ON WHAT BASIS ARE GRADUATE STUOH~TS

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1 *-, 73. ON WHAT BASIS ARE GRADUATE STUOH~TS +** ; '6 USED I N TEACHING AND RESEARCH? A. N, Pearson UN I VERS t TY OF FLOR I DA In attacking t h i s problem, I am assuming that those in charge o f the program have decided that graduate work in meats i s desirable. It i s not my purpose t o defend t h i s stand, although I a m in agreement w i t h the committee in t h i s respect, but r a t h e r t o discuss the basis on which graduate students are used i n meats work. In attempting t o develop t h i s question, I wrote t o a number of you who I knev were d i r e c t i n g graduate work i n meats and asked for your viewpoints on the proper division between research and teaching, The number of r e s p o n ~ e s wa8 very p a t i m i n g and the comments have proven t o be extremely usef'ul in expanding t h i s t o p i c. Since we a r e a l l aware t h a t the graduate student i s probably the cheapest source of labor that can be obtained, there is a marked variation in h i s duties. Some of you have indicated that perhaps we take advantage of t h i s cheap source of labor as a means o f getting our j a n i t o r i a l eervices. Although i n some individual cases t h i s may prove t o be a handicap f o r the student, I a m sure that the majority of us a r e s t i l l saddled w i t h considerable j a n i t o r i a l duties and perhaps f e e l t h a t such t r a i n i n g w i l l be worthwhile, a t l e a s t i f we a r e t r a i n i n g future college meats men. Perhaps the most l o g i c a l answer as t o the proper division between teaching and research i s the old army stock Rnswer of "it a l l depends on the situation." I n other words, the division between teaching and research should depend upon w h a t we are training the student t o do when he completes hie graduate studies and what t r a i n i n g we a r e capable o f giving t h e student *om a standpoint of flacilities and staff assistance. Of these two factors, the training of the student f o r a s p e c i f i c 3013 ahould come first. Unfortunately, t h i s is much e a s i e r t o say than t o do, because we have never been capable of saying t h i s is the only Job t h a t you a r e capable of handling. I n autocratic countries, it is my understanding that we know w h a t our a t u r e position w i l l be, but as lorn as we have democracy, we can not be sure t h a t we are training our graduate students f o r t h e jobs that they w i l l take. Thus, o u r training must envelope a w i d e r f i e l d and prepare the graduate student for a s e r i e s of jobs rather than any single position. From t h i s do not take the view that I believe all students should receive the same t r a i n i n g, b u t on t h e contrary, it is my b e l i e f t h a t each student should be consulted as t o h i s m t u r e plans in order to b e s t determine h i s t r a i n i n g, both in rega,rd t o course work and research. It w i l l, of course, be necessary t o vary the t r a i n i n g so that the proper balance between research and teaching w i l l be achieved w i t h each individual graduate student. However, the point I want t o make i s that the graduate student desiring t o work f o r a meat packer may put much more of h i s time i n on research work of a technical nature than the graduate student intending t o operate a butcher shop. On the

2 74. other hand, I should l i k e t o r e i t e r a t e that we must neceasarily give the graduate student some experience i n both research and teaching i n order t o give him a broader understanding and t o increase h i s p o t e n t i a l f i e l d s o f employment. Naturally, the division between teaching and research may vary with the stage of t r a i n i n g t o which the student has progressed. For instance, t h e beginning student i s not qualified t o teach except as an a s s i s t a n t, b u t the advanced graduate student may be given complete charge of a laboratory section, a l e c t u r e section o r both. Similarly, the fyeedom that B graduate student i s capable of having i n the f i e l d of research must be determined by h i s major professor on a b a s i s of the students a b i l i t y and the stage of h i s t r a i n i n g. Frequently, it is not possible t o give the student the type of t r a i n i n g t h a t is needed because of poor f s c i l i t i e s and staff inadequaciee. Under such conditions, graduate atudents a r e often overloaded w i t h teaching r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and given too l i t t l e research experience except as he can work it i n t o an already f U L schedule of teaching. Thus, the research w i l l necessarily euffer and perhaps the student w i l l even lose i n t e r e s t i n h i s most basic training-the s b i l i t y t o carry out experiments and draw correct conclusions. It is especially important that research experience be gained under the good sound direction of a qualified researcher, since guidance is almoet if not e n t i r e l y lacking once the student completes h i s formal education. If we a r e unable t o give a student the training he desires because of i n s u f f i c i e n t h c i l l t i e a or too l i t t l e time t o devote t o directing h i s work, it i s b e s t that he be so informed. If a student s t i l l p e r s i s t s in doing work under such conditions, a t l e a s t he has been f'orewarned. Although no exact r u l e can be s e t up as t o the correct division of time between research and teaching, perhaps certain recommendations can be made. Before making any suggeetions, l e t uo assume they w i l l be applicable only t o the average student and not t o those, who msy be doing considerable teaching o r t o those having considerable a c t u a l research experience. Furthermore, since some student6 may be trying t o g e t t h e i r course work over before commencing t h e i r research work, any recommendations given would apply only t o those students on departmental appojntments as graduate a s s i s t a n t s or f e l LOWS Assuming that t h e student on an a8sistant6hip is required t o work a minimum, chances a r e he never heard of such short hours, of 20 hours per week, which we find required f o r the CorneLl graduate student appointments, no more than h a l f of the 20 hour minimum should be spent i n teaching. This means t h a t the student should not be aeeigned to asaist i n more than 2 three-hour laboratory periods per week and one l e c t u r e a week, which coupled with t h e time spent in preparation would e a s i l y require a minimum of 10 hours per week. Preferably, the amount oftlne spent i n teaching should consist of only one laboratory period per week, because too much time spent in teaching cause8 most students t o skip over t h e i r preparation and f a i l t o present t h e i r instructional work in a pleasing manner. This w i l l o f course neceesarily vary with the amount of research the etudent l e a c t i v e l y conducting, a13 there may be times when t h e teaching load can be varied in accordance w i t h the student's echedule of classes and h i s research program, Since it i s necessary for a l l graduate Student8 t o carry out some kind of a research project, a minlmwn o f 10 hours ehould be spent each week

3 75. conducting research. The reoearch program, o f course, need not be confined t o a c t u a l laboratory experiments, b u t can also include the necessary library work, a n a l y s i s of data and writing up the r e s u l t s. Naturally, the more w i l l i n g graduate students w i l l spend much more than the 10 required hours conducting research and as their problem advances w i l l, of course, f i n d more and more time is required t o keep the experiment going. It should be borne i n mind that a l l course work and studying connected w i t h course work 18 not acceptable under t h e c l a s e i f i c a t i o n s of e i t h e r research o r teaching. Although a minirmun of 20 hours is required between research and teaching, t h i s does not put any limit on the maximum amount of t i n a which m y be needed t o carry on the program. O f course, i f too much i e required e i t h e r under the heading of course work, research o r teaching, one o f t h e others is bound t o s u f f e r, so some euitable program must be worked out. A s far as t h e proper division between research and teaching is concerned i n the t r a i n i n g o f graduate students i n meats, t h e r e i s no hard and fast r u l e. Rather the division of time should depend upon the plans of the student f o r f i b r e employment, the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f f a c i l i t i e s and staff f o r i n s t r u c t i o n a l purposes and t h e stage of t r a i n i n g. A l l graduate Rtudents should be given 8ome experience in both teaching and rosearch in order t o develop the student i n both of these e s s e n t i a l f i e l d s, The plan f o r giving experience i n these f i e l d 6 should be f l e x i b l e enough t o permit changes a8 necessary to meet the individual's needs. The graduate student should not be used merely a8 a mean0 o f g e t t i n g teaching and research conducted, but r a t h e r under the c a r e & l supervision o f the major professor t h e graduate student should be t r a i n e d w i t h an eye t o h i s needs and stage of development. The best division of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y w i l l be t h e one which develops the s t u d e n t r e l a t e n t a b i l i t y i n both the f i e l d s o f research and teaching. CHAIRMAN AJXDERSON; This paper should i n c i t e considerable diecussion, and we have E. P. Margerum, Jr., o f Kansas S t a t e College. ME?. MARGERUM, JR.: Thank you, M r. Anderson. As Mr. Anderoon said, the subject matter o f Mr. Peareon's paper can be very controvereial. The problem o f handling o r guiding the graduate a s s i s t a n t is of'ten secondary only t o the labor secured from him. I t i s very much a personal problem, I doubt i f there are two men i n t h i s audience who t r e a t a graduate a s s i s t a n t i n exactly the same manner o r even approach the problem o f taking on a graduate assis.l;ant i n the same manner. The t i t l e o f M r. Pearson's paper, "On What BasiE: a r e Graduate Students Used i n Teaching and Research?" i s very often i n d i c a t i v e of the s i t u a t i o n i n which a gullible graduate a s s i s t a n t finds himself' upon a r r i v a l a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n. Luckily I have never had t h e misfortune o f being "used" in the t r u e eense of the word, b u t I know that i n many i n s t i t u t i o n s the graduate a s s i s t a n t i s almost subservient t o the j a n i t o r. He is one l e v e l lower.

4 76. This afternoon Bob Bray had a very good idea, t h a t i s that t h e meats man a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n should be the guiding influence f o r the graduate student o r even f o r the graduate a s s i s t a n t. If he f?ails i n that capacity, i f he fails t o be the guiding l i g h t, i f he fails t o rec r u i t another man for the meats f i e l d, then we have missed the boat and our work i s a l l t o naught. I r e a l i z e it i s often necessary t o be a Dutch uncle t o a graduate a s s i s t a n t. It is of'ten necessary t o be a prodder, i f you wish t o use t h a t word, puehing him forward, making him accomplish a l i t t l e more, b u t I think the most i d e a l a i t u a t i o n i s where the graduate assistant can be t r e a t e d as an equal o r as a co-worker. I would never advise the s i t u a t i o n where he f e e l s that he has a straw boss i n h i e major professor. tonight 1 Would a f e w o f you gentlemen c a r e t o argue over t h i o topic MR. WELLINGTON: Mr. Chairman, I think that maybe we are tending t o place too much emphasis on the a c t that the graduate a s s i s t a n t i s perhaps taken advantage of by the i n s t i t u t i o n. True, the graduate a s s i s t a n t s do a l o t of work. Most of us have had experience a t l e a s t on one end of t h a t s i t u a t i o n, and I think that the value the student receives *om t h i s work that he does c e r t a i n l y j u s t i f i e s a l l the encouragement t h a t he g e t s t o do the work, be it whatever form it may be. MR. MAIWERUM, JR.: thought as college hazing. T h a t g e t s back i n t o the same l i n e o f MR. BULL: M r, Chairman, I should l i k e t o ask Mr. Pearson when he talks about research does he mean research which he i s doing f o r the i n s t i t u t i o n o r f o r himself.. MR, PWSON: My answer t o t h a t would be that a l l research is f o r the i n s t i t u t i o n and f o r yourself, too, That is, it i s for the development of yourself and it i s also for. the i n s t i t u t i o n. MR. BULL: 1 w i l l agree that the research t h e graduate assista n t does, whether he does it for the i n s t i t u t i o n o r for himself, i s valua b l e t o him, b u t unfortunately when he does it f o r the i n s t i t u t i o n he does n o t get graduate c r e d i t f o r it. Most o f the graduate students a r e i n t e r e s t e d in c r e d i t. A t I l l i n o i s a half-time a s s i s t a n t is permitted t o take a degree course program in the graduate college. I f he teacheo he is supposed t o teach s i x c r e d i t hours a week unles there i s a laboratory connected with it. Then we f i g u r e it on a clock hour ba8is. Fellows do n o t do work f o r the University unless they do it f o r t h e i r own experience, which a good many of them do. I have had two o r three men who held fellowship6 who taught fop me in t h e feeding course taught for nothing simply because they wanted t o g e t the experience of teaching. But as far as time is concerned they do n o t do an axcessive amount of work. That is p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e i n the summer time when they are permitted t o take a full-time graduate program. -- We do n o t ask them o r expect them t o do j a n i t o r work. do, they do it on t h e i r own without approval. If they

5 77. MR. W E R U M, JR.: PLk, '? # + f ;,, I should l i k e eo'4&ion the point t h a t you made that the graduate student does n o t receive c r e d i t f o r t h e research which he does f o r t h e i n s t i t u t i o n, I think there i s a bountiful source o f i n f o m t i o n and experience there f o r anyone who cares t o pick it up, and that although he cannot show it i n a t r a n s c r i p t as a d e f i n i t e hourly c r e d i t, he has something t h e r e that i s probably worth more than a c r e d i t on a t r a n s c r i p t. ~~ MR. MACIllIOTOSH: There is another item I t h i n k m i g h t be mentioned, and t h a t is t h e r e is sometimes a difference i n tho type o f appointment the student has. I n some cases those appointments a r e teachinz apsoinlments, and they a r e expected t o do teaching t o that amount, onef i f t h o r two-fifths o r one-half as the case may be. I n o t h e r case8 they a r e s t r i c t l y research a s s i s t a n t s and a r e expected t o do research work. It s o happens that ours a r e divided, but I could not quite get plr. Peareon's idea about t e n hours o f that amount of time t o pay for t h e individual t h e s i s. T h a t research you said i s h i s time on c r e d i t time, not on pay time. When he i s a s s i s t i n g w i t h reeearch he i s helping w i t h r e search project8 t h a t a r e being conducted not f o r h i s t h e s i s. It sometimes happens t o be a s i d e l i g h t which can be devoted t o h i s t h e s i s, but that i s a d d i t i o n a l time. MR. WANDERSTOCK: I j u s t wonder whether Mr. Pearson also feela that the graduate student should be c a l l e d upon t o do some exteneion work t o g e t t h a t experience. MR, PEARSON: I think you a r e adding more wood t o t h e fire t o c a l l upon him t o do exteneion work. There are only so many hours i n a week. He has a half-time appointment, and I put t h i a as t h e minimum, n o t as the maximum, you remember. Phese hours a r e minimum hours and n o t maximum hours and every etudent w i l l put i n much more than t h i s, that i s, assuming a forty-hour week, wkdchi a d is f o r graduate work, b u t he should devote not more than one-half of it t o a c t i v e teaching o f coursej I: r e a l i z e your point, Mr. Wckintosh, that some appointments a r e research appointments and some a r e teaching appointments, b u t we would go ahead and put the student on such a basis that he could be devoting a t least ten hours per week t o teaching and a t least ten hours per week t o research. That research may be other research, b u t it may a l s o be a portion o f h i s own research. The time is too l i m i t e d and i f he puts i n t e n hours per week f o r you and then i n addition he puts i n twenty hours per week f o r himself, besides putting i n twenty hours on your teaching and w h a t couroe work he has t o do he w i l l not get properly t r a i n e d. -- MR. MARGERUM, JR,: I want t o take issue w i t h you, Professor Pearson, i n that you said twenty hours a week, figuring that as h a l f of an average work week. Twenty hours devoted t o the college f o r h i s h a l f time s a l a r y. A minimum of ten hours, say, f o r ten c r e d i t a f o r h i e graduate c r e d i t s and research time f o r h i s t h e s i s, plus preparation f o r the c o l l e g i a t e requirements t o meet h i s p y ecale would p r e t t y much keep a man hopping. I do not think it i s possible t o reckon a graduate a s s i s t a n t ' s time i n a c t u a l hours, The most f e a s i b l e method of handling it i s t o come t o an agreement before he a r r i v e s a t the i n s t i t u t i o n and lay out a work program f o r him not so much i n hours as i n accomplishments.

6 78. MR. BRADY: I have certainly learned a l o t here. We a r e t a l k ing, but we c e r t a i n l y do not have the answers. I might mention that t h i s We t r y is w h a t we are doing w i t h folks who a r e working on t h e i r Ph.D's t o give them full-time appointments. We believe that is the l o g i c a l answer t o have more teaching and research experience. A l l o f their r e search t h e is on experiment station. It is a l l one deal w i t h us. We have two limitations. One is the Experiment Station Directorla o f f i c e e s t e e r between those two and it and the other is the graduate o f f i c e. W has worked out very w e l l. T h a t nearly tells us about where we can go on those who are working f o r t h e i r master's degreetx. They may be on a quarter t h e, half of which i s teaching and half o f which is research. W do not d r a w a l i n e. W e j u s t expect them t o work about sixteen hours a day and t o s l e e p about eight hours.. MR. PEARSON: I that is very well taken. dent regardless of how we they do not w o r r y about a t h i n k that Professor Brady has a point here That is, the end i s the t r a i n i n g of t h e s t u do it. A t Cornel1 they have a system whereby c r e d i t basis, that is, they do not Bay, "I got t e n hours because I put i n ten hours of reaearch." That i s not the basit3 02 it. The basis there, is that so much residence is a c t u a l l y required o f each student, that is, a c e r t a i n number o f terms in residence, and it is up t o the major professor t o determine where the balance l i e s. He could give you a l l research and it would n o t be necessary f o r you t o take even one course i f your committee decfded it was not neceesary. Residency is the only thing t h a t is required, I n other wordt3, the end is t r a i n i n g the graduate student. MR. BFUiTZLEZ: The question was raised here about how you a r e going t o divide t h i s research between w h a t belongs t o the man and what belongs t o the college. I do not know how that can be divided. It has alway8 been my impression t h a t on a research fellowship he j u s t does more o f it and gets c r e d i t f o r it whichever way he does it, whether he i s teaching or whether he is on full-time research. I do not see how in the world we can divide the research man does between w h a t belongs t o the college and w h a t he g e t s w e d i t f o r. MR, MARGERUM, JR,: As I said in the beginning, the u t i l i z a t i o n of graduate a s s i s t a n t s i n e i t h e r teaching o r research i s an individual problem, and we w i l l have t o meet the standards 'or the requirements o f the d i r e c t o r of the s t a t i o n as well a6 the graduate office. I f you can have a man eupposedly on a research a s s i s t a n t s h i p who can accomplish h i s own research project f o r h i e t h e s i s work, a t t h e 8ame time keeping the d i r e c t o r of the s t a t i o n happy why should anyone complain? A s long as everyone f e e l s that he i s benefiting from the s i t u ation, then I think a l l f a well and good. Is there any more discussion on the topic? I w i l l turn t h e C h a i r back t o M r. Anderson. Thank you. CHAIRMAN ANDERSON: The impression that I have got from the recent discussion is t h a t the Program Committee h i t upon a l i v e subject and the discussion t h a t followed has been worthwhile. I n order not t o delay our program tonight we w i l l take the next sub Sect here, "Experimental Design and Procedure Followed in Co-operating w i t h a Regional Beef Breeding Laboratory," and we have our good friend, Professor M. H. Hazaleus, from Colorado, t o present, ###