Vilkitis, James  

James Vilkitis is by far the worst teacher i've ever had at CalPoly. All he did in the class was attempt to show off how smart he is. His ugly vintage coats pissed me off and so did his teaching style. It amazes me that he was able to get a job at a university. He should be teaching at a junior high school where the material isnt as important to your future. I love to learn, and its nice to have a teacher who enjoys to teach. But james, you need to retire because your wasting our time with your boring lectures.

Dr. Vilkitis certainly knows all aspects of ecology. The class was interesting, but no matter how much I studied I couldn't do well on some of the weekly quizzes or the midterm. He gives nitpicky, tedious questions that have nothing to do with the subject of ecology. He loves big game hunting, so if you don't, you won't like his class. Despite all this, I think James (he encouraged us to call him by his first name) is a good prof; his lectures are engaging and he's fair--it's not too hard to get a good grade with a reasonable effort. His tests are very hard, but he grades on a curve. He didn't tell us that, so alot of us thought we'd get a D or worse; the class average for the first midterm was in the 60's.

Vilkitis was very fair and straight to the point. If you are a slacker or a super sorority girl...you will not pass this class. Expect to get your hands dirty and your brain filled with information about ecology. I never studeied so hard for a B in my life. Some days I hated it, but you will learn so much even if you get a c or D in the class. Definately take it for a grade because this is definately not a class you want to take again. If you get a D- you pass... No credit- you don't. Some tips for passing the class: do well on the quizzes, it definately pays off and they are alot easier to do well in than the exams. Study every day and do not get behind. Definately come to class. Too many absences will get you an F real easily. Do the extra credit even if you have an A in the class. Study EVERYTHING from page to page. Random things have will almost positively show up tests and quizzes. If you have problems just talk to the guy or go to office hours. He's a little intimidating at first, but he is pretty nice, just a little stern. And lastly participate, he pays attention to that kind of stuff. Make sure he knows you name by the end of the quarter. Oh yeah and always put up your name tag. Well I hope this is helpful...good luck everyone. The only thing I thought needed improvement in his teching style was that he's a little sexist towards the girls...so ladies show him what real GIRL POWER is all about and get those A's.

Yuup!! This guy is full of himself and a sexist to boot. I got my "A" by acting helpless, knowing a few correct answers and flaunting some t a with my name tag showing!

Vilkitis's head is so big that there is barely enough room in the classroom to have students be there. Despite the grade that I recieved, I do not feel like this class was beneficial. The material covered could be interesting and informative, but Vilkitis's approach to teaching is twisted. You have a weekly quiz that of ten true/false questions. Your grade in the class is broken down as 25% Final, 25% Lab, and the remaining 50% you get to decide how much comes from your quizzes and how much from the midterm. The quizzes seem like they will be a breaze, but this is where Vilkitis really gets to have his fun. You must memorize the lecture notes VERBATIM because he will change one thing, such as the ethnicity of someone or one word from a statement from lecture, and then the answer is no longer true. There is no way you can get a good grade in this class without putting in a weekly time to studying before the quiz. Not only is he a jerk in his teaching, but he is conceited, sexist, and extremely unapproachable. I have never wanted to not see someone ever again in my life as much as I do Vilkitis.

Professor Vilkitis likes to pretend he wants to be your friend, but really all he likes to do is make himself feel smart. There are some students he likes and are never wrong no matter what they say. These are mainly the forestry students. If you are a city and regional planner or female, nothing you say can ever be right. He hates planning majors and makes it clear in how he treats them during lecture. Then there are the true false quizes that he gives every week, and they are not used to test your knowledge instead he trys to see if he can trick with the way he words the questions. As much as I disliked the class I did make it through and it is not impossiable to pass if you do have to take it. But my advice is to avoid it if at all possable.

Ol' Vilkitis may like to think he knows alot about ecology, and in some aspects he may have an understanding of it. Anyone who has taken general biology classes can see where his faults lay. His arrogance is only outdone by is comical likeness to a villian from scooby-do. Is that a mask?

Vilkitis isn't as bad as i expected. The quizes are tricky, even though he says they're straight forward, but you learn how to study for them after the first few. Some advice: TAKE THE OPTION TO MAKE 50% OF YOUR GRADE TO BE QUIZES. HIS TEST BLOWS! besides that, he never returns your questions via email and treats you like a little rodent because he is "DR VILKITIS" and "KNOWS EVERYTHING"

I strongly recommend this class to students in the School of Agriculture or other majors who need a good understanding of ecological resource managemant. Dr. Vilkitis skillfully combined examples from personal experiences, homework that utilized problem solving, definitions and theoretical concepts complete with charts and graphs, and lectures easy to follow with his student notebook. The lab teacher was equally excellent. Do opt for the quizzes, read ahead chapters for the final, and use the example tests in the back to prepare for the final. The class requires a bit of work, but is very enjoyable.

Dr. Vilkitis is the worst professor I've ever had. He is arrogant, egotistical, and is ALWAYS right. His lectures are useless to attend, but you have to in case there will be a quiz. I learned nothing but his extreme opinions on the Endangered Species Act and his love of big game hunting. Should I mention his tests? They are totally unreasonable. The only way to get alot of the questions is to read his mind. This guy doesn't give a shit if you learn about ecology. He just wants to say HA! I out thought you! You didn't understand the what I was asking, did You! Don't even think about going to his office hours. He loves to make you feel stupid. If you are in any major besides forestry and you have even the remote chance of petitioning to take ecology in another department (Biology?), by all means, do so! This guy is notorious for being a lousy prof. Maybe you haven't heard yet. Stick around a while and you will. Vilkitis = Incompetent. Arrogant. Asshole.

This course is not what it seems. All you have to do to succeed is have not opinion on environmental matters and reiterate exactly what he says in class. Don

RETIRE, you cannot teach or convey material. Vilkitis is not an asset to forestry; the department is worse off with him around. DONT take him unless you have to he has unfair confusing tests, very boring lecture, terrible wording in all material, just very confusing.

By far one of the worest teachers I have ever had at Poly. For starters, I cannot stand is tweed jackets. They are so ugly! He lectures straight out of his lecture notebook (which you can buy) and adds in way too much fishing and hunting stories. I learned more this quarter about fishing and hunting than ecology. His questions on quizzes are convoluted, and when you ask him for clarification he will not clarify. I did OK in this class because I learned how to play his game. You should too, or you will do very poorly. Good luck

I did not learn one thing during the entire quarter. Enough said.

Vilkitis

I told myself I would never evaluate a teache--beyond filling in the bubbles on a scantron at the end of the year--however, Vilkitis is the first I've had who became a teacher to make himself feel powerful over everyone else--since he hunts elk and all. I had an 'A' average on the weekly quizzes (which are not a reflection of how well you know the material, but rather how well you memorize his opinions) but somehow he called it a C. After going into office hours, Vilkitis told me he would not correct my extra credit (which he lost) since I didn't turn it in at the beginning of class due to a car accident on my way there. I even brought a doctors note for the day I missed and he didn't excuse it. He said that I wasn't the only one with a chaotic life, therefore he would rather help out his other students. I caught him creepily staring at my tattoo when I reached up on a shelf to grab a stapler; however, I caught his eye and he quickly looked away. Gross old man. He is openly racist against Greeks and Italians, and doesn't like CRP majors, nor females. He brought in a "dead" mole that he probably spent all nite stalking in his backyard, and threw it on a frightened/nauseated students desk (which he thought was funny). Then, he reminded us that the "organism" was still hanging onto its last bit of life since it was still suffocating in that zip-lock bag. He is sick. His opinions are the only valid ones in the world and even if he asks you a yes or no question, neither choice is actually right. Do 50% of your grade for quizzes and don't miss class too much. God forbid you break your neck in a car accident, he'll want to see the police report for proof. Steer clear of this guy. His beady eyes, and fetish for killing big game make it pretty obvious he's the devil.

Just tell me where I can file a complaint against this joke of a human being. Racist, sexist bigot.

If you take Vilkitis be aware that his quizes are horrible!! He gives one every week, most of the time he is trying to trick you and you need to read the questions carefully. Also, you really don't need to show up for his lectures except for the days of his quizes (which he lets you choose) since he normally talks about his fishing and hunting trips and rarely anything to do with the class. Overall Vilkitis is not a bad teacher just not a very good one.

DO NOT BUY THE TEXTBOOK. YOU WILL NOT NEED IT FOR ANYTHING. ALL RELEVANT MATERIAL COMES FROM THE LAB MANUAL. HE TALKS ABOUT LEARNING THE CONCEPTS AND THEN WILL QUIZ YOU ON A PARTICULAR PREFIX TO A WORD. FIRST TWENTY MINUTES OF CLASS ARE STORY TIME ABOUT RANDOM BS. WASTE OF TIME. DO NOT, FOR ANY REASON, EVEN IF ITS REQUIRED TAKE THIS CLASS. YOU WILL REGRET IT. HORRIBLE TEACHER.

The rest of these comments below mine all have various opinions and all are correct. I am in his FNR 306 (NRM department has since renamed all the classes to just "NR") class currently and figured I would update, since it is registration season. PROS: -His stories are relevant to the material -He knows a lot about his subject -He forces you to question everything, not just accept it cause the world tells you its true (I found his theory that the Endangered Species Act is not all its cracked out to be interesting and had good evidence) CONS: -He is VERY old school Conservative in his views on teaching and the subject, with the new generation of mostly young people now supporting more Liberal views, arguments break out in class, and if you piss him off even if you are right... he will grade you down in the class. A guy I just talked to after class said he went to his office hours and somehow pissed him off, and Vilkitis docked him points on a quiz. -His style of teaching is convoluted and hard to follow. His teaching methods are not concurrent with modern times here at Cal Poly. This makes it hard to succeed. -This will be the class you study for the most. Do not take this class with a full load. -His quizzes are minutely detailed. He excepts you to memorize and learn all terms, concepts, formulas. This is impossible if you are taking other classes. Some questions are straight forward, most answers can be argued correct as true or false. You just have to choose which one sounds better or just guess and get lucky. You would probably get them all right if you studied four-six hours for it, usually this is impossible if your a full time student. -He is one of those I have a PhD so I am smart, you are dumb students. He will make you feel stupid. This is true, he does know a lot...and you know nothing. But he fails to teach the material in a sensible manner. I have sat down with him in office hours, he makes you feel stupid and criticizes you at every point. If you are sensitive, you will have trouble getting help. -If you are a freshmen (like me) get some more FNR classes under your belt before taking this one with him OVERALL: The negatives really out weigh any of the positives. He has been at Cal Poly for 25 years and the school is glad of his service. This being said, his teaching style is outdated/convoluted, he will not help you, his quizzes/tests are very hard (do not plan to succeed even with lots of studying), and I could go on and on more. Dr. Vilkitis is at the end of his career and needs to start thinking about retirement. Times have changed and he has not changed with them. A younger fresh face is most defiantly needed.

Honestly, I feel like all of these comments are a bit off. Vilkitis isn't bad at all. I think hearing all the stuff I did affected my test-taking in his class even. Everyone says he tries to trick you by changing the lettering and small details in his questions, but his tests are truly fair and honestly not that bad if you legitimately study. He wants you to know the material. I do not know why this comes as a surprise to some of you; you're in college, you're here to learn. Sure, class might not always reflect the material in the notes, but go home and study it and you'll be fine. If you talk to him, he is a nice guy, so give him a chance. Also, if you put the time into the lab and studying for the midterm, you don't have to take the final! There are no quizzes. The breakdown goes Midterm 30% Lab 35% and Final 35%. You'll get what you put in to this class.

retire

Dr.Vilkitis at first comes off as being very pompous and arrogant yet when you get to know him a bit he really is not a bad guy. Although this class will have little impact on my life it did succeed in making me think. The workload is average with the majority of it coming from the lab which is basically useless. Dr.Vilkitis is no doubt a smart man yet he fails to realize that his opinion is not the only correct opinion in the world. I would recommend the class for those interested in the subject of water systems and technologies but those who would find a quarter of such a subject boring, beware!

Alright - LISTEN UP! Here is the real deal on Vilkitis. He is not a bad person persay. Everything that you will read about him stating that he is arrogant, pompous, and always right - could not be more factual. The lectures are not the worst I have ever experienced. Some of the subject matter is interesting. He presents it in a reasonably comprehensive manner. However, the important fact to be noted is how his tests are seemingly impossible. I have no idea where he pulled some of this info on the tests from??? It is one of those things where you will talk all class about something and then be tested on something entirely different. Going to office hours is true as stated in other reviews. He is not warm and fuzzy, and he will not hold your hand. If you want a solid grade, be more than prepared to put in the time and energy necessary. Office hours help. I received a "B" so it can be done! If you can take another class to fulfill this requirement, I would recommend it.

Dr. Vilkitis is everything they say he is. I went into this class thinking I could handle all the negative criticism about him, but was unpleasantly surprised by his relentless arrogance and lack of support for his students. I honesly think the reason he teaches is to make himself feel smarter and to remind the student that there is no correct answer unless it's HIS answer. If you enjoy sadomasochism, this instructor is for you. Don't waste your (or your parents') money on this course/instructor. You deserve an education, not a crash course on oppression.

all of the bad criticisms, are 100% accurate, I have taken three classes from him, 306, 416, and 465. He is with out a doubt the worst, shittiest professor that i have ever had, nor could imagine ever haveing. I have never had a professor that tried harder to make us feel dumb. I swear to god, that asshole is the worst. He insults people in class, he says he wants you to think, but if you think, you are of course wrong, because it is not his thought. He is ofcourse the only professor to get sued for poor management on a consulting job, yet he thinks he is god's gift to management. That crusty old man, should hurry the hell up and retire, for all of your sakes, I am graduating, and thank god i don't have to take another class from him...... description: crusty, old, egotistical, asshole. Not to mention he thinks he is a great presentatin giver, because he is crusty, monotonous and boring, if his presentations are even close to his class sessions, i would try to do everything opposite of him, including not wearing old brown, 60's style jakets to look (professional) more like old.

Vilkitis is awful. His teaching is worthless. The only times I enjoyed the class were when he would diverge for ten or fifteen minutes to brag about how he once killed a bear/moose/elk or something with a 30.06 from a mile away. It was soon clear that the course was worthless so I actually looked forward to his stories. He encourages students to ask goofy, irrelevant questions, which like I said was just fine with me because the class is a waste anyway. All the negative things students have said about Vilkitis in other submissions apply here. I had never truly disliked a professor before, even when they really were kind of lame. I despised this old fart Vilkitis. They should put this old arrogant ass out to pasture ASAP.

Dr. Vilkitis' style of teaching can be very confusing, but his intentions are to make students figure out the process for themselves, making the learning experience more worthwhile. Some students complain because he is not a fuzzy professor who wants to be their best friend, but that is not why we are in school. If you want to learn something the hard way and remember it, take Vilkitis. If you want to pass a class easily and not remember anything, take a different professor.

Okay basically this man is EVIL. Seriously, he is evil. If you can at all avoid him, do so. If there is another lab instructor, take it with that person. This guy is bad. He is stuck in his ways and won't change even though he preaches adaptive management in his classes. He teaches with overheads and he'll have the slide positioned so only half of it is on the projection screen. He mumbles and mutters and even if you're making a conscious effort to pay attention, you're still lost. His test questions are ridiculously hard and the essay questions are another story. When he grades those, its basically all or nothing and you have to hit the nail on the head with exactly what he thinks the answer should be. One kid in our class got a negative 1 out of 10 on an essay question and he wrote logical points down for his answer. Ridiculous.. at least give the poor guy a 2 or 3. Honestly, the only reason this nut is still around is because he has tenure and because FNR needs 8 full time faculty to keep its SAF accreditation. No one likes him and he needs to retire before he makes future students have to suffer. I'm sorry to sound mean, but seriously, this guy is BAD.

This guy is by far the worst teacher I have had at Cal Poly. I have already issued a complaint to Dr. Piirto but that didnt go anywhere. It seems as if this guy is stuck at Cal Poly and there is nothing that the students can do about it. His teaching style is completely ridiculous and makes no sense at all. I can not believe I am paying money to attend college and I get this ass clown as a professor. Fire his lame ass and bring someone in who knows what the hell they are talking about. Thanks Cal Poly and the Forestry Department for another great class. And the FNR Department wonders why they have a 40 percent graduation rate. Get a f'ing clue.

Why all the hate mail? While Vilkitis is not out to be your best friend, he is out to teach you things that will matter and are important in the job world. If you pay attention to what he is trying to convey, you will find it applicable in many different circumstances, and you will be ultimately better off for it. Vilkitis knows his shit, try and get over the notion that a good teacher has to be immediately friendly.

Honestly, this guy is the worst teacher I have ever had. In fact, he may be the worst human being I have ever had to deal with. He seems to have a genuine disrespect for all his students. He becomes irritated by simple questions and has trouble explaining even the most basic curriculum presented in his classes. Please retire!

I have never given a teacher an evaluation before, but after taking this man's class, I feel that it is my duty to do so. James Vilkitis is easily the worst teacher I have ever had (middle school and high school included). Going to his lectures are pointless, he is a ridiculously hard grader without any feedback that could be considered remotely useful, and I'm pretty sure that he is senile. He desperately tries to relate experiences from his life to class topics and not only is it irrelevant, its arrogant as well. Retire Vilkitis and spare us all from you.

Probably one of the rudest most biased professors I've ever come across. Hands Down. He loves money, hunting, Donald Drumpf, hates minorities, loves killing animals, can't hear anything, always asks about rugby and martial arts (at least 13 times a quarter), only uses shitty overhead projectors, you only learn about NEPA and CEQA (literally thats it), he's a bigot, tells the class he has "emirate" status as a professor on the first day so you know that he can't get fired. HE DOES NOT RESONATE WHAT CAL POLY IS TODAY. FIRE JAMES VILKITIS.

This old fuck deserves to have a big black dick shoved down his throat for the rest of his retirement. He managed to give 80% of the class I was in a D with the rest of the students getting a F. He is always flaunting how he "created the ENVM major", how his dog is smarter than most students and his wife, and how much money he has earned from doing a shit job on environmental assessments. His tests were comprised of questions that he pulled out of thin air, and even if you paid attention during lecture you couldnt read his overhead projector slides (yes, overhead projectors like in middle school) because he was as blind as a bad and they were either unfocused, or projected onto the wall instead of the projection screen.Good thing he is retired so no one else has to take is class. Fuck this twat

People are not lying when they say he is the worst teacher you will ever have. Honestly, do all you can do to not take him. He is not worth anyone’s time or money. He will never give you constructive criticism; he will only tell you how you suck. he has severe memory problems and forgets everything he says so if you take him prepared to listen to the same old bullshit over and over and over again. he does not care about his students...and by the way he speaks of his wife and kids i dont know if he has much respect for them either. o and in my classes with him this quarter he would often not show up, or leave early for a meeting, or tell us we sucked for 5 minutes and then leave. he is an embarrassment to cal poly and especially the natural resource department.....actually he is an embarrassment to teachers everywhere.

Vilkitis was not bad at all for 425! In fact, I think that we learned a lot and had fun doing it for the most part. You're never sure what to expect with him, but if the class was prepared we skid by without quizzes or evaluations. He let us get by without a midterm or a final, which was awfully generous of him. I think that he is officially retiring now, so I'm not sure how much worth this comment has. Nevertheless, I think everyone should know that JV is really a good guy and a great professor, despite what the comments below say. Thanks Dr. V!

I consider myself someone who can judge teachers pretty objectively, so I am going to do the best that I can with Dr. Vilkitis. I am a firm believer that what's really the most important thing with a teacher is how much they know about the subject and then their ability to get that knowledge across to students. On the first, Dr. Vilkitis rocks. He knows a lot, he's seen a lot, he's done a lot (even killed a bear!). His stories are great and probably one of the only entertaining part of his lectures. BUT!! Dr. Vilkitis's main problem is he absolutely cannot get the material across to students. He's getting a little senile I think, so he rambles and forgets if he didn't tell you something that he tested on, etc. He also has no comprehension on why everyone is so confused or gets upset with him. His tests are near impossible because he thinks that students should know the absolute little details, and they are worded tricky. With all that said, just cuz he's a little bit of an ass, a smart-ass when it comes to responses, and is not a warm and fuzzy guy doesn't make him a bad teacher. So always try to look beyond that stuff and not be offended. Remember, it's his ability to get the material across that's so frustrating.