Interesting Story About The Struggles of UW-Stevens Point

[GGGG]

And.........your point is what?

I think history is like english - everyone needs it. Without it, you get dumbasses.

Everyone does get it.  Just because it isn't offered as a major doesn't mean the subject disappears entirely from the curriculum.

[D'Lo Brown]

Also, UW-P is home to the state Forestry school....which we have learned is important to all states....the UW-XXX schools are the backbone of the state and should have more investment than ever....it's how you train the next wave of state workers....without it you just get a lot baristas....

Buzzworditis.

[dgies9156]

The problem is not unique to Wisconsin. Illinois is having many of the same problems at Northern Western, Eastern and Southern. At SIU-Carbondale, it is particularly bad and the unievrsity was undergoing a massive restructuring at the time its Chancellor died.

The fundamental issue affecting all state-run regional universities is politics. In Illinois, for example, we have three state-supported universities within 70 miles of Champaign (UofI, Illinois State and Eastern Illinois). That's an awful lot of university for a sparsely populated corner of the state. In Chicago, Chicago State is kept open for no logical reason other than someone doesn't want to ride the L to UIC or the City Colleges of Chicago. Or, get in a car and drive to Governors State in the South Suburbs.

Someone mentioned UW-Superior. That university is in my late grandparents neighborhood. Frankly, it makes no sense. For years, Wisconsin and Minnesota had an Interstate Compact that allowed each others' residents to attend state universities at in-state costs. Why on earth couldn't you just close UWS and send everyone eight miles away to the University of Minnesota Duluth? Yes, you have to cross the Blatnik Bridge and go up the hill in, Godforbid, Minnesota, but I gotta believe the depth of education and the experience would be better at UMD.

Ultimately, Wisconsin and Illinois particularly have taken a very noble and important route in education. For our states to be competitive in the world economy, we need well-educated residents who understand science and the arts. Who can think on their feet. We just have to make sure that we don't overdo it. I think that's the point of Stevens Point.

[mu_hilltopper]

Here's the thing about not having history majors to teach history to future generations...'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.'.....we're already seeing this trap globally with the rise of populist nationalism and the rampant acceptance of racism & bigotry at the highest levels....

a broad thinking population is the best way to a strong a democracy...free thinking is the greatest thing man has....

I don't disagree with this, but you could octuple+++ the number of history majors and it wouldn't change the sociological/political landscape in the US one degree.

Switching the concept from history majors to folks who go to college, get some base knowledge of history, english, polysci, econ .. It's 30% nationally and college rates are trending upwards .. for people under 34 years old, it's now up to 47% have at least a 2-year degree, so it's ticking up over the decades.

But .. it leaves huge, huge chunks of America with just a high school diploma, and likely barely that.

[Cheeks]

For the record, I told my son not to major in history, even though he is also earning another major.  I, too, have trouble seeing how it parlays into much these days. Told him to get a minor in it instead.  To each their own. 

[Cheeks]

The problem is not unique to Wisconsin. Illinois is having many of the same problems at Northern Western, Eastern and Southern. At SIU-Carbondale, it is particularly bad and the unievrsity was undergoing a massive restructuring at the time its Chancellor died.

The fundamental issue affecting all state-run regional universities is politics. In Illinois, for example, we have three state-supported universities within 70 miles of Champaign (UofI, Illinois State and Eastern Illinois). That's an awful lot of university for a sparsely populated corner of the state. In Chicago, Chicago State is kept open for no logical reason other than someone doesn't want to ride the L to UIC or the City Colleges of Chicago. Or, get in a car and drive to Governors State in the South Suburbs.

Someone mentioned UW-Superior. That university is in my late grandparents neighborhood. Frankly, it makes no sense. For years, Wisconsin and Minnesota had an Interstate Compact that allowed each others' residents to attend state universities at in-state costs. Why on earth couldn't you just close UWS and send everyone eight miles away to the University of Minnesota Duluth? Yes, you have to cross the Blatnik Bridge and go up the hill in, Godforbid, Minnesota, but I gotta believe the depth of education and the experience would be better at UMD.

Ultimately, Wisconsin and Illinois particularly have taken a very noble and important route in education. For our states to be competitive in the world economy, we need well-educated residents who understand science and the arts. Who can think on their feet. We just have to make sure that we don't overdo it. I think that's the point of Stevens Point.

Yup, and in this case it is also $$$$.  Can't cut that $$$$ and those jobs that go along with it, nopey dopey.  Having all those schools so close, highly inefficient, but they aren't going anywhere anytime soon.  Keep the funding coming because Mr. and Mrs. Pol doesn't want to make the tough decisions.

[forgetful]

For the record, I told my son not to major in history, even though he is also earning another major.  I, too, have trouble seeing how it parlays into much these days. Told him to get a minor in it instead.  To each their own.

Well I can tell you personally, that I've talked with multiple Fortune 500 CEOs and a couple big hedge fund managers, that say they would rather hire a History major who finished at the top of his class than a business major.

The reason, from them, the History major knows how to think critically, and independently, and knows how to research documents to make correlations and inferences about distantly related topics.

[Not A Serious Person]

Well I can tell you personally, that I've talked with multiple Fortune 500 CEOs and a couple big hedge fund managers, that say they would rather hire a History major who finished at the top of his class than a business major.

The reason, from them, the History major knows how to think critically, and independently, and knows how to research documents to make correlations and inferences about distantly related topics.

Correct - If they have a history major from an Ivy or Chicago, Northwestern etc.

If they hire a UW-SP major, it is because they have a useful skill, like STEM or coding.

[theBabyDavid]

SP historically has not been blessed with great leadership. 

[JWags85]

Correct - If they have a history major from an Ivy or Chicago, Northwestern etc.

Exactly. When I was trying to get into financial markets in 2008-2009, I had multiple hiring managers tell me they had a list of 4-5 majors and any other resumes got summarily tossed unless they came from a specific reference. I can assure you history was not one of them, nor was English.

[forgetful]

Exactly. When I was trying to get into financial markets in 2008-2009, I had multiple hiring managers tell me they had a list of 4-5 majors and any other resumes got summarily tossed unless they came from a specific reference. I can assure you history was not one of them, nor was English.

Well, I have a student, who just last year went to work in financial markets, with a triple major in History, Music, and English (Poetry). And it wasn't from an ivy, and he has no connections to the company.

[Benny B]

Well, I have a student, who just last year went to work in financial markets, with a triple major in History, Music, and English (Poetry). And it wasn't from an ivy, and he has no connections to the company.

I think the moral of the story here is that investment bankers drink a lot of coffee and don't have time to make it themselves.

[forgetful]

I think the moral of the story here is that investment bankers drink a lot of coffee and don't have time to make it themselves.

Touche. I should have been more specific. It was a high paying job as an analyst.

[mu03eng]

Well, I have a student, who just last year went to work in financial markets, with a triple major in History, Music, and English (Poetry). And it wasn't from an ivy, and he has no connections to the company.

Willing to bet that is more to do with the quality of the student themself than the education. I'm willing to lay out a suitably large amount of money in a wager that a triple major in History, Music, and English from just anyone will not lead in a significant number of those students getting a high paying analyst gig. A triple major on a resume sticks out, regardless of what the majors are, that's enough to get a hiring managers attention especially if the GPA is high and there are extracurriculars.

[forgetful]

Willing to bet that is more to do with the quality of the student themself than the education. I'm willing to lay out a suitably large amount of money in a wager that a triple major in History, Music, and English from just anyone will not lead in a significant number of those students getting a high paying analyst gig. A triple major on a resume sticks out, regardless of what the majors are, that's enough to get a hiring managers attention especially if the GPA is high and there are extracurriculars.

Totally agree. This student is incredibly special. Any job he gets an interview at is going to be his for his entire life, and his resume will get him an interview.

That is part of my point. If you're smart, and talented, pick majors where you will excel and stand out.

If your ordinary, lazy, and just want a job, pick a major in high demand.

[JWags85]

Totally agree. This student is incredibly special. Any job he gets an interview at is going to be his for his entire life, and his resume will get him an interview.

That is part of my point. If you're smart, and talented, pick majors where you will excel and stand out.

If your ordinary, lazy, and just want a job, pick a major in high demand.

There will always be exceptions, but the point is, even exceptional, with any of those majors on their own, they likely wouldn’t have even given him an interview. The triple major is similar to any major from an Ivy, it signfies a unique candidate with a proven work ethic or level of intelligence.

I went to a top 20 undergrad business school with a great reputation in Chicago (but not Ivy), great GPA, deans list, but I was a Psych major with a finance minor. The manager told me the only reason I was in for an interview was a colleague called him on my behalf. My resume had already been pushed off his desk.  It’s a bit absurd, but that’s the nature of the market in many ways these days.

[forgetful]

There will always be exceptions, but the point is, even exceptional, with any of those majors on their own, they likely wouldn’t have even given him an interview. The triple major is similar to any major from an Ivy, it signfies a unique candidate with a proven work ethic or level of intelligence.

I went to a top 20 undergrad business school with a great reputation in Chicago (but not Ivy), great GPA, deans list, but I was a Psych major with a finance minor. The manager told me the only reason I was in for an interview was a colleague called him on my behalf. My resume had already been pushed off his desk.  It’s a bit absurd, but that’s the nature of the market in many ways these days.

Well to be fair, single majors at highly competitive schools are almost non-existent. If you are not double (the majority of students I see) or triple (increasing in number) majoring then you are at a significant competitive disadvantage.

And most top firms want to hire someone with one math or programing intensive major, and one humanities.

The combination of the two proves both technical skill, and ability to apply logic/reasoning to disparate fields.

One of the most common double majors I see is Finance (or Economics) paired with Sociology or Psych.

[mu03eng]

There will always be exceptions, but the point is, even exceptional, with any of those majors on their own, they likely wouldn’t have even given him an interview. The triple major is similar to any major from an Ivy, it signfies a unique candidate with a proven work ethic or level of intelligence.

I went to a top 20 undergrad business school with a great reputation in Chicago (but not Ivy), great GPA, deans list, but I was a Psych major with a finance minor. The manager told me the only reason I was in for an interview was a colleague called him on my behalf. My resume had already been pushed off his desk.  It’s a bit absurd, but that’s the nature of the market in many ways these days.

Bear in mind, these days the first "person" to see a resume at the larger companies is an algorithm.

[Benny B]

Bear in mind, these days the first "person" to see a resume at the larger companies is an algorithm.

Hence the rise of the cottage industry of resume and job application services.

Aside: I've never been listed as a contact on any job listing my company has posted, and yet, on a regular basis I receive a resume or two via e-blast from one such service, which on occasion has been the same person as a previous blast - same address, same job history, same education - only details (and keywords) under their job history are completely reworked every time.

Unfortunately, the blasts come from a unique domain/email every time - most often "candidate's name dot com" - so I can't flag them as spam, and there's never anything in the blasts that would identify the originating service/firm (only the site of their anonymous mailhost/server).

[theBabyDavid]

There will always be exceptions, but the point is, even exceptional, with any of those majors on their own, they likely wouldn’t have even given him an interview. The triple major is similar to any major from an Ivy, it signfies a unique candidate with a proven work ethic or level of intelligence.

I went to a top 20 undergrad business school with a great reputation in Chicago (but not Ivy), great GPA, deans list, but I was a Psych major with a finance minor. The manager told me the only reason I was in for an interview was a colleague called him on my behalf. My resume had already been pushed off his desk.  It’s a bit absurd, but that’s the nature of the market in many ways these days.

Wags,

Your point is 100% correct: getting a position in I Banking is all about the interview. You have to nail it regardless of pedigree. The key is to be able to get the interview.

The absolute easiest path for getting into I Banking is to be a THG from MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Chicago, Michigan, or Cal. Every firm and fund in the world will beg you to join, despite your mouth breathing tendencies and dreadful sartorial sense. The problem for them, however, is that you are almost certainly not motivated by money but by the sheer joy of research and you will opt for a career inside the ivory tower investigating the nuances of Shroedinger's take on quantum mechanics. While this will inevitably limit your access to incredibly high quality p#ssy you likely won't ever notice because hyper equations are more pleasurable than a sloppy blow job any day of the week.   

The second easiest path to I Banking is to be in the upper 10% of your first-year Top 10 MBA class. Being in this crew guarantees an interview and, unless during said interview one pulls a Majerus on a partner's desk, you'll get an offer for a summer internship. Then you work like a dog all summer because this is the real interview; the reward is you head back to Wharton for your second year with not only an offer and all two-year expenses paid but every hot babe at Villanova, LaSalle, and St Joe's will drop her thong for you in a heartbeat before you finally settle down with Ainsley from Bryn Mawr.     

The third easiest path is to be a prepster legacy. The fact that you followed Dads, Uncle Atherton, and most of the partners by prepping at Phillips Exeter, Horace Mann, or Trinity then matriculating from Amherst, Williams, or Bowdoin with a degree in The Classics essentially ensures you will get the nod (starting, of course, after spending the summer on The Cape.) This model is more tailored for the smaller boutique firms which is the proper place for a man of breeding, in any event.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Wags,

Your point is 100% correct: getting a position in I Banking is all about the interview. You have to nail it regardless of pedigree. The key is to be able to get the interview.

The absolute easiest path for getting into I Banking is to be a THG from MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Chicago, Michigan, or Cal. Every firm and fund in the world will beg you to join, despite your mouth breathing tendencies and dreadful sartorial sense. The problem for them, however, is that you are almost certainly not motivated by money but by the sheer joy of research and you will opt for a career inside the ivory tower investigating the nuances of Shroedinger's take on quantum mechanics. While this will inevitably limit your access to incredibly high quality p#ssy you likely won't ever notice because hyper equations are more pleasurable than a sloppy blow job any day of the week.   

The second easiest path to I Banking is to be in the upper 10% of your first-year Top 10 MBA class. Being in this crew guarantees an interview and, unless during said interview one pulls a Majerus on a partner's desk, you'll get an offer for a summer internship. Then you work like a dog all summer because this is the real interview; the reward is you head back to Wharton for your second year with not only an offer and all two-year expenses paid but every hot babe at Villanova, LaSalle, and St Joe's will drop her thong for you in a heartbeat before you finally settle down with Ainsley from Bryn Mawr.     

The third easiest path is to be a prepster legacy. The fact that you followed Dads, Uncle Atherton, and most of the partners by prepping at Phillips Exeter, Horace Mann, or Trinity then matriculating from Amherst, Williams, or Bowdoin with a degree in The Classics essentially ensures you will get the nod (starting, of course, after spending the summer on The Cape.) This model is more tailored for the smaller boutique firms which is the proper place for a man of breeding, in any event.

And then you can start a twitter account about Goldman Sachs elevator, the be outed, then write a book proving you to be an even bigger loser than previously thought.

[theBabyDavid]

And then you can start a twitter account about Goldman Sachs elevator, the be outed, then write a book proving you to be an even bigger loser than previously thought.

Here is where we disagree - not sure about his book but LeFevre posted some gems. This is pure F#CKING gold:

"Getting married is betting some chick half your net worth that you’ll love each other forever"

"No one would run a marathon if they had to sign a confidentiality agreement first"

"A market sell-off is worse than divorce. I lose half of my money, but my wife is still around"

"Wearing a Rolex is like driving an Audi. It means you have a little bit of money, but not much to say"

"Apple needs slaves to destroy the earth by mining rare earth metals for iPhones that are assembled by Chinese children. And a Tesla does 8 times the environmental harm as a gas-powered car.......But, please.. tell me more about the plastic straw in my gin & tonic"

"Black Friday is the Special Olympics of capitalism"

"Want to get to know someone on 1st date? Ask about their first pet or favorite teacher. Then, read all their emails"

“How do i short Major League Soccer now that their entire fan base is getting deported?"

"Good thing Elon Musk is African, otherwise Silicon Valley might have a diversity problem"

"Hey @PayPal, nice move canceling 400 NC jobs over transgender bathrooms. BTW, your Asia HQ is in Singapore, where gay sex = 2 years in jail"

"If women really get paid 20% less for the same work, wouldn't a shareholder conscious company just hire only women? "

"On Valentine's Day, send your girl flowers anonymously. If she doesn't mention it, dump her. Sorry, but she's cheating on you."

"If she has a cracked iPhone screen and a Michael Kors bag, don’t give her your real name”

"It’s better to have loved and lost interest"

"The Pope loves the poor and hates contraception, which is a great formula for more poor"

"Wall Street’s intern problem - hiring  rich kids in exchange for business from influential families, aka bribery"

"Chris Christie's fake tan is even grosser when you imagine him on a tanning bed"

"Millennials push $15 min wage, so McDonald's adds 2k self-serve kiosks & says with smirk: Millennials prefer a screen to human interaction"


Pure F#CKING Gold, baby!

[WarriorFan]

Question ...

To teach HS (or middle school) history, do you need a history degree or an education degree?

What I'm asking is does cutting history mean we are cutting potential history teachers? Or are future HS history teachers getting education degrees?

All of my HS history teachers were sports coaches... and they were all dumber than a box of rocks.  A couple couldn't even read the text books.  I would expect more from a history major than that...

[Litehouse]

All of my HS history teachers were sports coaches... and they were all dumber than a box of rocks.  A couple couldn't even read the text books.  I would expect more from a history major than that...

Freshman year at MU I took an American History class and the professor starts the class by saying "this is college level history, which is different than HS.  In HS, you probably had a history teacher with the first name 'Coach'".  The professor was awesome.  I can't remember his name, but he looked like Johnny Carson and didn't have a left hand.

[GGGG]

So for 48 hours I was trying to figure out what you meant by this.  And it finally hit me this morning.  He's probably the last good chancellor they had.