Writer/Xiong Bingqi (educator) editor/Chi Daohua proofreader/Zhao Lin
▲ Wu Dajing is on the court. Picture/Xinhua News Agency On May 25, Jilin University released the announcement of the fourth teaching and research special working group's proposed introduction of personnel in 2024. Among them, Wu Dajing, the Olympic champion, is proposed to be employed as a professor of the School of Physical Education of the university, and Kuang Yaming is designated as the leading professor of post A. This has aroused public concern.
Some people think that Wu Dajing deserves a professorship, but others question whether he is qualified to be a professor.
It is reported that Wu Dajing, a short track speed skater, was born in 1994. He is the 500m men's speed skating champion of the Pingchang Winter Olympic Games, the gold medalist of the men's and women's 2000m mixed relay of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, and the first Chinese man to win gold medals for two consecutive Winter Olympic Games.
When the media reported this news, they said that Wu Dajing had obtained a "new identity", but in fact, it was only in the stage of public announcement of the proposed employment. The appointment of professors is the educational and academic affairs of the school. The publicity is to accept the supervision of teachers, students and the society. The relevant discussions and questions undoubtedly reveal the public concern.
Therefore, the university should also make more explanations from the educational and academic perspectives on why the Olympic champion is directly employed as a professor and is designated as the leading professor A post. While responding to public concerns, the university can also clarify the standards for professors.
After the Olympic champions retired, they taught a lot in universities. For example, in 2020, Jiao Liuyang, the champion of London Olympic Games, joined Sun Yat sen University, became a teacher of the sports department of the university, served as the head coach of the school's swimming team, and is now an associate professor. In 2023, Olympic champion Ding Ning became a teacher of Peking University. In general, when Olympic champions retire to teach in universities, they mostly start from lecturers and step by step, and only a few of them can finally become professors.
Wu Dajing, who is just 30 years old this year, is likely to be the youngest professor of physical education in the university and even in the whole country if he is successfully employed as a professor this time, and will also become the first person who is studying for a master's degree (or just graduated from a master's degree) and is directly employed as a professor in the university.
It should be noted that unlike other stars who were previously employed as "guest professors" by the university, Wu Dajing is actually intended to be employed as a professor to perform his educational and academic responsibilities as a professor, including teaching students, guiding students, and conducting academic research. This requires a rigorous review of their educational and academic abilities.
There is no doubt that Wu Dajing is an outstanding athlete. However, he has no educational experience in carrying out teaching activities, and no academic achievements in sports discipline research. In some academic platforms, searching with "Wu Dajing" as the author, only one article entitled "Because I want to win every game" was found.
In 2022, the Jilin Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security issued the Public Notice on Giving Comrade Wu Dajing and Qi Guangpu Great Merits, which shows that Wu Dajing's education background is "graduated from Jilin Institute of Physical Education, bachelor's degree, and master's degree in social sports guidance of Beijing Sport University", and his master's graduation information is not available. This means that Wu Dajing is probably still studying for a master's degree or has just graduated.
This is not to emphasize the theory of only academic qualifications and only academic papers, but only sports athletes with master's degrees hold the leading professorships. If they do not have the educational and academic abilities that match them, it may be difficult to complete their job responsibilities, which is unfair to other young scholars. It is important to know that many young teachers with doctoral degrees, who devote themselves to teaching and academic research, are also facing great pressure of "going up or going away".
The role of athletes is essentially different from that of professors. The former looks at athletes' competitive ability and performance, while the latter evaluates their educational ability and academic ability. However, an athlete's good performance in sports does not mean that he or she has the corresponding educational ability and academic ability.
At present, China's universities are pushing forward the reform of talent evaluation that is only academic qualifications and papers. From this point of view, it is a kind of progress for universities to hire Olympic champions as professors without doctoral degree or important academic papers. However, if we only look at the title of Olympic champion without considering the basic ability requirements of professors, it will also be considered that the university pursues fame and wealth, and does not adhere to the bottom line of education and academia.
Therefore, with regard to whether the Olympic champion Wu Dajing can be employed as a professor, the university should also take the opportunity of publicity to further publicly explain the responsibilities and requirements of this professor post, as well as specific considerations, so as to dispel public doubts and make the university's talent introduction reform widely recognized by the society.
Editor in charge: Liu Guangbo
