We've all had that professor. You know what I'm talking about. That [insert expletive here] professor. That professor whom you simply cannot stand because he (or she) just isn't a nice person. When you do run into that professor, it's usually a pretty unpleasant experience. But it happens to everyone, and we all deal with it because, unfortunately, it's an inevitable part of the college experience.But according to a June Inside Higher Ed article, Moshe Yanai, an Israeli billionaire, has provided some incentive for all professors to be a little nicer. He has donated $10 million to the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and wants his money to be awarded to professors whom students think are nice over the next 20 years.

What a cute idea. But let's get real here. A nice professor award? At a highly esteemed university? It sounds pretty absurd.

It seems to me that professors at an elite university such as the Technion should only be getting substantial monetary rewards for compelling academic reasons. Students choose to go to university to pursue an education, expand their horizons and learn how to think critically. Of course, having nice professors to guide you through your academic pursuits is certainly a huge plus. But having nice professors is certainly not guaranteed since faculty members do not get hired or granted tenure because they are nice. Generally, universities hire, grant tenure and recognize professors for the achievements they make in their respective fields. There might be other reasons to hire or grant tenure to a professor, but a university should never do so simply because said professor is a nice person. Hiring a professor based upon his or her personality traits sends the wrong message about the mission of an academic institution, and the same goes for giving out awards. Faculty members are at their universities to teach and to expand upon their own knowledge, and they should only be awarded based upon their ability as teachers and their achievements in academia. If universities start giving out awards based upon other criteria, they run the risk of diminishing their reputations as outstanding academic institutions.

Additionally, this award ignores another crucial role that college plays in the lives of its students. Of course, students go to college primarily for academic reasons, but college also serves as a stepping stone to life in the professional world. Not only do students learn skills to help them get better jobs, but they also learn more practical things, like how to be independent, how to network and how to deal with people. In college, students will run into all kinds of people, including people who are not very nice and with whom they do not get along. When you run into "that professor," it may be a rather unpleasant experience, but it is ultimately helping to prepare you for the "real world." Whether we like it or not, we will all have to learn how to deal with people we don't like, and college is a great place to start. This is not to say that professors shouldn't make the effort to be nice, but we also shouldn't necessarily be awarding them when they do so. The world is full of all kinds of people, and we must learn to deal with them. No awards necessary.

Considering that "nice professor" awards are rather inappropriate for an academic environment, donating $10 million to create such an award was a bit of a waste. In this economic environment, where so many schools are struggling, $10 million could be put to considerably better use. Perhaps Yanai should have thought more carefully about what use he wanted his money to be put toward. $10 million could have been used to strengthen a particular department, build new facilities or even hire better professors. Any of these things would have been significantly more beneficial to students and faculty and could have helped to increase the prestige of the Technion instead of presenting it with an award that is neither beneficial to the student body nor academically appropriate.

Everyone loves getting a professor who is particularly nice. It's a great feeling, and it temporarily makes your life as a student a little easier. We should certainly show a great deal of gratitude to those professors who are kind and understanding, but there is no need to reward them for it. Monetary awards should be reserved only for those professors who show particular skill in their respective fields of research.