? My answer: not many. Perhaps jealousy then, on the part of those reviewing Neck for tenure, was one root cause for their apparent bias against him.
Congratulations, Arizona State. Because of the failure of some to recognize teaching and research brilliance when they see it, you are getting one top-notch professor come this fall. While he is sure to be just as revered by students there as the ones he leaves behind at Tech, hopefully your faculty will show him the appreciation that some of ours were too jealous to provide.
Ryan Lilly
junior, management
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Just so you know, he had tenure, he was denied full professor. Although, I agree it is a shame they did not deny him tenure and kick him out the door. They did not promote him to full professor and basically told him that what he did was not appreciated and valued and HE made the decision to leave because of it.
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Rob is right. Tenure happens when you transition from assistant to associate professor. In some departments you can easily spend your whole career here and not make full professor. It is a high honor to be a full prof, but it does sound like Dr. Neck was indeed qualified.
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Go back and read the article. Neck was not qualified to be promoted to Full Professor. He was an Associate Professor with tenure. But, he neglected to follow the department's advice on how to proceed to the next step. That's what stopped him, and he knew it.
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Neck went from not being able to get 'full professor' at VT to the only 'University Master Professor" at ASU. I was able to take a class of Neck's and stayed in touch with him for years. VT made a huge mistake in letting this one go and I've decided based on the university's decision to no longer let my hard earned money go to them. Some times exceptions need to be made, this was one of those cases.
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