以下是為大家整理的關(guān)于《china daily 雙語新聞：教授說我為什么放棄學(xué)術(shù)》的文章，供大家學(xué)習(xí)參考！
Terran Lane教授，普渡大學(xué)博士、麻省理工學(xué)院（MIT）人工智能實驗室博士后，2002年起就職于新墨西哥大學(xué)，2008年升任該校終身副教授，2012年辭職轉(zhuǎn)投谷歌公司。作者辭去新墨西哥大學(xué)的職務(wù)，但是新墨西哥大學(xué)的網(wǎng)站還保留著這篇文章。Terran Lane教授在離職前寫了一篇文章《我離開學(xué)術(shù)界走向Google的原因》，使他震驚歐美學(xué)界。
As almost everybody knows at this point, I have resigned my position at the University of New Mexico. Effective this July, I am working for Google, in their Cambridge (MA) offices.
現(xiàn)在差不多每個人都知道我已經(jīng)辭去新墨西哥大學(xué)（以下簡稱新墨大）的職位了。從七月開始，我將轉(zhuǎn)投谷歌，前往位于麻省劍橋市的分部工作。
Countless people, from my friends to my (former) dean have asked “Why? Why give up an excellent [some say 'cushy'] tenured faculty position for the grind of corporate life?”
無數(shù)人，從我的朋友到我的（前）學(xué)院主任都問過我，“為什么？為什么要放棄這么完美（有人甚至用了‘清閑’這個詞）的終身教授職位，去摻和到那些繁瑣的商業(yè)生活中去？”
Honestly, the reasons are myriad and complex, and some of them are purely personal. But I wanted to lay out some of them that speak to larger trends at UNM, in New Mexico, in academia, and in the US in general. I haven’t made this move lightly, and I think it’s an important cautionary note to make: the factors that have made academia less appealing to me recently will also impact other professors. I’m concerned that the US — one of the innovation powerhouses of the world — will hurt its own future considerably if we continue to make educational professions unappealing.
說實在的，這其中的原因相當(dāng)錯綜復(fù)雜，有的也確實只是出于私人的考慮。但其中也有另外一些，跟新墨大、跟整個新墨西哥州、整個學(xué)術(shù)界甚至是整個美國的風(fēng)氣有關(guān)——關(guān)于這幾條，我還是不吐不快。辭職這個舉動并非一時沖動的后果，而我也想借本文警示各位：以下這些令我對學(xué)術(shù)界倍感失望的因素，其實同樣也在影響著全美其它的教授們。我所擔(dān)憂的是，如果我們繼續(xù)無視教職崗位的吸引力消退的話，美國，這個全世界最富創(chuàng)新力的源泉，終將面對令人堪憂的未來。
1. Opportunity to Make a Difference
1、改變世界的機會
Ultimately, I got into science in order to make a positive difference on the world. That goal remains, but, for some of the reasons I outline below, it is becoming harder over time. Google is a strong example of an organization that actually is using advanced computer science to make a real, positive difference in the world. While it’s also difficult to make an impact at an immense company like Google, in the current climate it seems like better chances than in academia.
本來，我投身科學(xué)的最終目標(biāo)，是希望能為世界做出一點積極的貢獻。這一目標(biāo)并未動搖；但是，由于以下原因中的幾條，實現(xiàn)它已經(jīng)變得越來越難。谷歌作為一個商業(yè)組織，確實是一個利用尖端計算機科技切實地推動世界進步的榜樣。盡管在谷歌這樣的商業(yè)巨擘里想要有所建樹也并非易事，但在當(dāng)前的學(xué)術(shù)風(fēng)氣下，做出點東西的可能性依舊比留在學(xué)術(shù)界高得多。
2. Workload and Family/Life Balance
2、工作負擔(dān)與家庭、生活的平衡
Immense amounts have been written about this, and I won’t try to reprise them here. Suffice it to say that the professorial life can be grueling, if you try to do the job well, and being post-tenure can actually make it worse. This is a widespread problem in academia, and UNM is no different. But, as of my departure, UNM had still not approved a unified parental or family leave policy for faculty, let alone established consistent policies and support for work/life balance.
這一點早就已經(jīng)是老生常談了，我也沒必要再贅述什么。我只想說，當(dāng)教授本身就足以讓人心力交瘁了——如果你想要把活干好的話——而拿到終身制后依然要面對的種種情形則更是雪上加霜。這個問題在學(xué)術(shù)界非常普遍，而新墨大的情況也不會好到哪去。即使是到我辭職離開的時候，學(xué)校也依然還沒有通過任何一項統(tǒng)一的請假制度，為教職員工因父母職責(zé)或是其它家事請假提供相應(yīng)的便利；更別提如何建立長期穩(wěn)定的機制和補助方案，幫助教職工們平衡他們的工作和生活了。
3. Centralization of Authority and Decrease of Autonomy
3、權(quán)威集中，獨立消退
In my time at UNM, I served under four university presidents, three provosts, and two deans. The consistent pattern of management changes was centralization of control, centralization of resources, and increase of pressure on departments and faculty. This gradually, but quite noticeably, produced implicit and explicit attacks on faculty autonomy, decrease of support for faculty, and increase of uncertainty. In turn, I (and many others) feel that these attacks subvert both teaching and research missions of the university.
我任教新墨大的這些年里，頭頂上換過四任校長、三任教務(wù)長，還有兩任學(xué)院主任。管理層頻繁更迭中的主旋律，始終是權(quán)力、資源的進一步集中化，給院系和教職工帶來了日漸增長的壓力。這一緩慢卻顯而易見的過程，帶來的是對學(xué)術(shù)獨立性或明或暗的傷害，是對教職工關(guān)懷的流失，也是工作不確定性的蔓延。另一方面，我（還有很多同事）也感覺，這些攻擊破壞了大學(xué)本身所承擔(dān)的教學(xué)與科研使命。
4. Funding Climate
4、資金環(huán)境
A near-decade of two simultaneous foreign wars, topped off by the most brutal recession in two generations, has left federal and state budgets reeling. Compounding this, the current Republican-led poisonous political climate and Republican-orchestrated congressional melt-down has destroyed any chance of coherent, reasoned budget planning. In the face of these pressures, we have seen at least seven years of flat or declining funding for federal science programs and state legislatures slashing educational funding across the country. Together, these forces are crunching universities, which ultimately turns into additional pressure on faculty. Faculty are being pushed ever harder to achieve higher levels of federal research funding precisely at the time when that funding is ever harder to come by. This turns into policies that hurt the university by putting the teaching mission at odds with the research mission and subjugating both to the quest for the elusive dollar. A recent UNM School of Engineering policy, for example, uses teaching load as a punishment to goad professors into chasing funding. (Indeed, the policy measures research productivity only as a function of dollars brought in. Strangely, research productivity doesn’t enter the picture, let alone creativity.)
兩場同時進行的對外戰(zhàn)爭打了將近十年之后，美國又遭遇了兩代人以內(nèi)最嚴重的經(jīng)濟蕭條——如今無論是聯(lián)邦還是州內(nèi)的財政預(yù)算都已經(jīng)大幅萎縮。更糟糕的是，共和黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的惡劣政治氛圍以及他們刻意造成的國會混亂徹底斷絕了任何長期、合理的預(yù)算規(guī)劃的可能性。在這樣的壓力下，我們已經(jīng)目睹了聯(lián)邦科學(xué)項目資金連續(xù)至少七年的止步不前，以及全國各州立法機構(gòu)對教育經(jīng)費的無情削減。這些力量集合在一起，一點一點地啃食著大學(xué)的生存空間，迫使校方不得不向教職工們轉(zhuǎn)嫁壓力。于是，在經(jīng)費越來越稀缺的時候，教授們卻在被學(xué)校越發(fā)賣力地驅(qū)使著，向聯(lián)邦政府爭取更多的科研經(jīng)費。最終導(dǎo)致的結(jié)果，是一套于大學(xué)非常有害的政策——它們不僅造成了教學(xué)與科研的對立，還使得兩者都屈從于根本不切實際的資金追求。例如，新墨大工學(xué)院最新頒布的一個制度，就以教學(xué)負擔(dān)為懲罰，誘使教授們更多地去追尋科研資金（事實上，該制度只以教授們引來的科研資金作為其學(xué)術(shù)能力的度量。而匪夷所思的是，這跟學(xué)術(shù)能力壓根毫無關(guān)系，更別提創(chuàng)新能力了）。
Terran Lane教授，普渡大學(xué)博士、麻省理工學(xué)院（MIT）人工智能實驗室博士后，2002年起就職于新墨西哥大學(xué)，2008年升任該校終身副教授，2012年辭職轉(zhuǎn)投谷歌公司。作者辭去新墨西哥大學(xué)的職務(wù)，但是新墨西哥大學(xué)的網(wǎng)站還保留著這篇文章。Terran Lane教授在離職前寫了一篇文章《我離開學(xué)術(shù)界走向Google的原因》，使他震驚歐美學(xué)界。
As almost everybody knows at this point, I have resigned my position at the University of New Mexico. Effective this July, I am working for Google, in their Cambridge (MA) offices.
現(xiàn)在差不多每個人都知道我已經(jīng)辭去新墨西哥大學(xué)（以下簡稱新墨大）的職位了。從七月開始，我將轉(zhuǎn)投谷歌，前往位于麻省劍橋市的分部工作。
Countless people, from my friends to my (former) dean have asked “Why? Why give up an excellent [some say 'cushy'] tenured faculty position for the grind of corporate life?”
無數(shù)人，從我的朋友到我的（前）學(xué)院主任都問過我，“為什么？為什么要放棄這么完美（有人甚至用了‘清閑’這個詞）的終身教授職位，去摻和到那些繁瑣的商業(yè)生活中去？”
Honestly, the reasons are myriad and complex, and some of them are purely personal. But I wanted to lay out some of them that speak to larger trends at UNM, in New Mexico, in academia, and in the US in general. I haven’t made this move lightly, and I think it’s an important cautionary note to make: the factors that have made academia less appealing to me recently will also impact other professors. I’m concerned that the US — one of the innovation powerhouses of the world — will hurt its own future considerably if we continue to make educational professions unappealing.
說實在的，這其中的原因相當(dāng)錯綜復(fù)雜，有的也確實只是出于私人的考慮。但其中也有另外一些，跟新墨大、跟整個新墨西哥州、整個學(xué)術(shù)界甚至是整個美國的風(fēng)氣有關(guān)——關(guān)于這幾條，我還是不吐不快。辭職這個舉動并非一時沖動的后果，而我也想借本文警示各位：以下這些令我對學(xué)術(shù)界倍感失望的因素，其實同樣也在影響著全美其它的教授們。我所擔(dān)憂的是，如果我們繼續(xù)無視教職崗位的吸引力消退的話，美國，這個全世界最富創(chuàng)新力的源泉，終將面對令人堪憂的未來。
1. Opportunity to Make a Difference
1、改變世界的機會
Ultimately, I got into science in order to make a positive difference on the world. That goal remains, but, for some of the reasons I outline below, it is becoming harder over time. Google is a strong example of an organization that actually is using advanced computer science to make a real, positive difference in the world. While it’s also difficult to make an impact at an immense company like Google, in the current climate it seems like better chances than in academia.
本來，我投身科學(xué)的最終目標(biāo)，是希望能為世界做出一點積極的貢獻。這一目標(biāo)并未動搖；但是，由于以下原因中的幾條，實現(xiàn)它已經(jīng)變得越來越難。谷歌作為一個商業(yè)組織，確實是一個利用尖端計算機科技切實地推動世界進步的榜樣。盡管在谷歌這樣的商業(yè)巨擘里想要有所建樹也并非易事，但在當(dāng)前的學(xué)術(shù)風(fēng)氣下，做出點東西的可能性依舊比留在學(xué)術(shù)界高得多。
2. Workload and Family/Life Balance
2、工作負擔(dān)與家庭、生活的平衡
Immense amounts have been written about this, and I won’t try to reprise them here. Suffice it to say that the professorial life can be grueling, if you try to do the job well, and being post-tenure can actually make it worse. This is a widespread problem in academia, and UNM is no different. But, as of my departure, UNM had still not approved a unified parental or family leave policy for faculty, let alone established consistent policies and support for work/life balance.
這一點早就已經(jīng)是老生常談了，我也沒必要再贅述什么。我只想說，當(dāng)教授本身就足以讓人心力交瘁了——如果你想要把活干好的話——而拿到終身制后依然要面對的種種情形則更是雪上加霜。這個問題在學(xué)術(shù)界非常普遍，而新墨大的情況也不會好到哪去。即使是到我辭職離開的時候，學(xué)校也依然還沒有通過任何一項統(tǒng)一的請假制度，為教職員工因父母職責(zé)或是其它家事請假提供相應(yīng)的便利；更別提如何建立長期穩(wěn)定的機制和補助方案，幫助教職工們平衡他們的工作和生活了。
3. Centralization of Authority and Decrease of Autonomy
3、權(quán)威集中，獨立消退
In my time at UNM, I served under four university presidents, three provosts, and two deans. The consistent pattern of management changes was centralization of control, centralization of resources, and increase of pressure on departments and faculty. This gradually, but quite noticeably, produced implicit and explicit attacks on faculty autonomy, decrease of support for faculty, and increase of uncertainty. In turn, I (and many others) feel that these attacks subvert both teaching and research missions of the university.
我任教新墨大的這些年里，頭頂上換過四任校長、三任教務(wù)長，還有兩任學(xué)院主任。管理層頻繁更迭中的主旋律，始終是權(quán)力、資源的進一步集中化，給院系和教職工帶來了日漸增長的壓力。這一緩慢卻顯而易見的過程，帶來的是對學(xué)術(shù)獨立性或明或暗的傷害，是對教職工關(guān)懷的流失，也是工作不確定性的蔓延。另一方面，我（還有很多同事）也感覺，這些攻擊破壞了大學(xué)本身所承擔(dān)的教學(xué)與科研使命。
4. Funding Climate
4、資金環(huán)境
A near-decade of two simultaneous foreign wars, topped off by the most brutal recession in two generations, has left federal and state budgets reeling. Compounding this, the current Republican-led poisonous political climate and Republican-orchestrated congressional melt-down has destroyed any chance of coherent, reasoned budget planning. In the face of these pressures, we have seen at least seven years of flat or declining funding for federal science programs and state legislatures slashing educational funding across the country. Together, these forces are crunching universities, which ultimately turns into additional pressure on faculty. Faculty are being pushed ever harder to achieve higher levels of federal research funding precisely at the time when that funding is ever harder to come by. This turns into policies that hurt the university by putting the teaching mission at odds with the research mission and subjugating both to the quest for the elusive dollar. A recent UNM School of Engineering policy, for example, uses teaching load as a punishment to goad professors into chasing funding. (Indeed, the policy measures research productivity only as a function of dollars brought in. Strangely, research productivity doesn’t enter the picture, let alone creativity.)
兩場同時進行的對外戰(zhàn)爭打了將近十年之后，美國又遭遇了兩代人以內(nèi)最嚴重的經(jīng)濟蕭條——如今無論是聯(lián)邦還是州內(nèi)的財政預(yù)算都已經(jīng)大幅萎縮。更糟糕的是，共和黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的惡劣政治氛圍以及他們刻意造成的國會混亂徹底斷絕了任何長期、合理的預(yù)算規(guī)劃的可能性。在這樣的壓力下，我們已經(jīng)目睹了聯(lián)邦科學(xué)項目資金連續(xù)至少七年的止步不前，以及全國各州立法機構(gòu)對教育經(jīng)費的無情削減。這些力量集合在一起，一點一點地啃食著大學(xué)的生存空間，迫使校方不得不向教職工們轉(zhuǎn)嫁壓力。于是，在經(jīng)費越來越稀缺的時候，教授們卻在被學(xué)校越發(fā)賣力地驅(qū)使著，向聯(lián)邦政府爭取更多的科研經(jīng)費。最終導(dǎo)致的結(jié)果，是一套于大學(xué)非常有害的政策——它們不僅造成了教學(xué)與科研的對立，還使得兩者都屈從于根本不切實際的資金追求。例如，新墨大工學(xué)院最新頒布的一個制度，就以教學(xué)負擔(dān)為懲罰，誘使教授們更多地去追尋科研資金（事實上，該制度只以教授們引來的科研資金作為其學(xué)術(shù)能力的度量。而匪夷所思的是，這跟學(xué)術(shù)能力壓根毫無關(guān)系，更別提創(chuàng)新能力了）。