Dress in Academia

[TweedyProf]

I agree with the last two comments. I think care in dress in any teaching environment is a way of demonstrating respect not just to the situation, but to the students as well.

 

[Claghorn]

Students in the spring semester did a double take this first time I strolled in in jeans, an OCBD, and tennis shoes.

In the fall semester, going from jeans to odd jacket and tie, I didn't really get any comments.

Don't know why that is. But it's interesting that going from casual to formal is no cause for comment but the reverse is.

 

[Patrick R]

I teach as an adjunct in Northwestern University's law school. There are two full time faculty with me in my classroom (we have a 15-20 student highly experiential class). The other professors are women, one dresses nicely in and out of the classroom and the other... not as much. I wear a suit and tie every day I teach, but almost never for my day job - I own and manage a small law firm, where I am in business casual most days, either with or without a sport coat.

I recognize that times have changed and no one would mind if I taught without wearing a suit, but I can't bring myself to dress in less than a coat and tie. I think back to my law school experience and the professors from whom I took classes and it doesn't feel right to me to be any less respectful in my appearance than they were. I do get the sense that I stand out a little and might be regarded as a weirdo, but I don't really know since I never see any of the other professors and I can't tell much about how others dress based on the two professors with whom I teach.

Anyone else in a law school setting care to comment?

 

[SeaJen]

@GMMcL adjuncts in a law school, I recall. I believe he wears a suit for class, and tries to wear a different one for every class of the semester.

 

[FelixTheFinn]

I think it also depends on the department which one is in. Surely there are clichés, but I think the expectations for law school or business school professors are different than in some other fields.
For example, my uncle is a professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford and he most certainly does not walk around in a suit or with an odd jacket. He wears an untrimmed beard and to be honest mostly looks dishevelled which everyone has come to expect and accept. It's his thing and no one seems to mind.

Felix

 

[WhereNext]

Yes, "it depends" is a key factor here. I work in a business school, but the dress is very casual, including when people are teaching. But, it is even more casual than other similarly ranked business schools in the same country, but in different cities. My experience has been that department, School/College (beyond the parent University), discipline, and location all matter a great deal. I doubt, for example, that my wearing a relatively plain sportcoat with no tie to work would inspire much comment at a top US business school; here, there have been multiple expressions of "why are you so dressed up?"
To Claghorn's point about dressing more formally/informally: after a semester of seeing me in nothing but jacket and tie (including suits and 3 piece suits), some students expressed actual disappointment and dismay when they have randomly walked by my office and saw me in chinos and a sweater/jumper. On the first day of class, there was a bit of consternation, as I walked in with a suit and tie on; I later found out that students had been explicitly told to dress as comfortably/casually as they like, and some were concerned it had been some kind of trick!

 

[unbelragazzo]

If any of you pointy heads are looking for something diverting to read, I recommend this highly:

http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Committee-Members-A-novel/dp/0385538138

 

[heldentenor]

^Loved it.

 

[TweedyProf]

If any of you pointy heads are looking for something diverting to read, I recommend this highly:

http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Committee-Members-A-novel/dp/0385538138

But then I wouldn't have time for Styleforum...

 

[dfagdfsh]

Can I post here? I work in higher education administration. Woo!

I dress pretty casually normally - untucked button-down shirt, chinos/slim pants, dress shoes (lots of Tricker's, Aldens).

 

[philosophe]



If any of you pointy heads are looking for something diverting to read, I recommend this highly:

http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Committee-Members-A-novel/dp/0385538138

+1. I'm also due to re-read Lucky Jim and Small World.

 

[Caustic Man]

Students in the spring semester did a double take this first time I strolled in in jeans, an OCBD, and tennis shoes.

In the fall semester, going from jeans to odd jacket and tie, I didn't really get any comments.

Don't know why that is. But it's interesting that going from casual to formal is no cause for comment but the reverse is.

I had a similar experience a few semesters ago. When the weather started turning hot I came in with a linen shirt and chinos. The reaction from an emeritus professor of Greek history was "What the hell happened to you?"

 

[venividivicibj]

There are only three ivies? Was this never explained? (west coast confused)

 

[SeaJen]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Three_(colleges)

A little bit of snobbery, really, to dismiss Penn, Brown, et al.

 

[TweedyProf]

My spouse went to Brown; I dismiss it all the time.