A Natural History of the University (and a Natural History of Environmental Scientists in Particular)

[Victoria "Stokastika"]

This is becoming a rather large ordeal.
Some documents include:

1. Principles for Identifying Field Biologists.
2. Principles for Identifying Geologists (Earth Scientists).
3. Principles for Identifying Other University Scholarly Organisms
(e.g. Bureaucrats, suit-and-tie living dead, Potential Wealthy Donors,
Communication Majors, the blondy bubble-gum girls, etcetera).
(Attempting to stereotype Subcultures).
4. Principles of Identifying Environmental Scientists--will end up
being an Elaborate CampusToons Map.
5. Principles of Identifying Environmental Stakeholders (e.g. salt
marsh, marine-protected areas).

This area of Question Reality Googlegroup is to note down Key
Observations of Natural History of the University in general.

[Victoria "Stokastika"]

The Tragedy of the Modern University is that Scholars are Too Married
to the Literature and Too Married to Convention
Rather than being Married to their Own Minds and their Own Intuition.

[Victoria "Stokastika"]

Principle of Incumbency / Conservativism and Risk-Taking in Academia
(and Business/Government in general):

The most conservative professors are those who are middle-of-the-road
and stuck the the bureaucracy surrounding them.
The scholars that are most gutsy, OPEN-MINDED and risk-taking are
those who are (1) JUST STARTING (e.g. Dr. Janet Walker is really cool,
open-minded environmental engineer at UC Riverside) (2) ABOUT TO
RETIRE and (e.g. I had several interesting conversations with Dr.
Eugene Anderson, who was a very intriguing anthropologist, full of
stories and advice, I felt he was speaking more liberally since that
year he was about to retire; he knew my dad as a student as well) (3)
MINIMALLY ATTACHED TO THE UNIVERSITY (Dr. Milton Love is the most
humorous fisheries biologist ever. He is a soft-money researcher and
is not "tied" to the university as conventional professors are).

Then these people OPEN THEIR MOUTHES. Flaming mouthes, I love them. I
love them SO much. Because they speak the Truth that always seems to
be shoved under the carpets all the time.

Then there are two or three general types of graduate students: (1)
graduate students who are first-generation scientists in their
families and are not familiar with Academic Courtmanship; they remain
largely loyal to their advisors and bite their lips, some of them
become largely disgruntled and apathetic about their overspecialized
research and over time they are pervaded with a deadness in their
voice (2) graduate students who are part of a lineage of scientists
who are more gutsy and know how to strategically maneuver themselves
around campus in ways that most graduate students don't dare attempt.
They are termed as Faculty Brats, and (3) graduate students who are
brilliant and gutsy in their own right, and though they are first-
generation scientists in their family, they are outright extroverted
and sociable and experimental. Socially intuitive and aggressive.
Victoria loves these graduate students the most. Examples include
Aaron Rice and Karl Thompson. Vic's cousin Mike Dillin would probably
be the same if he channeled his mind and energy through the
university, which she understands is a tough cookie to bite through.
Look at me, I have suffered long enough!