Professors share their knowledge with op-eds

By Doug Ancey

Alongside their work as educators, many professors at Santa Clara lead not-so-secret second lives.

This can come in the form of consulting work for corporations and non-profits or through giving speeches at conventions. More recently however, professors have been seen in newspapers around America and the world, writing op-ed articles.

"Op-ed," which comes from "opposite the editorial page" (though often mistaken for opinion-editorial), is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board. These are different from editorials, which are usually unsigned and written by editorial board members.

This past June, economics professor Helen Popper wrote an op-ed for the San Jose Mercury News on the financial crisis in Greece.

Buford Barr, a lecturer in the Leavey School of Business, wrote an op-ed article for the San Francisco Chronicle about making it in the post-college real world. The article features helpful tips from Barr on how to succeed in the real world.

"Thousands of graduating college students are entering the real world this summer with a wealth of knowledge that will help them succeed in their professional and personal lives," Barr states in his article, "As I tell my seniors on the last day of my class, what you know isn't important. It's what you do with what you know. Graduation is called commencement for a reason."

Kirk O. Hanson, Director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, also wrote an op-ed article this past June, which was featured in Business Week.

The article was titled, "Workplace Ethics: The High Cost of Compromise," and discussed the ethical dilemmas that new college graduates trying to fit in at their first jobs may be confronted with.

"I have written op-ed articles for forty years for various publications," said Hanson. "Most of the time, I create the opportunity by asking the editorial editor if they would like an op-ed on a particular topic. Occasionally, an editor will call me. The Business Week opportunities were by invitation, as was one recent column for the Washington Post."

Personal gains are not the only benefits for the professors who write these pieces. These articles also have a strong impact on Santa Clara's presence and reputation in the surrounding area, and, in the case of the Business Week article, the rest of the country.

"I think faculty and administrators contribute to Santa Clara's reputation by taking the time to write and place op-eds," said Hanson. "This demonstrates to the public that Santa Clara has scholars who can get published and who are concerned with issues that are important to the community"

Aside from op-ed articles, members of Santa Clara's faculty have lent their services to newspapers and radio forums and seem to have a vested interest in issues that are present in the surrounding community.

Recently, Meir Statman, a finance professor at Santa Clara, was quoted by the L.A. Times about the challenges of ethical investing and business practices for gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. The story also ran in Editors Guild Magazine.

"It's nice to say if you just behave ethically, you will make profits," Statman said in the article. "If that were true, life would be really easy. But...there are trade-offs. And if you are a politician, you have to account for them," he said.

Statman also contributed to an Associated Press article about gender differences in retirement planning. The article continues to garner interest, running on national news sites such as CNBC.com.

Professors have contributed to other forms of media as well.

Margaret Russell, a law professor, was a featured guest on KQED's Forum discussing President Obama's choice of current Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

The current chair of Santa Clara's English Department, Terry Beers, is the host of a show on KAZU Public Radio.

The number of professors contributing to outside publications demonstrates the caliber of educator at the school while also strengthening Santa Clara's reputation in the surrounding area.

Contact Doug Ancey at dancey@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546.