The "Teaching Faculty in Academe, 1972-1973" machine-readable data file (MRDF) resulted from a mail survey of faculty members in 301 institutions of higher education in the United States and represents a replication or follow-up of a previous survey conducted in 1968-1969. The purpose of the survey was to reassess college and university faculty in the light of significant changes in American higher education; e.g. tighter job market, growth in collective bargaining, alteration in tenure policies, decline in federal support for university research, introduction of affirmative action programs, decline in campus unrest, lower growth rate for undergraduate enrollments, and the precarious financial situation in many higher education institutions. The 301 institutions include 78 universities, 181 four-year colleges, and 42 junior or community colleges. Institution faculty size ranged from 20 to 4,500. A total of 53,034 faculty members responded to the survey, with 10,689 indicating either that they had no teaching responsibility, or that they had changed affiliations, or that they had retired. A total of 42,345 faculty indicated that they were currently active teaching faculty. A total of 281 variables were collected from each respondent (not identified by name), including demographic background, educational background, work history, current position, most outstanding professional accomplishment, and opinions and attitudes on a wide variety of issues related to higher education and their own role in teaching. POPULATION: Higher Education Institutions (> 2,400); Higher Education Teaching Faculty (> 518,000). TYPE OF SURVEY: Follow-up Survey; National Survey; Sample Survey. RESPONDENTS: Higher Education Institutions (301); Higher Education Teaching Faculty (53,034). FREQUENCY: Periodic. YEAR OF FIRST DATA: 1972. (CDM/WTB)