Faculty appearance and faculty quality

Kurt Schwenk

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, U-3043
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT 06269-3043


It has been suggested that balding, blond, bearded professors are superior in overall quality (Schwenk 1987), although a few investigators disagree (e.g. Hirsute 1990; Brunette 1991). Indeed, the computer simulation models of Schwenk and Budlite (1990) predict that the addition of a slight beer-belly to the Schwenk (1987) physical parameters would so enhance the popularity of a UConn professor that it is unlikely any space on campus could accommodate his or her class enrollments (with the possible exception of Gampel Pavilion). However, in a pointed rebuttal to the Schwenk and Budlite (1990) study, Slender et al. (1991) noted that Professor Schwenk, himself, fits the Schwenk (1987) and Schwenk and Budlite (1990) profile, and his enrollments hardly fulfill the prediction. Furthermore, in her now classic study, La Mujer (1978) showed that female instructors are consistently preferred three to one over males by students at ten top-ranking U.S. institutions. Given that female instructors generally have all their hair, often are not blond, are rarely bearded (Darwin 1871) and only infrequently have beer bellies, these results would seem to falsify the Schwenk (1987) and Schwenk and Budlite (1990) hypotheses. Slender et al (1991) noted that Schwenk's papers fail to cite the La Mujer study, and they further implied that the quality of Schwenk's scholarship is in question (indeed, they seemed to suggest that Schwenk had faked his data). In a vicious rejoinder to the Slender et al. (1991) paper, Schwenk (1992) claimed that Slender, Gracile and Lithe were involved in a massive conspiracy to ruin his professional reputation and that the conspiracy extended to La Mujer, Brunette, Hirsute, and a host of other investigators. He further claimed to have unpublished evidence linking these scientists to a heretofore unrevealed CIA plot to bring Elvis and Marilyn back to life in order to discredit Schwenk and his ideas. As proof, Schwenk (1992) offered the testimony of voices he hears constantly in his head (K. Schwenk, personal communication).

Literature Cited

Bibliography

Brunette, C. W. 1991. Hair color and classroom performance: a spurious correlation? Annals of the American Institute of Beauticianary Sciences 35:121-154.

Darwin, C. 1871. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Modern Library, New York, NY.

Hirsute, G. E. 1990. Hair to stay: beards in the classroom and student preference. Journal of Taxpayer Waste 254:1086-1089.

La Mujer, W. 1978. Gender issues in faculty quality. In F. M. Nist and C. Pig, editors, Gonads: Inside or Out? Fullcourt Press, New York, NY.

Schwenk, K. 1987. Faculty quality in relation to certain physical parameters. Zeitschrift für Schleimhauten und Zungenspitzen 52:231-242.

Schwenk, K. 1992. Voices in my head: the CIA, Elvis, Marilyn and the plot against me. Xenophobe 11:1-346.

Schwenk, K., and I. P. Budlite. 1990. Excessive beer consumption improves faculty instruction. Bulletin of the American Beer Institute 21:24-32.

Slender, P., M. W. Gracile and D. Lithe. 1991. Failure of physical parameter models to predict student preference. Pseudoscientifica 342:233-236.