Professors Narayan Persaud and Phyllis Gray-Ray may be forced to step down from teaching upper-level courses in criminal justice if they are found to be teaching out of compliance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, according to a story in this mornings FAMUAN.
Two criminal justice professors face removal
November 03, 2006
26
Professors Narayan Persaud and Phyllis Gray-Ray may be forced to step down from teaching upper-level courses in criminal justice if they are found to be teaching out of compliance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, according to a story in this mornings FAMUAN.
The issue isn't wether or not these two professors are teaching out of their areas, but wether or not FAMU understands the SACS guidelines.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Comment #1. That's exactly the point -- whether those in charge of the SACS evaluation process at FAMU understand or are willing to truly understand the SACS guidelines. I hope and pray that they are willing to understand those guidelines for the sake of our beloved FAMU.
ReplyDeleteI just read the article. Im wondering, are sociology and criminology the same thing? I know they are in Arts and Sciences, but are thye separate disciplines? I'm confused....
ReplyDeleteSociology is the study of social issues, their causes, effects, ramifications of and social concerns that affect society. Crtiminology, a separate discipline and field of study, focuses on the criminal aspects of that (above) society, what defines it, what causes that behavior and its relationship to the people in that society. Sociology is a more people-driven, "who-type" scholarship of study, while criminology is more of a statistical-researched based scholarship.
ReplyDeleteNow, I don't have a degree in either of these fields, so my guess is perhaps as good as the next person who doesn't have a background in these areas. But I venture to say that I believe that the above-guessed diatribe is fairly close to an amateur definition that separates the two.
My understanding (according to a friend of mine that interviewed for a position there) is that, if you're not a lesbian you're out or not getting hired...
ReplyDelete^^^^^^^
ReplyDeleteWhat does one's sexuality have to do with getting hired at FAMU or the topic at hand?????.
So watcha sayin...u got to be a candy licka to get on at FAM?!!
ReplyDeleteThe comments on this blog are getting crazier by the day. What in the world does someone's sexual orientation have to do with this topic?
ReplyDeleteso watcha sayin u got to be a candy licka to get on at FAMU. Don't be stupid
ReplyDeleteCriminology does have a lot of undertones that come from Sociology. For example, when examing the theory of criminal behavior, there are many theories which endeavor to explain the causation of crime, such as: Birth Cohort Study, Feminist Theory, Marxist Theory, Biological Theory, Social Strain Theory, etc.
ReplyDeleteSo if the professors were using some sociology in their courses to be used in tandem with the approved course materials, that would be viewed as nothing more than adding "stepping stones" to the student's workload to better help them. Perhaps students are complaining that they were asked to read a few extra articles or books. Boo hoo, this is college, get over it.
If you will examine the facts, many teachers that teach Criminology or Criminal Justice have Ph.D's in Sociology and vice versa since the field is intricately fused in many areas.
If you look at the department of Criminology at the University of Florida alone, several of their Criminology Professors have Ph.D's in Sociology.
Check it yourself: http://web.crim.ufl.edu/directory/faculty.html
Anonymous said...My understanding (according to a friend of mine that interviewed for a position there) is that, if you're not a lesbian you're out or not getting hired...
ReplyDelete11/03/2006 12:14 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's definitely a social issue for study under this current administration. There seems to be fear of highly educated strong black women and a strong hatred of heterosexual black men (misandrist).
I wonder if Dr. Gray-Ray's lawsuit is ready to go to court, or be settled out of court. SURELY, Bryant (and her flunky Hobbs) would not "bother" this ex-vice president when actions could be construed as retaliation?
ReplyDeleteTo whomever reads this and advises Dr. Bryant, you guys might need to leave Phyllis alone right now.
Maybe Dr. Bryant passed by Phyllis' home down the street and around the corner from the one she just bought and was jealous? I'm being silly about that, BUT DR. BRYANT! LEAVE THIS LADY ALONE!
Criminology is a subdiscipline of Sociology. It emerged from the University of Chicago's Sociology Department. In addition, Criminology is interdisciplinary, meaning it employs the scholarship of various disciplines, such as biology, psychology and political science. Its main constributors have always been Sociologists. Other universities are smart enough to recognize that the two disciplines of Sociology and Criminology are indistinguishable, and consequently hire Sociologists to teach in Criminology departments (check the vita of faculty at University of South Florida, Florida State and University of Florida). Why can't FAMU understand this?
ReplyDeleteA person's sexuality has nothing to do with the original blog. So let's just remain intelligent and professional on this blog that viewed by people all over the nation. If you aren't adding to the dialogue of understanding, then your comments are better left unwritten. There's enough negativity about the university in the news these days that we don't have to continue such on this site.
ReplyDeleteI think whenever there's a lull in the news about the shannanigans of the interim president and her administration, we like to "start up" some gossip and juicy tidbits. That's not always necessary. Why start some stuff when there's no need. I'm sure that there will be plenty more stuff that CVB does that gets us all riled up, but for now, let's try and maintain some respectful and intelligent dialogue here. There's plenty news about a lot of stuff to go around the table.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've heard around campus, this move by Bryant is indeed payback against Gray-Ray for filing a lawsuit. Bryant fired Gray-Ray as VP of Research and then tried to arbitrarily change her contract. It looks like a slam dunk case for the plaintiff.
ReplyDeleteIntimidation and harassment is simply the way of the Bryant administration.
In terms of SACS accreditation standards, there's a lot of academic leeway regarding professors' credentials. I'm sure that Gray-Ray and Persaud are properly credentialed and are not teaching out of field. Criminology and Sociology are disciplinary interspersed, so it would be difficult to say that one field doesn't overlap the other in terms of course requirements and related issues. I think CVB may indeed be in a snit about Gray-Ray's suit and is attempting to make things difficult for her before she (CVB) leaves the university in March--if indeed she does leave in March.
ReplyDeleteBeen said before. Worth repeating:
ReplyDeleteSACS requirements pretty clearly state that EITHER profs need 18 graduate course hours in the subject they are teaching...
OR...
the dept. needs to write up a justification for how this prof is otherwise qualified to teach the subject.
Graduate courses are not the only way to get good enough to teach something.
Unfortunately, Dr. Bryant has tried to force FAMU to accept only the first part of the criterion and say that profs MUST have 18 graduate course hours in the subject they are teaching. Period.
Perhaps she was trying to use this requirement as a way of getting rid of some faculty members who earned their right to teach by some other route, such as practicing the profession being taught, attending professional training, or researching and writing in the field.
Still not settled is the prickly issue of how FAMU will certify faculty who do not have 18 hours in the topic they are teaching -- such as criminology.
Can a grownup with a PhD in sociology teach herself enough criminology to be qualified to teach the subject, or does she need to go back to graduate school and be taught that topic by someone who is very much like herself in experience and qualifications, only with a few different courses on the transcript?
What you studied way back in graduate school has precious little to do with a person's qualification to teach some 10 or 20 or 30 years later.
But, the rules are as Dr. Bryant defines them. We just do as we are told.
Dr. Bryant's "unreasonable" SACS demands are wreaking havoc on university faculty members who are experienced, qualified and skilled in their respective disciplines. She has assembled an in-house SACS team that has no experience with the accreditation process. They are all learning on the job, which, of course, is affecting the people whom she hopes to weed out. People like VH, who, by the way, don't know jack about very much. Didn't she get her PhD, like yesterday? DA, with her EdD degree and community college background. What does she know? Can we all just get rid of all of them and start anew?
ReplyDeleteYou muthafuckas are fucking stupid. Sociology and Got Damn Criminology. Throw the motha fuckas out, They dont have the right degree. A psychiatrist aint a fucking obstertrician stupid people. how many of you would let the psychaitrist deliver your baby? Quit bitching FAMU faculty and get your shit in order...
ReplyDeleteTHE CURSER!!!!
Wow. I didn't know Dr. B knew how to post to this blog!
ReplyDeleteATTENTION!
ReplyDeleteTo whomever wrote this posting:
"You muthafuckas are fucking stupid. Sociology and Got Damn Criminology. Throw the motha fuckas out, They dont have the right degree. A psychiatrist aint a fucking obstertrician stupid people. how many of you would let the psychaitrist deliver your baby? Quit bitching FAMU faculty and get your shit in order...
THE CURSER!!!! "
Your post, inability to read what myself and another person wrote in this blog (describing Sociology and Criminology), and your choice of language only show your blatant ignorance!
I teach criminology so I know what I am talking about. My degree is in Criminology, but several of my courses in the Ph.D. program entailed Sociology.
Obviously you don't know what you are talking about. You are correct in certain aspects that a psychiatrist is not an obstertrician. However, in this example you are wrong.
Why don't you read the following text, "Linking Sociology and Its Specialties:
The Case of Criminology"
written by Ronald L. Akers (who is a professor at the Univeristy of Florida - whose Criminology program is #11 in the U.S. - and is also the graduate coordinator).
Why don't you educate yourself and give him a call: (352) 392-1025
ext. 226.
According to the FAMUAN, four professors would be left to teach 500 students if Dr. Persaud and Dr. Gray-Ray are removed. Actually, there will be only two full time professors left. Two of the instructors mentioned in the article are occupying visiting lines. The visiting line instructors do not have a Ph.D.
ReplyDeleteSociology aint criminology...get your shit together or get out...
ReplyDeleteMy heavens! Is all the bad language necessary to get one or two points aross? Why is it that we can't have an intelligent dialogue here on this public forum? Apparently the cursers took a course or two from the professors in question and received bad, really bad grades. Otherwise, why would they resort to such horrific language. To the Cursers: Are you are aware that more than Rattler fans read this blog, or are you so narrow-minded that you simply don't know that? Oops! My bad. Apparently you ARE that narrow-minded. My apologies for wanting to believe otherwise. The adage, "actions speak louder than words," apparently does not apply here. In this case, words are speaking very loud and very clear, and they all say: Ignorant.
ReplyDeleteOk, I got one for the CURSER/CVB?. Adult Vocational Education aint Higher Education! Hmm. Oh, another- EdD aint PhD. Are we blind, look at the administration here. What is CVB and DA going to profess here at FAMU once they have to takeover courses vacated due to administrative tyranny? They wouldn't cut it as FAMU professors, and I argue that it is mainly because they ae UNQUALIFIED. They're probably looking to hire a consulting firm which supplies substitute college teachers. To the Administration: FAMUs problems are NOT to be crossed with your personal problems.
ReplyDelete