I have been working in higher education
since 1978 – at Amherst College, Montana State University, and the University
of Rhode Island. The current climate for higher education is the most
challenging I have experienced or observed, especially for public colleges and
universities. With public higher education caught between declining state
support and escalating demands to restrain tuition increases, the financial
climate is increasingly difficult. Expectations for access, accountability, and
innovation are expanding for many private as well as public institutions. The sustained budget impasse in
Washington is taking a toll, constraining research funding at a time when the
nation, and the entire world, needs America’s research universities to do more,
not less.
These factors, and many more, contribute
to a growing set of issues around adaptation, flexibility, and governance. Governance questions associated with
the role of shared governance on the campus, and the role of governing boards
and government off the campus, have become especially pointed and problematic.
In short, problems are multiplying, resources are diminishing, expectations are
increasing, and stress is high.
So, why are so many people still
interested in academic careers, especially on the faculty, and why do people
with desirable options outside of academe choose to stay?
I like to read Yankee Magazine. Lynn indulges me by maintaining our subscription.
Several months ago, Yankee ran a
story on a person who trains border collies. One of the memorable quotes about border collies was that, for them, “The work is its own reward.” I
believe that is true for many people – staff, faculty, and administrators – who
devote their careers to higher education.
Simply stated: the work we do is very rewarding. Higher education makes
a profound and extremely positive difference in the lives of people, in the
societies in which they live, in understanding the universe, and in sustaining
the hope that we can build a brighter, sustainable future. The work we do is good work, in two common senses of the word: it is, in my judgment,
far more frequently than not, of high
quality, and it is virtuous.
That’s good, because the work is not easy
and the preparation required to carry it out can be lengthy and arduous,
especially for faculty. For many
of our staff, the work can be physically or emotionally demanding, and the
compensation relatively low.
Consequently, although it is true that “the work is its own reward”,
that should not be the only reward.
Many full-time faculty at the University of Rhode Island are
significantly less well compensated than their peers, and this problem needs to
be urgently addressed. The
University also needs to improve the working conditions for part-time faculty
and decrease its reliance on such appointments, in part by increasing the
number of full-time and tenure-track appointments. We need to increase the number and compensation of our staff
in critical areas as well. None of
these steps will be easy and, given the constraints on tuition increases, will
require increased support from the state of Rhode Island. But it will certainly be rewarding if
we succeed.
It is May and Commencement is
approaching. Commencement provides
an excellent opportunity to celebrate the good work of the students, of the
faculty, and of the entire university community. It is a time of achievement, a time of promise, and a time
of hope. The celebrations of the students
and their families remind all of us that the work we do has tremendous rewards.
