Views from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era are traced concerning the role of faculty in collegiate education, the curriculum, and desired learning outcomes. Previous educational thought concerning faculty, curricula, and mission provides a historical paradigm in which the ideological orientation of the 1985 Association of American Colleges' (AAC) report, "Integrity in the College Curriculum" can be interpreted. The AAC recommendation to restore the teaching orientation of the professoriate "as its first obligation" represents a movement away from the thought of Aquinas, Vergerius, and Ticknow which has characterized American higher education since the turn of the century. A revised faculty role emphasizing a greater teaching and formative orientation toward students' intellectual and character development represents a shift to the thought of Hugh of St. Victor, Aquaviva, Erasmus, Day, and Newman. The report further endorsed this group's thought when it revitalized the general education and prescribed manner of the liberal arts curriculum. The report also emphasizes wisdom rather than knowledge as desired outcomes. These orientations renunciate the current state of the American undergraduate experience formed during the twentieth century. However, the report does not fully address the purpose of the baccalaureate degree. (SW)