Statistics professor Shane Jensen, who joined Wharton's faculty in September after getting his doctorate from Harvard, is having a pretty easy time with the transition-- except for one thing.
"I'm a huge baseball fan, and I'm going to miss Fenway Park." Jensen said. "But overall the transition has been smooth -- baseball aside."
Jensen is one of 23 faculty members who joined Wharton this year, 13 of whom, like Jensen, are coming straight out of Ph.D. programs.
Typically, Wharton welcomes about eight to 10 new professors each year.
According to Wharton Deputy Dean David Schmittlein, the school is focusing on hiring untenured faculty and "growing them into positions of leadership." He believes that it is important to attract new faculty in order to create "the next generation of leadership for the school."
Although there are several younger professors joining Wharton this year, they are not necessarily teaching undergraduate courses.
A professor's seniority at Wharton does not determine the course that he or she teaches, according to Schmittlein. Rather, the decision for a certain faculty member to teach a course is a function of the professor's personality and "affinity with the material" said Schmittlein.
Consequently, younger professors are teaching a large range of courses -- from small MBA courses to high-enrollment introductory courses.
Jensen said that although there is an "intimidation factor" when switching from "a student sitting in a lecture" to the person teaching the class, the transition was not that difficult.
Motohiro Yogo, an assistant professor in the Finance Department, said that although teaching for the first time was difficult, his students were "patient and willing to work with him,"and he was "extremely impressed."
Many students believe that the practice of hiring a mix of younger and older professors improves the educational experience.
Wharton freshman Evan Goldman said that while he thinks "it's a little strange knowing that they just graduated and now they're teaching you," younger professors are better able to "relate to the students."
College freshman Kate Draper, who is taking Jensen's "Introduction to Statistics" class, believes that when "you're straight out of your Ph.D., you're still really enthusiastic about teaching the subject matter."
Jensen's enthusiasm seems to be paying off."I would go to office hours with him just to chat, because he's that cool," Draper said.
Wharton senior Tiffany Johnson said that younger professors seem to be "more receptive to feedback."
"In my experience it's good to have a mix of younger and older professors," Johnson said.
But downsides to having a younger professor remain.
"Because they're younger, they're not as knowledgeable about certain areas," Johnson said.
Luzerne McAllister, a senior in Wharton, said he believes that there are "pros and cons to both."
He said that a professor's inexperience can sometimes cause the class to suffer. "A new professor is on a learning curve," McAllister said.
However, he believes that younger professors bring "fresh and new ideas to the school."
Furthermore, he said that in the long run, hiring professors out of Ph.D. programs will help the school by creating a "community factor" where professors are more loyal to Wharton and become "citizens of the University."
