University of Wisconsin

Dear Ambassadors and Respected Representatives of UW-Madison and Education – A Year in Review

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Over a year ago I wrote an open letter to several faculty members of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In the letter I voiced my concerns over the broken admissions process and broken academic protocols within the school and within other universities. I also discussed the importance of building a network and more importantly, maintaining the health of that network.

Well, this past weekend I attended my younger brother’s graduation at UW-Madison and I couldn’t help but think about how broken the system still is.

This is another open letter to the faculty members of UW-Madison.

(Before reading this letter, please note that I will be making this letter publicly available on my blog. Also, kindly take note of the recipients).
To: Chancellor Carolyn Martin – chancellor@news.wisc.edu
To: Provost Paul M. DeLuca, Jr. – provost@provost.wisc.edu
To: Director of Admissions, Steve Amundson – samundson@uwmad.wisc.edu
To: Dean of Students, Lori Berquam – lberquam@odos.wisc.edu
To: Vice Chancellor for Administration, Darrell Bazzell – dbazzell@vc.wisc.edu
To: Vice Chancellor for University Relations, Vince Sweeney – vsweeney@bascom.wisc.edu
CC: Executive Director, Youth Speaks – james@youthspeaks.org

5/20/2010
Dear Ambassadors and Respected Representatives of UW-Madison and Education,

It’s been over a year since my first letter to some of you regarding my concerns over the current admissions process, concerns over the current state of affairs within various academic departments, and concerns with the overall reverence (or lack there of) for the alumni network. This past weekend, I sat in the Kohl center watching my brother and his peers graduate in the same exact 2:30 pm “Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the School of Business and College of Engineering” ceremony I did two years ago. In attendance from my family was, in addition to myself, my parents, grandparents and sister. Simply being back in Madison and sitting in the Kohl center brought back all of the feelings I had when I was attending school. A sense of pride, distinction, loyalty, success, and belonging. All of these feelings came back full circle, and then I watched James Kass’s charge to the graduates and his words hit me like a ton of bricks.

In his closing remarks, he said:

“So I’m going to ask you to do something starting next week after you revel in this weekend celebrating all that you’ve done and all that you are. And when you wake up next week, always and forever celebrating all that you are and all that you’ve done, I want you to ask yourself if you’re satisfied. And I don’t care where you come down on the political spectrum, even if you passionately disagree with everything I believe in. I just want to know if you’re satisfied, and if you’re not, what it is you’re going to do about it, because the system has been designed perfectly to achieve the results it achieves.”

Almost a week later, I’m still asking this question, “am I satisfied?” And the answer is most certainly and emphatically “NO.”

I’m not satisfied because over a year ago I wrote some of you a letter voicing my concerns for your methods and system. How the university showed either a lack of interest, lack of means, or incompetency when evaluating and rejecting a potential UW candidate, my younger sister (and probably others). A person that would have most certainly strengthened the UW network and its legacies, which was a theme that was addressed in one of the speeches during the commencement ceremony (so much so that the alumni present in the ceremony were asked to stand among the crowd, I among those). Well, a year later I can report that my sister, a could-have been future UW-Alumni, has just finished her first year at Penn State with a 3.8 GPA making dean’s list both semesters. In addition, she was 1 of about 30 freshmen selected among an application pool of about 250 for the nursing program. Although I’m proud of my sister, I’m disappointed with UW because she could have been an asset and member of the badger network in years to come. Perhaps if the system hadn’t been “designed perfectly to achieve the results it achieves” she would have been accepted to UW and could have been sitting next to me in the Kohl center as a badger, your peer and ambassador, and not as an outsider. So I ask, what have you changed since last year? What steps have you taken to improve?

I’m not satisfied because over a year ago I voiced my concerns about a University that is trying “to compete in a rapidly changing world using obsolete methods and practices.” As this world becomes more complex, it will be less relevant for a student to earn a 4 year degree and some are already beginning to question its purpose. In addition, as technology becomes more advanced, it will become even easier to obtain the same level of education for a fraction of the cost. And with a fragile economy, unpredictable global markets, and diminishing job openings, what does the University do? It raises tuition for students and claims that it will benefit everyone. I ask how? How could this possibly benefit everyone or anyone? By increasing tuition for students and families, who are already struggling under current circumstances, we are supporting a system that was designed for a 9-5 industrial revolution. How can the University (or all universities for that matter) possibly expect to maintain its clout among other academic institutions when the best students either can’t afford tuition or aren’t accepted in the first place? Furthermore, why do you use broken metrics to evaluate these candidates? Metrics that look at grades from standardized tests (tests that might not be conducive to some of the brightest and most creative minds), metrics that look at grades from high school systems that were also designed for the 19th century, or worst off, metrics that do matter but are greatly overlooked – like leadership, entrepreneurship. Every aspect of our world is changing, some quicker than others, and if the academic institutions can’t adapt at least at a “satisfactory” speed, then “satisfaction” will be the least of our concerns because at that moment, we will be concerned most with survival as a society and as individuals.

At the end of the day, I respectfully ask that you take the same advice that was delivered to your students at their commencement ceremony. Like James, I’m here “to tell you that I’m not satisfied, but that I am one of many trying to do my work, knowing that it’s in your hands now and hoping that you’re willing to do yours.”

Please don’t be complacent. Please don’t raise tuition because it’s the only way. Please don’t reject exceptional students because they don’t fit your admissions template. Please don’t support a broken system.

But most of all, please challenge the status quo among other academic institutions because tomorrow is very different from today, and if you do this, you will secure a bright future for our university, its legacy, and indirectly, our society.

My Very Best Regards,

Dan Reich

Class of 2008′

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Dear Ambassadors and Respected Representatives of UW-Madison and Education

In the back of my mind I’m always thinking about education and change. Below is an open letter written to some faculty members of my alma-mater about the importance in recognizing that change.

(Before reading this letter, please note that I will be making this letter publicly available on my blog. Also, kindly take note of the recipients.)
To: Chancellor Carolyn Martin – chancellor@news.wisc.edu
To: Provost Julie Underwood – junderwood@wisc.edu
To: Director of Admissions, Steve Amundson – samundson@uwmad.wisc.edu
To: Dean of Students, Lori Berquam – lberquam@odos.wisc.edu
To: Senior Policy and Planning Analyst, Hazel Wade – symonette@bascom.wisc.edu
To: Associate Dean of Students, Argyle Wade – awade@odos.wisc.edu

3/31/2009
Dear Ambassadors and Respected Representatives of UW-Madison and Education,

I am writing to you out of extreme concern for the future well being of my alma-mater and your home, UW-Madison. The admissions process, curriculum structure, and speed to iterate are overwhelmingly frustrating and alarming. The arguments and issues addressed throughout this letter only reflect my first hand experiences, but I firmly believe these issues are far-reaching and not specific to UW. Nevertheless, these issues exist and must be addressed, or at the very least, must be thoroughly considered. By way of introduction, my name is Dan Reich and I am a recent graduate (May 08’) from UW-Madison’s College of Engineering (Electrical). During my four year tenure at UW, I was able to accomplish some great things, including but not limited to:

Additionally, I have a younger brother Jeremy who is currently enrolled in UW’s school of business where he is double majoring in real estate and risk management. I also have a younger sister, who I would like to say is also a legacy, but was recently rejected by the UW admissions office. A sister who admittedly did not score as high as she could have on her SATs, but did have excellent remarks in school, as well as other critical skill sets and experiences (she also attended UW’s summer program). This is an individual who if assessed in relation to her peers, in my objective estimation, is a stronger candidate for success than most. Nevertheless, I believe the admissions process is critically flawed and this belief is not exclusively dependent upon my sister’s recent rejection.

While I believe the admissions process in general could be significantly improved, (which I’m more than happy and eager to discuss with any admissions officer at UW at any point in time), I will start my focus on the issue of networking in light of recent events.

As an individual who is currently working in a digital media and technology startup company specializing in social networks, emerging trends and technologies, I understand the importance of networks. Networks are literally changing the world. We see it happening everyday as companies like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Etsy, Twitter and others utilize the power of what Mark Zuckerberg calls “elegant organization.” When a single node is affected on a network, those directly tied to that node, piece of information or person also feel a change. The connections are what is most important. So, how does this have any relevance to the admissions process?

UW-Madison, as well as other schools throughout our society, should know this answer better than anyone else. Since 1848, UW has been building a super network of students and alumni. Every year UW graduates about 10,000 students who go on into the working world thus strengthening the badger universe. These are people who are ambassadors to the UW brand and are lifelong members of the network, and additionally each member has numerous other networks that are additive in value to the primary group: what we call Badgers.

Now you might imagine what I was thinking when I heard that my sister was not admitted into UW. A school that had endured not only my sweat, blood and tears, but also that of my brother. A school in which I had given money, time, but most importantly, a tremendous amount of value through conversation and action. So again, when I heard that my sister did not get into UW, you might think my reaction was “Why didn’t she get in?” but instead, my reactions were:

  • Why is the school degrading the network it has worked so hard to build?
  • How do you review applications? Why do you do it that way?
  • Doesn’t the school consider an applicant’s legacy within the school, and more importantly, their track record (I had a 2.5 GPA first semester and graduated with honors)?
  • Why didn’t I get a phone call from the school saying, “Dan, we just wanted to take the time and let you know that your sister did not get into the school?” or “Dan, if you and your sister are willing, we would be more than happy to go over why she wasn’t accepted?”
  • Why would I want to continue to support an entity that I believe has poor judgment?

In one phone call, you could have showed that you still care about your network in a very personal and meaningful way. Instead of strengthening your network, you weakened it.

How do you expect to compete in a rapidly changing world using obsolete methods and practices? Students are beginning to realize getting a “degree” is less valuable than getting practical, real world work experience. They can take courses online and learn what they need to learn with companies like Phoenix, Kaplan, BigThink, Academic Earth and even YouTube. Why spend $500/semester on books when I can get the same information free online? Why would students want to pay full tuition to an accredited university when at the end of the day they are taught linear algebra by a teacher’s assistant that speaks poor English, makes continual mistakes (which were witnessed by a head of department), and has inconsistent grading (this happened to me junior year. That semester I had a 4.0 GPA until given a C by a TA)? Why implement practices that have students cramming for exams instead of using methods enabling true adoption of the material (I wrote a piece about this on my blog entitled, The University of Nothing. This post received over 60 comments from various communities and sites, and the consensus was that current education systems are in trouble. I’m also willing and eager to discuss this point further with any faculty member. In fact, I had this conversation with one of my engineering professors when he asked my opinion on “why the enrollment in engineering was decreasing.” He was giving a presentation to his peers on this very topic).

In any case, this letter is not intended to bad-mouth or criticize current practices at UW. It is however intended to act as a wake-up call. I only and respectfully ask two things:

  • Please reconsider how you value your network and remember that we among the network are all ambassadors to UW-Madison. We are your most valuable asset.
  • Please reconsider how UW-Madison can take the lead and become the most efficient and attractive educational institution of tomorrow. The world is changing and so should you.

Again, I’m happy to speak to anyone and everyone about these issues. Please feel free to leave comments on my blog or send me an email at reich.ny [at] gmail [dot] com. I most welcome a phone call and conversation.

My Very Best Regards,

Dan Reich

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Academia: Radiation in the THz range

With my college career coming to an end, I decided to start a series of posts entitled “Academia”. In each post, I will discuss a project or research I have been involved in.

In this first post of the series, I will briefly discuss my research in terahertz generation. In the spring of 2007, I had the distinct honor of working under Professor Leon McCaughan, a professor in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Under his supervision, I studied the properties of:

  • Guided wave photonic devices and circuits
  • Quantum optics
  • Far infrared (terahertz) generation and spectrocopy
  • Waveguide and photonic crystal theory

More importantly, I had the opportunity to take part in one of his research projects and work along side of other extremely talented students and researchers . A description of the project:

“Terahertz (THz) radiation is of great current interest for imaging science and technology. Applications include time-domain spectroscopy (e.g., the dielectric response of molecules in the far infrared), medical imaging in a new radiation band, detection and imaging for homeland security and defense applications, as well as communications.”

Within the project, I spent many hours in the Wisconsin Center for Applied Microelectronic Devices developing photolithography and reactive ion etching techniques to produce a THz photonic crystal in Silicon. By creating this photonic cystal, we were attempting to create a control in order to provide tunablity to the light source. Prior to the fabrication of the 2D crystal, we also undertook some computer-based model calculations.

Pictures from the research here:

Picture of 2D photonic crystals.

2-D photonic crystal integrated ‘superstate’

Myself and two of my colleagues in the lithography bay.

Description of the project (can be found on www.nsf.gov)

0505775 Kuech

Thank you to Professor Leon McCaughan for a truley invaluable experience!

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