The Faculty and the Public
Faculties a t public uuiversities appear to be getting a good deal more than their customary share of attention from state legislators these days. The reasons are not difficult to ferret out. Faculty members like to emphasize that they hold the decisive power on the campus, both inside and outside the classroom. With this power goes the responsibility to see to it that the institution operates in an orderly and productive manner. Since many public institutions have been having difficulty maintaining such an operation in recent months, legislators are wondering why the faculties have not been more effective in preventing or stopping the disruptions. The closer the legislators look a t the universities and at the role of the faculties in the continuing disturbances, the more alarmed some of them seem to become. An unusually astute and respected legislator recently told us that he and many of his colleagues were much more concerned about faculty attitudes and activities than about those of the students. This man, a longstanding, knowledgable, and empathetic friend of higher education, confesses that he is finding it more and more difficult to present the case for higher education to the public, "not because of what the students are doing but because of what the faculty is not doing." Pressed on this point he told us that many parents believe that a large fraction of faculty members are neither interested in the st,udehtsnor inthe institution at which they work; that the prevailing public view of the faculty is that this is a group of highly qualified but somewhat irresponsible individuals who are much more involved with personal ends and ambitions than with the needs and concerns of others. If there was skepticism about faculty attitudes before the current campus conflicts, the failure of the faculty to be visibly constructive in helping to work out these conflicts has escalated the skepticism to scorn in the minds of many people. The public is not entirely wrong in this as many faculty members would agree. Nor is there much cogency to the argument that the Public just does not understand what the university is all about, or what the role of the faculty member must he. The people take the position that they pay faculty members to teach their youngsters and to develop expertise to help the society. When the people need help they expect faculty members to pitch-in. If there are any alienat-
editorially speaking
ing misunderstandings between public and faculty over what the university is all about or what the faculty member's role is, these had best Ke put aside until the crisis has past a t which time it would appear that the burden for compellingly elucidating to the public the role of the faculty and the purposes of the university would rest squarely with the faculty. While communication with the public is not a one-way street, it might be well to remember that it leads to the sometimes reluctant source of operating funds. Nevertheless, the faculty need offer no apologies for the contribution it continues to make to society. I t would be a mistake for faculty members to react defensively at this time, just as it would be a mistake to be indifferent to the problems of student unrest and their implications. If the faculty does indeed hold the decisive power within the university now is the time to show that quality of leadership and statesmauship that can convince students and public alike, and that can set the university above the immaturity of imprudent idealism and beyond the inflexibility of real-world pragmatism without appearing to belittle either. It seems inevitable, however, that along with the leadership must come a reordering of priorities by faculty members. If research and individual scholarly productivity including the important training of graduate students retain the highest priority then classroom teaching and service must begin to play a more important role. Interest in students, especially undergraduates, and institutional loyalty need to become more visible and more deeply felt. The public interest must become a topic of awareness if not a matter of concern for all faculty members at public institutions. Inflation and a continuing heavy tax burden make the public especially resistant to increased costs of government including those associated with higher education. Legislators will be forced to call for increasingly more detailed accountability by public universities and their faculties. i\lore and more restrictions will come. The only way to minimize this is for faculties to regain the confidence of the public. I n general most of the people want to respect the faculties and want to he proud of their universities. However, in the light of what is happening faculty members will have to show that they care enough to make some sacrifices too. WTL Volume 46, Number 7, July 1969
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