Least favorite Professor

IcSyU · 06-13-2008, 07:44 AM

So it's a new day, and new question: Who was your LEAST favorite professor either at ISU or some other college/university. Let the venting begin! Try to at least keep it semi-civil

I'll start with my Math 151 senior lecturer Pauline Hall. She had absolutely zero people skills, couldn't write examples without messing up and having to be corrected, and half the time just didn't have a clue what she was talking about and had to ask the class for help. When I went in to her office with the drop slip, the first words out of her mouth were, "I don't like seeing you here," in a really snobby tone.

aeroclone · 06-13-2008, 08:25 AM

I'm pretty sure some of the other engineers on the board have had the pleasure of EM 324 with Leroy Sturges. By far the worst professor I ever had. He gave the most boring lectures I ever had to sit through (quite an accomplishment for an engineering prof), and he graded like something had crawled up somewhere and died.

To top it all off, he had a fairly significant thread going on this site a while back bashing on him. For a professor to set off that much discussion on a sports message board, well, that probably puts him strongly in contention for public enemey numero uno on campus.

clonez · 06-13-2008, 08:28 AM

Roy Johnson mgmt 471, awful!

Bader · 06-13-2008, 08:28 AM

I would say Dr. Angelici, but I think I hated his class more than him (Chem 167), yes that's right, Chemistry for Engineers who don't need Chemistry.

But easily David (F)Atwood, had him for Phys 221, horrible horrible lecturer and the written problems he assigned were absurd. Plus those freakin pre-flights (quizzes you had to take before the lecture testing you over the material he was going to talk about in lecture)

throwittoblythe · 06-13-2008, 08:32 AM

I actually didn't mind Sturges. Yes, I was terrified of him and would never go to his office for help, but his class what also made me decide whether or not I really wanted to be an engineer. Failed the first test and had to really think about whether or not I want to put in the effort required to succeed in my program. I ended up getting A's on all the rest of the tests and am now getting my Master's in Geotechnical Engineering.

Back to the topic though...my worst prof was easily Ryan Martin for Calc III (Math 265?). He was a PhD student and DID NOT want to teach. He would make outlandish comments in class that I presume were to be funny like "gravity is just something physicists invented to make all their formulas work out." He refused to give us grade updates. Once, at the beginning of lecture this conversation took place:

Prof: "Good morning, are there any questions before we start?"
Student: "Yes, I am having trouble with problem #71 from the homework, could you go over it a little more?"
Prof: "No, this is not the place for questions, save that for your TA."

Needless to say, he got a great review from me...

CycloneErik · 06-13-2008, 08:33 AM

Kathy Quick, Psych 230. She spoke at a rate that more than lived up to her name. Nobody could keep up, and rarely could we tell what she was talking about.
Impressive lungs, though. I don't think she took a breath for a 95 minute lecture.

throwittoblythe · 06-13-2008, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by Bader

I would say Dr. Angelici, but I think I hated his class more than him (Chem 167), yes that's right, Chemistry for Engineers who don't need Chemistry.

But easily David (F)Atwood, had him for Phys 221, horrible horrible lecturer and the written problems he assigned were absurd. Plus those freakin pre-flights (quizzes you had to take before the lecture testing you over the material he was going to talk about in lecture)

Atwood was pretty tough, for sure. His problems, especially on exams, were just insane. I remember one of the problems from an exam vividly, but I won't go into that here.

At the final review there was Atwood and the other Prof (Russian guy). The russian guy did most of the reviewing, then Atwood took over. Someone asks "can you go over a circuits problem?" "Yes, but rather than a simple problem, let's do an infinite circuit loop." The 200 some students in the lecture proceeded to boo and walked out, no joke.

CyinCo · 06-13-2008, 08:36 AM

Leo Peters and Delmar Van Meter. Van Meter was my advisor. He was a very unhealthy person with poor hygiene. He always had on suspenders and a flannel. He looked like he just got done with the hog chores. He had these spit balls that would build on his lips when he lectured and, when they got big enough, they launched. No one sat in the front row for fear of being hit.

I went to see Van Meter in his office once, and the place was literally filled with books except for a place for him to sit. It was disgusting. He was eating cheetos when I showed up. I asked him a question and he proceeded to lick his cheese covered fingers and flip through pages of my text leaving cheetos fingerprints on each page he touched. I thought I was going to vomit. I eventually dropped his class. It was the only class I EVER dropped.

Leo Peters was a nice enough guy. Smart as heck. But he was tough. His tests were ridiculous. And his reliance on Fortran drove me crazy at a time when Fortran should have been dead in favor of C++ or even Visual Basic. He also loved MathCAD and other calculation software.

brianhos · 06-13-2008, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by Bader

I would say Dr. Angelici, but I think I hated his class more than him (Chem 167), yes that's right, Chemistry for Engineers who don't need Chemistry.

But easily David (F)Atwood, had him for Phys 221, horrible horrible lecturer and the written problems he assigned were absurd. Plus those freakin pre-flights (quizzes you had to take before the lecture testing you over the material he was going to talk about in lecture)

I actually kinda liked both of those professors. The worst one I had at ISU was Ralph Tomlinson, he taught some of the comp sci classes, and I think every single student in the class knew more than he did. I am still unclear as to how he god a job teaching when he never knew the material.

cycloneG · 06-13-2008, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by brianhos

I actually kinda liked both of those professors. The worst one I had at ISU was Ralph Tomlinson, he taught some of the comp sci classes, and I think every single student in the class knew more than he did. I am still unclear as to how he god a job teaching when he never knew the material.

He sure liked to talk about planes and flying. I learned more about that than about programming in his classes.

RyCy04 · 06-13-2008, 08:59 AM

Richard Poist for a procurement class. The guy was very knowledgeable and a very nice guy, but so dry. I don't know if I made it through an entire class without nodding off.

I also had a digital design class (back when I thought I was smart enough to be a computer engineer) with a professor who was impossible to understand when he spoke. I do not remember the guys name, but he was foreign and I could understand about every 8th word. That was about the time I decided to head over to a business major.

Bader · 06-13-2008, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by brianhos

I actually kinda liked both of those professors. The worst one I had at ISU was Ralph Tomlinson, he taught some of the comp sci classes, and I think every single student in the class knew more than he did. I am still unclear as to how he god a job teaching when he never knew the material.

Oh god the worst CS prof I've had is Jennifer Freeman, I doubt any of you older guys had to deal with her, but she is absolutely terrible

pulse · 06-13-2008, 09:19 AM

I don't remember his name, but the guy who taught my Computational Linear Algebra and Fixed Point Iteration class, i.e Math 471 or Com S 471.

travman23 · 06-13-2008, 09:24 AM

I posted mine with the Favs yesterday: http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/...tml#post505444 (Favorite Professor)

Cybone · 06-13-2008, 10:35 AM

The professor I mentioned in the Favorite Professor thread takes the cake. Her name was Duffy, cannot recall her first name. I loathed that vertically challenged succubus. For the first and last time in my life, I had to chose to compromise my values and beliefs for the sake of decent grade in a class. I should not have had to do that.