Talk:Max Hecker

Latest comment: 4 years ago by 2604:2000:E010:1100:65BA:F6D9:465D:2D48 in topic Notability

Notability

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Qualifies under our notability standard Wikipedia:Notability (academics). Which says: "Academics meeting any one of the following conditions, as substantiated through reliable sources, are notable... The person has held a highest-level elected or appointed administrative post at a major academic institution...." --2604:2000:E010:1100:DC3C:9611:92A0:90FB (talk) 22:16, 30 January 2020 (UTC)Reply

Not as clear cut a case as you make out. Who's Who listings don't say what you claim and it does make a difference whether the institution was a "major academic institution" at the time he was leading it. I think it's likely that Hecker can be shown to be notable, but you'll need better references. — jmcgnh(talk) (contribs) 00:44, 31 January 2020 (UTC)Reply
Technion itself clearly lists him as a former President of Technion. That is as you can tell from the Technion page the highest-level position at Technion. He thus meets the guideline, which says that academics are notable if the person "has held a highest-level ... administrative post at a major academic institution". I don't think there is any question that Technion is such. The guidelines doesn't go on to say ... "at the time he was leading it," and if so, I don't think we are about to delete early Presidents from all manner of major academic institutions in their earliest years, and in any case we don't just add new requirements to the clear language that is there and there is no suggestion that Technion was not a major academic institution. User:DGG - thoughts? --2604:2000:E010:1100:65BA:F6D9:465D:2D48 (talk) 06:05, 31 January 2020 (UTC)Reply
:::::Yes, that one fact is enough. The Technion was a famous academic institutions from the start--in fact, even before the start, see History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology . . For WP:PROF, " major" is interpreted fairly loosely, and includes all research institutions and significant colleges. The article certainly needs to be expanded, but even as a brief stub is will certainly pass AfDAnd there were probably enough news stories to pass GNG as well. (I accepted it, of course.) DGG ( talk ) 06:46, 31 January 2020 (UTC)Reply

As always, I will bow to the superior experience of DGG, but there's some explaining to do. Relabeling the position of "Principal" to "President" may be a courtesy, but it's contrary to the history. At the time Hecker was leading it, Technion was struggling to transform itself from a technical high school to a more significant educational institution and was a significant institution only in light of its peculiar situation. This whole business is an example of how notability can be inherited, retroactively. — jmcgnh(talk) (contribs) 07:15, 31 January 2020 (UTC)Reply

The Technion describes him as President, but that is not even the issue. As clearly the guideline focuses not on what his title was, but that he held "a highest-level ... administrative post" of the institution, which there is no reason at all to doubt. 2604:2000:E010:1100:65BA:F6D9:465D:2D48 (talk) 07:28, 31 January 2020 (UTC)Reply