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> said Dogan Gursoy, one of the study’s authors and the Taco Bell Distinguished Professor of hospitality business management at Washington State University The
by azinman2 2y ago
> said Dogan Gursoy, one of the study’s authors and the Taco Bell Distinguished Professor of hospitality business management at Washington State University
The irony… I cannot imagine a more hilariously negative way to reduce a title than to say someone is the Taco Bell professor.
- kevin_thibedeau 2y agoIn the future, every university chair is sponsored by Taco Bell.
- another-dave 2y agoAnd you get graded on a Bell curve
- arcanemachiner 2y agoThe Doritos® Locos Taco curve.
- chgs 2y agoAnd every politician sponsored by Carls Junior
- Findecanor 2y agoExcept when they visit Europe for a conference, in which case it is Pizza Hut, because Taco Bell is not as well-established there.
- jajko 2y agoWho eats there in Europe? Its mcdonalds of pizzas, the worst quality on the market, in this case a product that has little in common even in appearance with traditional pizza, more like hearthy focaccia. Less good, less healthy. Maybe good for late night drunks and stoners with nothing else still opened, but I know literally nobody who ever even mentioned eating there.
- Tainnor 2y ago> the worst quality on the market not a big fan of Pizza Hut, but believe me: there's much worse.
- garblegarble 2y agoThey are referencing the 1993 movie Demolition Man
- michaelt 2y ago> Its mcdonalds of pizzas A massive commercial success, with tens of thousands of restaurants worldwide and hundreds of thousands of employees?
- jajko 2y agoYeah, I know all this, but my question still stands - who apart from desperate with lack of other choice would ever decide to eat there? I get they end up with tons of customers, just that either people I know are ashamed of going there to even mention it (way more than mcdonalds) or I just don't know anybody who ever went there. Folks I know end up in MCDs all the time when partying, not much else open around midnight, even kebabs close at 10-10:30pm where I live.
- michaelt 2y agoAt least in my area, Pizza Hut's target market is families. They're not trying to be the kind of posh place you'd go for an important business meeting, or with a date you wanted to impress. It's a bit more raucous - if your kids are a bit excitable they won't be spoiling the experience for the other diners. The food quality is fine - it's not haute cuisine but it's easy to make pizza taste great because it's packed with great tasting melted cheese and pepperoni and tomato sauce. If you don't know any people who go there it's probably because you don't know many people organising birthday parties for 13 year olds.
- autoexec 2y agoIt seems there's also a "Coca Cola distinguished professor of marketing" and a "Yahoo! chair of information systems technology" too. It's gross
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- marginalia_nu 2y agoWhile I imagine it just means they sponsored the academic institution, likely a good thing, but there's something unshakeably "idiocracy"-flavored dystopian about fast food product placement on professors.
- TeMPOraL 2y agoIt turns from Idiocracy-flavored comedy-dystopian into bona fide dystopian rather quickly once you dig into what a multinational corporation does around and besides the product they're recognized for. "Taco Bell Distinguished Professor of hospitality business management" may sound funny, but if I ever heard about McDonald's Professor of Genetics, or Disney's Professor of Applied Robotics, I'd start getting worried. (In other words, "Continuum" vibes. An underrated Canadian sci-fi show featuring "Corporate Congress" and a bunch of luxury brands of today turning into serious industrial/energy/medical players under 50 years from now.)
- justinclift 2y agoIn Australia we have a saying like "they got their driving license in a Wheaties packet". Wheaties being a breakfast cereal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaties https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaties It's not a compliment. ;) So a "Taco Bell professor" sounds like a similar kind of thing, except it's real.
- layer8 2y ago"Distinguished" makes the difference. ;)
- TulliusCicero 2y agoIt really does read like a line from Idiocracy.
- minkles 2y agoI can imagine the silk gowns being covered in brand logos.
- zorked 2y agoThe ridiculousness lies entirely on the US having sponsored professors.
- snakeyjake 2y agoEndowed professorships are common globally. They have been common for at least 1,000 years. Much much longer than that but "a millennium" is enough to get my point across. Sometimes it seems as though half of the biomedical professorships in Europe are funded by Merck and Roche. Every single philosopher at Plato's Academy and the Lyceum was "sponsored" by wealthy merchants and politicians, the corporations and billionaires of that era.
- sebtron 2y agoCan you give any example of an academic title being defaced by an ad placement? I doubt there was any "Zorba's Olive Oil Philosopher" in Plato's Academy.
- lazide 2y agoThat’s only because you don’t recognize the old brand names/people, not because the phenomenon is new.
- account42 2y agoSo you can't give an example then?
- lazide 2y agoAh, HN rate limiting. A classic example would be folks sponsored by the Medici’s or their numerous competitors. Or, for example, the numerous (often controversial) concessions Michelangelo had to make for the church. Which frankly, come across a bit like the Simpsons poking fun at Fox all the time. Albeit, more classically artistic of course.
- 2y ago
- throwup238 2y agoWait until you see the cross promotion: the Dogan Super QuesadillAI.
- layer8 2y ago"Study authors should avoid the term 'Taco Bell'. It's turning off readers." I'm not sure if it's worse than 'AI distinguished professor' though.
- fumeux_fume 2y agoPublish mas
- ein0p 2y agoExtra ironic that Costco HQ is in WA as well. Feels like we’re one step away from Costco University where distinguished Taco Bell professors would dole out their wisdom about AI.
- safety1st 2y agoI mean it worked. Read this comment, was hungry, decided to order some tacos. Didn't even have to click the link. lol Also Taco Bell Distinguished Professor at.. WSU. yup that tracks
- ogou 2y agoThe academic path is tempting for many. The myth is that you get to spend all day in research and working with ideas. The truth is, a huge amount of time is spent writing grants and funding proposals. It's a whole industry and researchers and scientists at well-known institutions are expected to bring in a steady stream of funding, including funding their own positions. Historically that has been through foundations and government sources (which are massive). It's entirely unsurprising that brands have gotten involved.
- canjobear 2y agoThe Taco Bell professorship is an endowed chair, not something you apply for. It’s paid for by Taco Bell as a gift to the university, then the university awards it as part of a recruitment (or retention) process for senior professors. It means the professor gets a nice salary and research stipend that is independent from the rest of the school, and can live the life of research and thinking.
- ogou 2y agoIt is a different path through the same system. Your description is the exact language that Yum! Brands, Inc. is hoping people will use. It softens the crass branding of academic projects and positions the effort as altruistic. The American academic environment is filled with these obfuscations.
- canjobear 2y agoWhat do you think is being obfuscated? It’s normal to give money so you can name stuff.
- throw310822 2y agoA chair he holds since the Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.
- cnity 2y agoExcellent reference.
- Rinzler89 2y ago> I cannot imagine a more hilariously negative way to reduce a title than to say someone is the Taco Bell professor Reminds me of the scene from the movie Idiocracy where the main character's lawyer said he went to Costco Law School[1] and that he was lucky since his dad pulled some strings to get him in. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdNmOOq6T8Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdNmOOq6T8Y
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- instagraham 2y agoImagine the family gatherings. "How's our little distinguished Taco Bell professor?" Jokes aside, one does not get to pick their academic sponsors or reject funding, and no offence intended to the guy's obvious expertise. It reminds me of the 100 Thieves Totino's Fortnite training room.