I always made it clear that my letters of recommendation were limited to my personal observations of the students' classroom performance. In lab classes were students worked in groups, I might comment on a student's performance in that setting. In a class where I had a lot of individual discussion with a student about the course, I might comment on that discussion. Any personal discussion was 'off the clock'.
I did once have a very mediocre student ask me for a letter of recommendation. I told him that it would be an accurate description of his performance; he threatened to sue me if I sent it. I did, and he didn't. On Aug 10, 2012, at 10:27 PM, Michael Palij wrote: > A new twist in the Colorado shooter case is the release of information > about his application to the graduate program in neuroscience at the > University of Illinois (I believe at Urbana-Champaign). The Associated > Press got a copy of his application file which includes letters of > recommendation from professors. There are a couple of articles on > this and here is one: > http://www.pjstar.com/free/x2095092294/Movie-theater-shooting-suspect-impressed-U-of-I-neuroscience-program > and here is another: > http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/colo-suspect-impressed-ill-1496680.html > NOTE: The Colorado judge's gag rule does not apply to other states. > > He was highly praised in his letters especially for his "intellectual and > emotional maturity". Fortunately for the professors who wrote the letters, > their names are redacted in the copies. Otherwise, I have a feeling > some UC-Riverside faculty would have a gaggle of journalists knocking > on their doors asking about the shooter and how they might have > missed a future mass murderer. > > This reminds me of a similar situation involving Ted Bundy who had > been a psychology major at the University of Washington. In one > of the biographies I read about him back in the 1990s, I was amused > by the contents of one of the letters of recommendation written by > a U of W psychology professor in which Bundy was described in > glowing terms and was highly recommended. I have wondered what > those professors thought and felt when they found out what Bundy > really was like. Some professors pride themselves in thinking that > they know some of their students really well, which is why they > write letters of recommendation for them. But professors often forget > what a thin slice of a person's life they are exposed to as well as > forgetting that not everything students tell them is truthful. > > I wonder, how many professor actually think about whether their > letters of recommendation will come back to haunt them (or have > the media ask questions about them) if the person being recommended > turn out to a Bundy or someone like the Colorado shooter? Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=19658 or send a blank email to leave-19658-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
