ASSOCIATING AND ASSISTING THE TITLE OF ‘PROFESSOR’

This article may not be a worthy reading for those who are not from the academic background.However, information is always worth acquiring, you may continue reading.

Two incidents motivated me to write this article.

Incident 1: In one of the gatherings a man introduced his young wife as a Professor of Public Administration. Someone further enquired, ‘In which University?’ The answer was ‘In a coaching institute’. It's acceptable but moronically. Boom! She is not a Professor; she is at the max a subject instructor or the teacher of that subject.

Incident 2: This fully clad woman was praising her fiancé's intellectual skill as a Professor. Her fiancé teaches English prose to Class 12 students.

A man who had struggled half his lifetime to get the title of ‘Professor’ will be in a better position to understand my deepening frustration for the misuse of this word.

Who is a Professor?  There is no single definition of the term. It varies from country to country but the standard definition is someone who ‘professes’ after all he/she ought to be someone in power to make someone hear, a teacher of highest rank no. In India, the academic ranks in University nomenclature follows in this order:

Chancellor

Pro Chancellor

Vice Chancellor

Pro Vice Chancellor

Dean/Director

Principal

Head of Department

Senior Professor

Professor

Senior Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Lecturer (Selection Grade) / Assistant Professor (Selection Grade)

Lecturer (Senior Grade)/ Assistant Professor (Senior Grade)

Lecturer / Assistant Professor

See the hierarchy; you will have a clue of what I am saying. It is like calling ‘Captain’ as ‘Colonel’ in army rank profile. The title of ‘Professor’ has weight in itself, however, while pulling someone’s leg, if that specific someone is nerdy, absent minded, someone with cardigans, a mug of coffee and reminds of your ageing Professor, well then it is justified.

The number of students and thesis supervised, the number of books and journals published (authored, co-authored, and edited), conference and seminars attended (scores depending on whether it is national or international) eats up the life span of a Professor. Confronting arguments and counter arguments, adjusting and surviving the politics within the academics, as academics is also not free from politics, is something a Professor has to deal with. Some of them are in the profession because of choice, some out of no choice. On the top of all these, staying with a spouse from a non-academic background is a battle which does not have the reward. But at the end of the day, it all trickles down to what stuff the ‘Professor’ is made of.  Anyway, next time if you hear someone being introduced as a ‘Professor’ then just remember this article of mine.

Who gave me the liberty to argue on who should be called a ‘Professor’? Nobody, but, at least, don’t forget the amount of hard work and perseverance one have to go through to be conferred this functional title.