Chemistry professor at NYU fired for making the class “too hard”: Thoughts from a former STEM major

The recent and highly publicized firing of world-renowned New York University (NYU) chemistry professor Maitland Jones has caused a great deal of controversy in the scientific and educational communities. After 82 of the 350 students in Jones’ organic chemistry course petitioned for changes to be made to the class curriculum, Jones was fired by NYU. Jones was globally recognized for his contribution to the field of chemistry, especially as a professor. According to CNN, Jones was a tenured professor at Princeton and wrote an incredibly well-known chemistry textbook. Jones began teaching at NYU after he retired and has been teaching organic chemistry as it is his area of specialty. 

Over the past decade, Jones had noticed a significant decline in student performance, and the pandemic accelerated that process tremendously, which experts in education have noticed over the past several decades. As the level of difficulty of the class remained the same, more and more students began to struggle. Unfortunately for a group of NYU students, after getting nowhere with a professor that they claimed was unresponsive and condescending, a petition was made against the professor for making the class too hard. The petition was not aimed to have him fired—in fact, this was a decision that surprised students.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my share of bad professors—and when I say bad, I mean bad: doesn’t explain concepts well, doesn’t offer help during office hours, etc. But, in general, just because a class is hard, does not mean that the professor is doing something wrong. I used to be a biology major—a big mistake on my part—and let me tell you, those classes were hard. The professors were great people who loved what they were teaching and did their best in the grading to help students succeed. Regardless, I couldn’t make the information connect, and had to change my major.

My lack of understanding or ability in the biology major doesn’t make the biology professors I took bad, it just meant I wasn’t cut out for biology (R.I.P. to my med school dreams). And I am not the only one who is experiencing similar issues; student performance has been declining across the nation for decades now, especially in STEM fields. 

One reason this might be happening is the declining quality of elementary, middle, and high school education. As standards begin to fall for young students, kids graduating from high school are less and less prepared for rigorous undergraduate education causing more and more students to flunk out. 

Another reason might include that more students are going to college, and acceptance rates are rising, including those here at Geneseo. Students with significantly less preparedness for college are enrolling in universities and taking coursework that they aren’t set up for success to take by their previous educational experiences. As a result, more students come and even more students go. 

Another thought behind what might be causing the difference between student performance now and in past years is how teaching has become more student focused. Harsh grading practices and the idea of “throw him in the river and he’ll either sink or swim” don’t fit in the current curriculums or teaching methods. Older teachers, like Jones, haven’t adapted to this yet, thus causing students to struggle.

Now, all of this being said, I think that NYU should have responded differently. Firing Jones was overkill, and there were lots of things that NYU could have done before firing him. They could have told him to curve the class, told him to hold review sessions, or they could have reevaluated the curriculum. All of these things and more could have been done instead of firing him. I’m no smart cookie, but just because I couldn’t make it as a STEM major doesn’t mean that the professors I had were bad or that they need to be fired. NYU should have addressed the situation in a different manner rather than summarily firing him.