AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Bricks and Mortar: The American Campus2. The Myth of the Bloviating Professor: Sages and Guides3. Getting the ""Liberal"" Out of Education: The Curriculum4. Distance Makes the Heart Grow Colder: Online Education5. A More Perfect Union: College and University Governance6. Superstars and Rookies of the Year: Academic Competition7. The Case of the Firecracker Boys: Academic Science and Academic Freedom8. The Disposable Faculty: Tenure Now9. Staging a Comeback: Exemplary CasesNotesIndex
In this provocative work, Mary Burgan surveys the deterioration of faculty influence in higher education. From campus planning, curriculum, and instructional technology to governance, pedagogy, and academic freedom, she urges far greater consideration for the perspective of the faculty. Burgan evokes the pervasive atmosphere of charge and counter-charge on U.S. campuses, where competition trumps reason not only in athletics but also in research, faculty recruitment, and fund-raising. Relating this ''winner-take-all'' mentality to the overspecialization of faculty and to overreliance on non-tenure track instructors, Burgan suggests that improving life on campus depends on faculty members' successful engagement with their administrative colleagues as well as their students. Informed by experience, fueled by conviction, and full of practical, strategic advice for the future, What Ever Happened to the Faculty? is an excellent resource for administrators and faculty who are eager to change the tone and trajectory of contemporary higher education.