Basic problems associated with the role of college faculty, working conditions and situational adjustments, and interpersonal relationships are investigated. Unresolved problems and the social structural circumstances that generate and perpetuate them are also examined. The sociological literature regarding the potential problems in academic work is reviewed, and the results of surveying faculty in the fields of history, political science, biology, and business economics are examined. Four categories of problems are identified: professional, organizational, collegial, and client. Professional problems derive from the limitations of graduate training and professional organizations, while organizational problems stem from the fact that college professors are not free professionals, but employees who work within complex, formal organizations. Collegial problems arise because professors within departments, and sometimes between departments, are dependent upon one another. Client problems exist because professors must interact frequently and directly with students and because student opinions and actions may influence the professor's careers. Interviews were conducted and the Potential Problems Inventory was administered to faculty members from the four departments in both a private college and state college. Among the findings was that enrollment economics pose the most acute problem facing these college professors today. There appears to be a shift from the traditional academic ethos to a market ethos, which threatens the usual patterns of relationship between professor and the discipline, the college, the students, and colleagues. A bibliography, questionnaire, and interview schedule are appended. (SW)