CSULB professor's records under scrutiny

It is quite imperative that the University be far more careful in vetting those it hires for professorships, or any other teaching position. All claims should be carefully scrutinized and verified. Look at the numerous institutions of higher learning, other colleges and universities around the country, which are having their reputations besmirched due to tenured professors who are not who they claim to be, as seems to be the case with Berlin. Cetainly, he is entitled to due process, but if found guilty should be dismissed quickly. The same is true for the other two whose names are not mentioned, or anyone else who is lying about their education, professional experience, plaguarizes in their publications, or fails in the ethical standards of their other qualifications. After all, the professor may be hurt by being fired, but the University and it's students are the ones who truly suffer. How many students have taken classes from Professor Berlin, and now have their own credentials questioned? This cannot be allowed to happen, or to continue if it has already occurred.

Sounds more like Tappa Kegga Bud than Phi Beta Kappa...

Who the Hell cares? My only question, the only "IMPORTANT QUESTION" is CAN HE TEACH???

InMate1 wrote:

Who the Hell cares? My only question, the only "IMPORTANT QUESTION" is CAN HE TEACH???

You've got to be kidding with this "important question" of yours! You obviously have no education - which is easily ascertained by the poor writing in your simple, two sentence post, and the fact that you don't think it matters that this professor very possibly lied about his background. It doesn't matter if he "can teach," what matters is his lack of integrity and character in taking liberties with his credentials. You obviously have no idea how competitive teaching jobs at the college level are and why there are certain hiring criteria involved - which include certain minimum levels of education legitimately achieved by the applicants.

LBJJ wrote:

Sounds more like Tappa Kegga Bud than Phi Beta Kappa...

And if you'd actually passed basic reading comprehension back in grade school, you'd have seen that the story mentioned nothing about Phi Beta Kappa - rather it was a Phi DELTA Kappa graduate program that his so-called professor seems to have lied about.

Bruin Girl wrote:

<quoted text>
You've got to be kidding with this "important question" of yours! You obviously have no education - which is easily ascertained by the poor writing in your simple, two sentence post, and the fact that you don't think it matters that this professor very possibly lied about his background. It doesn't matter if he "can teach," what matters is his lack of integrity and character in taking liberties with his credentials. You obviously have no idea how
competitive teaching jobs at the college level are and why there are certain hiring criteria involved - which include certain minimum levels of education legitimately achieved by the applicants.

Agreed, it does not matter if the man can teach or not. The fact remains that students pay an enormous amount of money to attend these institutions of higher learing, and if a professor is not who he says he is, well, then that brings the student's qualifications into question. If I were one of his students, present or past, I would be highly upset and calling for the man's head.

Radrobinlb wrote:

<quoted text>
Agreed, it does not matter if the man can teach or not....

It does matter (but not as the point of the story) if the man can teach or not. By the time they become professors, these people have usually had plenty of practice teaching (most likely as teaching assistants during their graduate-level studies). However, the point of the article and the reason that this is a grave issue is that the professor very possibly lied about his background. I guess the issue of integrity is lost on InMate1. And its not just an integrity issue, it is a credibility issue, as Radrobinlb points out, not only for the college but for the students as well. Imagine, InMate1, if you had $30,000 in student loan debt for an undergraduate education - you'd be quite angry that the qualifications of your professor (and consequently your own) were being called into question due to his lack of integrity and the school's lack of a background check on the teaching staff!

CSULB is so liberal they'll probably let it slide and make him instantly tenured out of fear for getting sued for hurting his feelings.

Bruin Girl wrote:

<quoted text>
It does matter (but not as the point of the story) if the man can teach or not. By the time they become professors, these people have usually had plenty of practice teaching (most likely as teaching assistants during their graduate-level studies). However, the point of the article and the reason that this is a grave issue is that the professor very possibly lied about his background. I guess the issue of integrity is lost on InMate1. And its not just an integrity issue, it is a credibility issue, as Radrobinlb points out, not only for the college but for the students as well. Imagine, InMate1, if you had $30,000 in student loan debt for an undergraduate education - you'd be quite angry that the qualifications of your professor (and consequently your own) were being called into question due to his lack of integrity and the school's lack of a background check on the teaching staff!

In your zeal to defend teaching credentials hoity-toity Ms. Bruin Girl, you have neglected to note the charge of misrepresentation is ALLEGED and that Associate Professor Michael I. Berlin is entitled to Due Process under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Very unscholarly of you indeed! Oh yeah, almost forgot you are from UCLA. Seems your negligence has put your integrity and credibility into question.

So... what happens to the Film Students who have been taking classes from, or who are scheduled to take classes from Professor Berlin?

hoi polli wrote:

<quoted text>
In your zeal to defend teaching credentials hoity-toity Ms. Bruin Girl, you have neglected to note the charge of misrepresentation is ALLEGED and that Associate Professor Michael I. Berlin is entitled to Due Process under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Very unscholarly of you indeed! Oh yeah, almost forgot you are from UCLA. Seems your negligence has put your integrity and credibility into question.

Apparently you lack the ability to comprehend what you read, hoi polli, and your obvious rancor at not getting into UCLA is showing. Had to settle for CSULB, did you? Nowhere in any of my posts did I say that the professor ABSOLUTELY lied; what I said was "the professor VERY POSSIBLY lied" about his background, credentials, etc.- there is nuance (and qualifier language) there that apparently you don't understand. The point that the professor very possibly lied was made by the reporter in the story - NOT BY ME. One must also question the professor's actions of removing from his website the credentials that were called into question - those are not necessarily the actions of an innocent man. Apparently the fact that this is a reader comments section is completely lost on you as well. This is obviously not a court of law, and what we are rendering here are OPINIONS, not conclusions of fact or law.

Very amusing. In the same edition of the PT is an article on the tuition going up 10% next year at CSULB and all other UC schools. So charge the students more to be matriculated by lying uneducated jerks.

Bruin Girl wrote:

<quoted text>
And if you'd actually passed basic reading comprehension back in grade school, you'd have seen that the story mentioned nothing about Phi Beta Kappa - rather it was a Phi DELTA Kappa graduate program that his so-called professor seems to have lied about.

It's all Greek to me.

...and your grade school spelling skill reveals only one typographical error.

Spielberg dropped out of Long Beach State and he turned out okay

Bruin Girl wrote:

<quoted text>
Nowhere in any of my posts did I say that the professor ABSOLUTELY lied; what I said was "the professor VERY POSSIBLY lied" about his background, credentials, etc.- there is nuance (and qualifier language) there that apparently you don't understand. The point that the professor very possibly lied was made by the reporter in the story - NOT BY ME.

Libelous statement nonetheless.

USC Rules!

As a former student of Dr. Berlin, I am deeply disturbed by these slanderous allegations. Of all of the faculty in the FEA department, he is the last person that should be under scrutiny. It's not even taken into consideration who the professor was that wrote the essay that spurred this "investigation". Whoever wrote this article needs to use a better website to reference other than IMDB, which every working professional in hollywood knows is a JOKE because because anybody pays for a $12.95 month subscription can edit information to their liking without any proof. If the author wanted to do a verifiable and legit search of credits, they would have used Studio Systems or something of that nature which has much more credence than IMDB. That aside, Dr. Berlin is the best teacher that the FEA department has. The fact that his morals, professional credibilty and character are ebing called into question is a very sad statement for the FEA department, which is littered with so called "professionals" that don't even bother to show up to 95% of the classes that they are scheduled to teach because they have tenure and can do whatever they want (such as cancel class because it was raining outside and they "don't want to be a statistic"). Dr. Berlin is the only faculty member that has legitimate interest in his students, their success and overall well-being. He got to know each of us individually, which is more than I can say for any of the other professors. This is defamation of character, I have faith the truth will prevail and Dr. Berlin will be able to continue to do what he loves.

The guy is a joke.

The cardinal rule in the academic world is "intellectual integrity."

He may have changed his on-line vita and CSULB profile in May, but the truth remains captured in the fine mesh of the Library of Congress and its "Way Back Machine." The previous bragadocio is available for all to read.

Guilty as charged.

The REAL question is....Who Are the Other Two??? Will they come forward or continue to quake in their shoes?

Time will tell.