University of Oregon Professor Responds to Rate My Professor Reviews

What happens when you ask a beloved educator to read and respond to Rate My Professor reviews? We asked Peter Laufer, James N. Wallace Chair of Journalism at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC), to read aloud reviews students have posted about him on the popular rating site. Despite stating that he’s never looked at Rate Your Professor reviews before because he thinks they are “utter garbage,” he played along.

The five-star reviews were complimentary—even gushing, at times—but he did respond to gentle criticism about his requirement that students print assignments rather than turn them in digitally, and he also defended his penchant for calling out students who yawn in class. Watch the video to hear what he has to say. Then check out the UO School of Journalism and Communication and consider taking a journalism class from Professor Laufer: https://journalism.uoregon.edu/

About Peter Laufer
Peter Laufer is an award-winning journalist and scholar who has studied, taught, and reported around the world. Author of a couple dozen books, Laufer’s writing focuses on borders, migration, identity, and animal rights. He chased butterflies for his book "The Dangerous World of Butterflies" and pursued turtles for his book "Dreaming in Turtle." His reportage on the relationships of humans with other animals includes the books "Forbidden Creatures" and "No Animals Were Harmed." His other works include the exposé "Organic: A Journalist’s Quest to Discover the Truth behind Food Labeling" and several documentaries he reported, wrote, and produced as an NBC news correspondent on topics ranging from the crises facing Vietnam War veterans to illiteracy and hunger in America, to a study of Americans incarcerated overseas that won the George Polk Award.

Laufer served as editor of the University of Oregon anthology "Interviewing: The Oregon Method." He is the author of "Slow News: A Manifesto for the Critical News Consumer" and a founder of the Slow News Movement. A longtime talk radio maestro, Laufer has served as news and program director of WRC Radio in Washington, D.C., was founding program director of Newstalk 93.6 in Berlin, and has acted as management consultant to several international news broadcasting projects, including National Geographic, Washington Monthly, and Mother Jones radio programs. His monograph "Thank You for Taking My Call" is an exploration of epistolary artifacts from talk radio. He is the founding co-director of the University of Oregon-UNESCO Institute for Conflict-Sensitive Reporting and Intercultural Dialogue.