In the increasingly hostile territory of University professorships, publishing a book is more important than ever. A tenure-seeking professor could make or break their career by writing their life’s masterpiece in search for a steady job.
Critics of the “publish or perish” mantra often cite a lack of focus on classroom ability and the sole reliance on publishing as a negative aspect of the state of affairs in academia. The reality is that in a free market system, the strongest survive.
The nature of a talented professor includes having an engaging and informative persona in the classroom and having a name in the published world of academia. The ability to balance research and writing with educating and running a classroom is indicative of a true professor in the classic sense.
Publishing a book increases local and national awareness of talented professors. The Flagship Agenda calls for a higher demand of original research by professors to achieve tenure. An increase in publication by University professors raises out-of-state awareness, which may attract a larger diversity of students. As the college experience relies just as much on education from peers as from professors, this diversity is an essential aspect of student life.
Participation in research at the forefront of their field should also be part of a professor’s life. Bringing unique experience and knowledge to the classroom is a worthwhile experience for students. It is much more interesting to listen to a professor’s own work – a subject in which they are emotionally invested – than to listen to a professor lecture from a textbook, announcing the bits of information to learn by rote to spit out on the next blue book. An engaging conversation about an original work is more beneficial on higher levels than mere memorization.
It is not to be forgotten that it is also important for professors to have exceptional classroom abilities. Without the understanding of how to relate to students – or the rest of academia – a professor won’t make a good educator or author. For this reason classroom ability cannot be ignored in the hiring and tenure process.
The University should be commended for requiring professors to stay on top of their fields and written works. At the same time, administrators cannot forget the core of a professor’s responsibility – the classroom.
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