Early on in her first tenure-track job at Michigan State University, in the late 1970s, the author happened to be riding the same train from Lansing, Michigan, to Chicago as the department chair who hired her, Alan Hollingsworth, who had since become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. It had taken her three years to land a tenure-track…

While women have made progress in many areas of higher education, institutions still need to focus attention on the advancement and retention of women at the highest academic ranks. According to data from the U.S. Department of Education's 2005 Fall Staff Survey, women represent only 40.6 percent of full-time faculty and 25.1 percent of full…

It is proposed that the primary method for college budget reduction should be horizontal, across-the-board cuts by percentage applied to all programs and departments. It is argued further that vertical budget cuts embody imperfect procedural justice and should be considered only in extreme situations. (MSE)

The academic department is viewed as a form of cartel, a model of monopolistic behavior characterized by control over a particular differentiated product. The development and operation of this academic cartel is explored. (MSE)

The PhD dissertation is the ultimate educational product. It reflects the training of its author and the technical, analytical, and writing skills he or she developed in a doctoral program. Successful completion of the dissertation and the award of the PhD certify that the degree recipient can do independent scholarly work. That much is generally…

Good departmental practices can help women and minority faculty thrive and make the greatest possible contribution to the academic enterprise. Several recent books have explored what is wrong with the current way of doing business. In this article, the author outlines steps to bring U.S. minority and European American women faculty--at both the…

The applicability of the principle of comparable pay for comparable worth is discussed for college faculty jobs, not only for alleviation of sex discrimination but also for eliminating bias-related discrepancies between departments or specialties. (MSE)

The National Institute of Education report, "Involvement in Learning: Realizing the Potential of American Higher Education," is discussed. The study group highlighted the outcomes of an undergraduate education--student learning and the implications of student learning--and concluded the appropriate source of curriculum reform is the…

The average salaries for full professors and new assistant professors in 21 disciplines for 1976-77 and 1984-85 are ranked and the percentage increases in the intervening period are listed and analyzed. (MSE)

Areas of change and nonchange in college faculty employment since the 1950s are examined, particularly as they affect faculty mobility. External factors (prestige, labor market, public opinion) and internal factors (the department structure, institutional policy, and changes within disciplines) are discussed. (MSE)

A growing bulge in the age distribution of California State University faculty and its potential effects on the status and distribution of full-time, part-time, tenured, and probationary appointments in the institution are examined. (MSE)

When a large group of nontenured part-time English department faculty were summarily dismissed, a significant segment of the English curriculum was left largely unattended, and other problems arose throughout the institution. (MSE)

Between years 1990-91 and 1991-92 the average college faculty salary rose 3.5 percent, the smallest nominal increase in over 20 years. Data for academic field, institution type, and faculty rank are presented along with an appendix presenting data from the 1991-92 American Association of University Professors' national salary survey. (MSE)