Monday, I had the opportunity to give an invited talk at the Idaho State University Physics Department seminar---a department with the same number of faculty and undergrads that we have.
Every time I go someplace else, I re-affirm how outrageously good I have it here at WSU. This Department totally rocks. At ISU, five faculty attended the seminar, two of whom were not physics faculty. That means that three, count 'em THREE, of their thirteen faculty were at the colloquium. Apparently, this happens every time. The room was nearly full of students, but very few faculty were there to participate. This is really bad, imho. Why, you ask? I'll tell ya.
Science is a social endeavor, just like every other human endeavor, and students need to see scientists interacting with each other, especially across field lines, so that they can understand that their professors don't know everything. Why is that important? Because it means that it's ok that THEY (the students) don't know everything. And, it gives them a sense of scientists as life-long learners, who are open to new experiences. And, it helps them know what to expect when they give talks at conferences or job interviews. I can not even imagine how they are supposed to learn how to deal with the occasional hostile question if they've never seen it done. Nobody can ask hostile questions like a physics professor! ;)
It's also bad because of what it says about the culture of the department. In our department, if someone doesn't show up for seminar, we chase them down. We go knock on their door---'Coming to seminar today?' We check up on 'em to make sure they're all right, and not sick, or overburdened, or unhappy, or just grumpy. In a department this size, if you are not coming to seminar, there must be something wrong with you.
Seminar is a terrific opportunity to interact informally with the group---with your colleagues, and the students. It's a great opportunity to find out what people's interests are, and to recruit students to your research program!
Seminar is also, sometimes, a great opportunity to do some really wonderful doodling, or make an extensive list of things to do.
Finally, seminar is a really good opportunity to put yourself in your students' shoes. To attend a talk by someone you don't know, on a topic you don't necessarily understand, and probably don't particularly like. This keeps you humble when the role reverses, and you stand at the front of the room.
I can't believe they missed all that. Poor little chickens.
