This issue is excerpted from The American Faculty Poll sponsored by the Teachers Investment Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) and conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago in 1999. In this survey, 1,511 full-time faculty members from 285 institutions were interviewed. About one-quarter of these respondents listed the humanities as their academic discipline, and almost a third were in science or engineering. Approximately one-fourth of the faculty interviewed were in 2-year institutions, and 48% were at 4-year public institutions. Overall, 54% taught only undergraduates. Of these respondents, 62% had tenure and 19% were in tenure-track appointments. Faculty members overwhelmingly listed teaching as their principal activity, and men were somewhat more likely than women to show research, administration, or a combination of responsibilities as their primary activity. More than one-third indicated that their institution had a faculty union, and about two-thirds of respondents from these institutions belonged to the union. Faculty members rated the opportunity to teach students very highly, giving a picture of faculty members who are overwhelmingly content with both the professional and personal benefits to holding an academic appointment. Discontent centered around levels of institutional support for scholarship, teaching load, or compensation and student. The issue related to the future of higher education that garnered the most comment from faculty members was the lack of preparation on the part of students entering college today. Faculty members also expressed concerns about educational finance, finding qualified teachers, and the "commodification" of higher education. (SLD)