Who’s Who In Collegiate Faculty

I have received e-mails from various “Who’s Who” publications in the past, and have warned about the danger of scams that offer to include your name in a printed book and give you a certificate in exchange for a sum of money, or in some cases simply disclosing information that can be used for marketing purposes.

Today I received an e-mail that at least was targeted to my field. It came from the generic-sounding e-mail address [email protected]. Here’s the text of the e-mail:

September, 2010

Faculty /Staff Member,

It is my pleasure to inform you that you are being considered for inclusion in 2010/2011 Edition of

“Who’s Who in North American Colleges and Universities” (2010/2011Edition)

which is an exclusive section of Biltmore “Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals.”

This upcoming national hardcover publication and online network from Biltmore Who’s Who, was launched in 2006. Students, faculty, and staff members alike are helping to nominate the finest individuals from schools throughout the United States and Canada.

Our goal is to recognize individuals for their commitment to and influence on teaching.There is no fee to be listed.

If you are interested in being a part of our national registry , spend thirty seconds filling out your basic application below:

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail us [email protected] for additional information.

Regards,

Melanie Moore

Editor-In-Chief

Who’s Who in Collegiate Faculty

210 58th Street

New York, NY 10022

Surely being addressed in a generic fashion such as “Faculty/Staff” is a good indication that this is a mass-mailing effort and that you have not been singled out for inclusion? And there is a lot of information about Biltmore online, with whom they claim to be associated.

I love the fact that, on their web site’s FAQ page, they say “Montclair Publishing’s “Who’s Who” Registries are proudly not affiliated with any other “Who’s Who” organization.” If being proud not to be affiliated with any of the other organizations of this sort isn’t a warning, I don’t know what is!

Anyway, I can’t say anything specific about this particular organization from my own experience – I can only offer advice based on experience with other organizations which seemed to be offering something similar. And that advice is that the danger of scams is too great, and the rewards of inclusion in a print volume to slim, to make it worth taking the chance that one of these organizations might be legitimate. And so I’d steer clear of any organization that calls itself “Who’s Who” or sounds similar to what I’ve described, if I were you.