Nước Pháp vinh danh nhà vật lý thiên văn Trịnh Xuân Thuận

2 Comments

1. 1

   

   Thomas T. Nguyen

   July 18, 2012 at 11:33 pm

   Bai viet’ chi tiec rat hay. Co’ mot. dieu toi thac mac’ la` TS Thuan la` thay^` day truong dai hoc thi dung` chuc*’ vi. Giang su* dung’ hon* la Giao’ su*. Cam on* nhieu^`.

2. 2

   

   Việt Thức

   July 19, 2012 at 9:16 am

   1. En français, on utilise aussi le mot “lecteur”, qui est le grade le plus bas dans la hiérarchie des enseignants universitaires, il se situe en-dessous de chargé de cours (cf. commentaire de Wildan).
   Un lecteur est généralement un étudiant avancé qui, tout en poursuivant des études dans le pays où il est, enseigne aussi.
   On parle donc généralement de “lecteur étranger” ou “lecteur invité”.
   Ceci dit, un lecteur/une lectrice est un enseignant et donc … un professeur, mais il faut ici différencier la fonction (professeur/enseignant) du grade universitaire (professeur, professeur-adjoint, maître de conférence, chargé de cours, lecteur).

   2. Professeur des universités
   Pour les articles homonymes, voir Professeur.
   Au sein du service public d’enseignement supérieur français actuel, les Professeurs des Universités constituent l’un des deux corps d’enseignants-chercheurs régis par le décret 84-431, l’autre corps étant celui des maîtres de conférences. Les professeurs des universités ont traditionnellement l’exclusivité du titre universitaire de « Professeur ». Ce sont des fonctionnaires appartenant1 à la catégorie A définie par l’article 29 de la loi 84-16 portant dispositions statutaires relatives à la fonction publique de l’État, et sont nommés par décret du président de la République.
   L’accession à un poste de professeur des universités passe normalement, depuis 1984, soit par l’obtention de l’habilitation à diriger des recherches, l’inscription sur une liste de qualification et la candidature à un concours de recrutement par poste sur titres et travaux, soit par un concours dit « d’agrégation » (en sciences juridiques, économiques, politiques, et de gestion), la très grande majorité des professeurs des universités étant d’anciens maîtres de conférences. Au sein des enseignants-chercheurs relevant du décret 84-431, les professeurs des universités ont en effet le rang académique « supérieur », leur rémunération étant sensiblement plus élevée, sans que n’existe de supériorité hiérarchique vis-à-vis des maîtres de conférences. En termes de fonctions, les professeurs des universités ont vocation prioritaire, mais non exclusive, à assurer leur service d’enseignement sous forme de cours magistraux ainsi que la direction des unités de recherche2. Ils ont, « dans les enseignements auxquels ils participent, la responsabilité principale de la préparation des programmes, de l’orientation des étudiants, de la coordination des équipes pédagogiques »1 et « assurent la direction des travaux de recherche menés dans l’établissement, concurremment avec les autres enseignants ou chercheurs habilités à diriger ces travaux. »1. Quelques fonctions leurs sont en outre exclusivement réservées, telles que les présidences de jury de doctorat et d’habilitation à diriger des recherches, les présidences de certains conseils, comités ou commissions. Les professeurs des universités sont eux-mêmes divisés en trois grades : professeurs de deuxième classe, professeurs de première classe et professeurs de classe exceptionnelle. Hormis la rémunération, allant du simple au double, il n’existe aucune attribution réglementaire particulière à un grade donné.
   Les professeurs des universités jouissent du principe constitutionnel de « représentation propre et authentique », en particulier au sein des conseils universitaires, et l’ensemble des opérations de recrutement et de promotions des professeurs des universités relèvent exclusivement des membres du corps des professeurs des universités et des personnels assimilés3.
   Le corps unique des professeurs des universités a été créé en 1979 par fusion, d’une part, des corps de maîtres de conférences des disciplines littéraires, de sciences humaines et scientifiques, de maîtres de conférences des sciences juridiques, politiques, économiques et de gestions et de maîtres de conférences des disciplines pharmaceutiques (incluant les professeurs sans chaire) , devenant le grade de professeurs des universités de deuxième classe, et, d’autre part, des professeurs titulaires de chaires et titulaires à titre personnel, devenant les grades de professeurs des universités de première classe et de classe exceptionnelle. Les statuts des professeurs des universités, et des autres enseignants de statut universitaire, ont été ensuite profondément modifiés en 1984, en particulier au niveau des services horaires d’enseignement et des relations hiérarchiques.

   3. Instructor is a generic term for anyone who teaches college or it may be an actual rank. The most important thing to a professor’s rank is rather they are tenure track (permanent) or non-tenure track (a temporary appointment).

   Non-tenure track are usually called lecturer (full-time) or adjunct professor (part-time).

   Tenure track is
   Instructor (not all universities have this rank)
   Assistant Professor
   Associate Professor
   Professor
   Distinguished Professor (not all universities have this rank)

   Many college professors will never reach the level of Professor (most reach associate professor).
   The rank are an honor and may have no real meaning (An assistant professor of Accounting may get paid more than a Professor of English).

   4. A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a “person who professes” being usually an expert in arts or sciences, a teacher of high rank.[1] In much of the world, including most Commonwealth nations (such as the United Kingdom) and northern Europe professor is reserved only for the most senior academics at a university, typically a department chair, or an awarded chair specifically bestowed recognizing an individual at a university. A Professor is a highly accomplished and recognized academic, and the title is awarded only after decades of scholarly work. In the United States and Canada the title of professor is granted to all scholars with Doctorate degrees (typically Ph.D.s) who teach in two- and four-year colleges and universities, and is used in the titles Assistant Professor and Associate Professor, which are not considered Professor-level positions elsewhere, as well as for Full Professors.
   In countries on the northern European mainland, such as The Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, usage of professor as a legal title is limited much the same way as in most Commonwealth countries, that is, it is reserved for someone who holds a chair. In the United States, “Professor” as a proper noun generally implies a person with a Ph.D. who holds permanent position at the college or university level, regardless of rank.
   In Portugal, France, Romania and Latin America (Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking), the term professor (profesor / professor / professeur / profesor) is used for anyone teaching at a school, institute, technical school, vocational school, college, or university, regardless of the level of the subject matter taught or the level or ages of students. This includes instructors at the grade/elementary school, middle school, and high school levels. However, when the professor teaches at a university, they are specifically called a “university professor”; if holding a chair, then catedrático is used in Spanish. It is common to call university professors just “profesor” (Spanish) or “professor” (Portuguese).
   In Italy, primary school teachers are called “maestro”(m) or “maestra”(f). Teachers in secondary schools scuole secondarie are called “professore”(m) or “professoressa”(f); the same title is used for university professors.
   In Spain, the term professor (Basque, Galician and Spanish: (m) profesor, (f) profesora; Aranese and Catalan: (m) professor, (f) professora) is used for higher-level teachers at the secondary education level (high school, lyceum, institute, etc.) and above (i.e. institute, technical school, vocational school, college, or university). Instructors at the primary or elementary school level are called teachers (Aranese: (m) mèstre, (f) mèstra; Basque: (m) maisu, (f) maistra; Catalan and Galician: (m) mestre, (f) mestra; Spanish: (m) maestro, (f) maestra). When the professor teaches at a university, they are specifically called a “university professor”; if holding a chair, then chair (Aranese: catedratic; Basque: katedraduna; Catalan: catedràtic; Galician and Spanish: catedrático) is used. In Spain, it is not common to call university professors just “professor”.
   In Poland, the term profesor means professor extraordinarius and professor ordinarius at colleges and universities, and anyone who teaches at a (Polish) high school (grades 10-12).
   Beyond holding the proper academic title, universities in many countries also append famous artists, athletes and foreign dignitaries with the title honorary professor, even if these persons don’t have the academic qualifications typically necessary for professorship. However, such “professors” usually do not undertake academic work for the granting institution.

   5. I’m sure you will get several responses, which may differ from mine. Here is my two cents. I have been a lecturer, instructor, and a visiting professor, and I’m currently a tenure-track assistant professor. The reason these things have different names is because the human-resources department uses them as different catagories with regard to pay and benefits. They aren’t just semantically different.

   At community colleges, virtually everyone is called an instructor, so I am assumeing you are talking about positions at four-year or graduate colleges/universities. In this context, an instructor is usually someone hired on a semester or yearly contract, often for many years. Often they have a Ph.D.; sometimes, at some schools, they may hold an M.A.

   It is often a title given to people who have been teaching in a department for many years (they may have started back when Ph.D.’s were not held by everyone), are great teachers and valuable to the department, but lack the credentials necessary to get a tenure-track job in present times. The title might also go to a J.D. who teaches in a law school, but doesn’t have an academic background, etc. It is also a title given to teachers on contract who are A.B.D.’s, or to new Ph.D.’s who need a job while they look for a more suitable position.

   The instructor catagory usually comes with benefits but a lower salary. For example, instructors at my school might make $30,000 – $35,000 on a contract, while new Ph.D.’s are hired at $40,000 – $42,000.

   Being an instructor is usually much better than being an adjunct. In my department, adjuncts earn $2,500 – $3,000 per class, while an instructor with a three-course teaching load gets $35,000. However, while instructors certainly have a shot at the tenure track, the title is usually reserved for people who teach courses with high enrollments. Departments that have not been granted new lines for the foreseeable future, will often use longterm contract employees.

   A visiting assistant professor is different. A major search is usually conducted for a visiting assistant professor; it’s not simply a matter of making a phone call to local universities to see if any recent grads need a job. A visiting assistant professor is someone a department might hire to be a tenure-track professor if only the department was in the market for one. Such people are usually brought in to teach when another professor is on sabbatical or has left and a new person has not yet been hired. The visiting assistant professor is hired to fill in.

   In my opinion, a visiting position is much better than an instructor position, and not just because it pays more. Another reason is that it’s more likely to lead to a tenure-track job. When you apply for tenure-track jobs from a visiting position, you already have a seal of approval in a way. A complete search has been done and you have been judged by some committee, at some school, as worthy. This makes the prospective colleague feel a bit more secure about your abilities. Second, many people, myself included, have gotten tenure-track job positions out of visiting-assistant-professor positions. A visiting position really can turn permanent; your job might become permanent, for example, if the person who is on sabbatical doesn’t come back or if the institution likes the job you do while you’re filling in during a job search.

   The job of a visiting assistant professor also seems a lot nicer: You might be asked to teach upper-level or graduate seminars in your specialty (an option not usually open to instructors and adjuncts), since the department sees an opportunity for students to get fresh courses in something not usually offered. Also, departments are usually not interested in the research, publications, etc. of an Instructor or adjunct — they might think nice, but who cares — while as a visiting prof you might be asked to give talks and participate in all kinds of seminars and events that most Instructors are not invited to.

   When I first went on the market, my own committee and major professors advised me to go for the visiting-assistant-professor position; they had all had similar positions for a year or two before getting their jobs at Research I schools like mine. They told me the visiting position had better pay and more prestige. In my experience this turned out to be true.