The Perplexing Professoriate

Continuing from my last post, I want to explain why I don't think Americans need to be as critical of college faculty as some politicians think they should be.  The biggest misconception I've seen in the news and from politicians about professors is that they have cushy jobs that require little amount of time actually working.  All too often, only time spent teaching appears in these articles.  Of course, for major research universities, most professors spend less time in the classroom than most Americans would probably like.  However, the amount of time spent on research and service is largely unknown to those outside of academia.  Hell, many undergrads don't even know what professors do with themselves outside of teaching.

Service can be difficult to report in any way that doesn't come off as trying to sound more important than it is.  After all, meetings don't really sound like hard work and surely you can just zone out and occasionally vote on a committee, right?  But that's the problem.  People generally don't understand the workings of a university and underestimate the amount of work faculty members put into it.  And even in the case of the professors who don't take committee work seriously, they still probably advise master's and doctoral students.  In the case of adviser work, their reputation is partially on the line with each publication and advanced degree their advisees receive.  Much of this work can be seen as similar to one-on-one teaching or tutoring.  But all too often, they are just called on to be in the classroom more.

But of all three of a professor's main duties, none is misunderstood as much as research.  We've all seen the descriptions of professorial research as arcane, hyper-specialized, and unimportant work that results in publications that will only ever be read by less than ten people.  In the cases of the arts and humanities, the work often comes off as shockingly irrelevant to society.  In the sciences, the work sounds so complicated that people also cannot fathom any potential benefit from it.  Yet universities often pursue the "publish or perish" mentality if a professor ever wants a chance at tenure.  How are professors supposed to (unofficially) devote most of their attention to research while also spending most of their time on teaching?  Clearly it's an impossible situation.

I know most people don't realize the pressures faced by professors and don't understand their work.  But the tenure system is very selective and it definitely does not reward laziness.  In most cases, these people have dedicated their lives to obtaining a doctorate and facing the uphill battle that is securing a tenure-track faculty position.  Sure, some may grow complacent after receiving tenure.  But for most professors I've seen, they love their work and continue working diligently for its entire duration.  People rarely demand such accountability from other professionals.  The fact of the matter is that most people will not take the time necessary to fully understand the role of the professor.  But they just need to trust that professors are working hard for the benefit of the students, the university, the state, the nation, and the world.