Last week we examined the socialization of professors, how the experience of graduate school draws them more and more deeply into isolated, highly specialized research while neglecting to teach them much about teaching and then releases them into an extremely competitive job market in which publications--or the possibility of publications--is the easiest way to stand out from the other hundreds of applicants. So our beginning professor is heavily pre-disposed toward researching and writing books and articles that will reach a small, highly specialized, audience.
Teaching classes to large numbers of undergraduates will not necessarily change that. Many professors in fact start out as instructors, are hired to teach a class or classes for a term or a year. Again, getting published is one's best bet at gaining a more stable and remunerative job. Professors who do gain such jobs cannot rest on their laurels, however, for the tenure clock starts to click as soon as their appointment begins.
Publications usually loom large in tenure and promotion. The first time I was reviewed for promotion, many years ago at a university far, far away, a great deal of attention was paid to my publications, both by the exterior referees and the committee members. When it came time to review my teaching evaluations, the day before the committee's report was due, it turned out that they had been lost. This was not a major concern, for my publications were numerous and well regarded. A friend of mine who failed to get tenure at an elite university despite a book with a top publisher and a fabulous reputation as a teacher was told by a full professor: "It's good to have good teaching recommendations. But not too good."
Now, not all professors at all colleges feel that way. Some colleges focus more on teaching than on research. But there is much truth in the slogan "publish or perish." Every hour devoted to constructing a lecture or grading papers is, from that perspective, time wasted.
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