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college tenure req. was: Supporting vs stifling curiosity



On Mon, 11 Feb 2002, Karl Trappe wrote:

I thought it was: "There shall be a balance of Research, Teaching and
Community Service". Now, depending where you put the fulcrum, that can
balance at 95% research, 3% teaching and 2% community service. Which way
is the wind blowing on your campus, *this year*?

Fortunately, the US legislature has issued a top down edict: either open
the funnel with outreach (and keep it open) or you cannot have a research
center. The top of that funnel is the general public, it narrows to
primary schools, then to secondary schools, then to our undergraduate
schools, then to our graduate schools, then to our post-docs, then to the
research labs. We are no longer afforded the luxury of living in our own
private world, unless, of course, we can fund it ourselves... Karl



That edict hasn't filtered down to us that I know of. Here the
balance is set at 70% research, 25% teaching, and the 5% service I
mentioned. I've thought it a strange balance for an undergraduate liberal
arts college. But, the administrations seem to like the "prestige" of
grants and "high level" research. As a result many of the faculty hired in
the past 10 years are much more geared toward research than teaching or
service (in a broader meaning), so it is a positive feedback system. Not
one I'm happy with, but you can't blame people for following the reward
system they find themselves within.


Mike Monce
Connecticut College