The author begins by asserting that tenure does have a future, even though cultural and economic trends in American higher education have brought it to near annihilation in the past decade. She is sorry to say that it has survived these trends for one troubling reason--tenure is the ultimate employment perk for very successful members of the…

The author of this article was particularly intrigued with an observation made in a paper written by one of her students in a graduate seminar on the philosophy of higher education. Most class members wrote about contemporary issues, but this student focused instead on mentoring in the medieval church. He reported that both the eastern and western…

Because of its combination of competence and responsibility, college faculty must take seriously its role in improving the quality of the educational enterprise through its authority in some aspects of institutional decision-making, especially program development and review. (MSE)

New challenges to the old ideal of academic freedom suggest that its traditional defense is inadequate, and must be connected to the ideal of ethical individualism. Compromises to academic freedom and freedom of speech generally should involve the distinction between doing deliberate harm to others, which is not protected, and some perceived right…

It is argued that, when higher education views publications as the major measure of college faculty productivity, it encourages anxious deference to authority, ritualizes compulsive behavior, promotes academic narcissism, and stands in the way of useful inquiry, authenticity, and personal growth. (MSE)

Asserts that big-time sports distort educational values, and discusses faculty's role in restoring a better balance. (EV)

The reform of big-time collegiate athletics will take sustained effort on the part of many segments of the academic community. In recent years, the faculty has been among the most negligent. A stronger faculty role may not be a sufficient condition of further reform, but it is a necessary one. (MSE)

The American Association of University Professors' revision of a 1966 statement concerning the role and responsibility of college faculty as teachers, colleagues, members of an institution, and members of a community is presented. (MSE)

Faculty development programs reflect an underlying distinction between a faculty member's professional roles as teacher and scholar, and have limited impact. If rethought, they could empower college faculties and vitalize their institutions by addressing the mixed nature, multiple features, and necessary complexity of the college teacher's role.…

Faculty have dual professional responsibilities: as researchers they are committed to support and advance their disciplines, but as teacher-scholars they must be equally committed to the broader ethical, philosophical, and practical structure of academe. (Author/MSE)

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education's Professor of the Year for 1982, a Colgate University astronomer with an interest in archaeology, explains his excitement in and commitment to teaching college students. (MSE)

A discussion of public attitudes toward higher education and faculty looks at deepening public distrust of the professoriate and tenure, ambivalence about college teaching as a professional pursuit, and the role of public relations efforts to win support within constituencies. Broader definitions of teaching and service, and more substantial ways…

A discussion of the responsibility of the college teacher as researcher looks at the researcher's role in setting agendas that may be of national or international significance, effects of research on the lives of individuals and groups studied, possible consequences of the findings, and perceptions of "successful" research. More difficult debates…

It is suggested that college teachers are in a position of substantial power with students because of the nature of their work, and that the traditional taboo on sexual relationships with students has less to do with morality than with the effectiveness of teaching and the mentor relationship. (MSE)

The climate for faculty participation in college governance will deteriorate by 2005 because of turnover in senior faculty, lack of the usual mentoring of young faculty, changes in institutional reward systems, attraction of external disciplinary activities, and the effects of privatization on collegiality. Prompt action is needed to bolster…