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CHAPTER
16
Teaching and Research:
Balance as an ~nperative
Anne M.K. Vidaver and Arthur Kelman
F`ranciZZe M. Firebaugh, First Rapporteur
Mort H. Neafoi2Ze, Second Rapporteur
A provocateur's objective is to stimulate thought, discussion, and
debate. This can be achieved by proposing both conventional and
unconventional approaches to the task of balancing teaching and
research. Such a balance is desirable at both the undergraduate
and the graduate levels.
Where Are We Now?
Concern for undergraduate education in the United States is much
in the news these days. This concern covers the spectrum of
educational institutions- from liberal arts colleges to land-grant uni-
versities and is increasingly expressed as part of a larger con-
tinuum of concern about our entire educational system. Thus, the
deficiencies of our educational system have been identified per-
haps in the starkest terms by the data indicating how low the test
scores of our students are relative to those of students in other
industrialized countries. Notwithstanding the recognition that such
tests do not necessarily measure many traits that we hold dear,
such as creativity, perseverance, and the ability to synthesize ideas,
there is general agreement that the nation has a serious problem,
especially in the sciences (Moyer, 1990). Students' lack of knowl-
edge about the importance and nature of agriculture, forestry, and
natural resources is an even greater problem. The search for reso-
lutions to these problems was the mission of the conference on
which this volume is based, from balancing teaching and research
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
to breaking traditions in curriculum design. The conference sought
innovative ways to attract students to the areas of agriculture and
natural resources and to involve colleges of agriculture in educating
an increasingly urbanized citizenry about agriculture. The addition
of the term natural resources to agriculture reflects the fact that both
managed and natural ecosystems are valid areas of study and re-
search in colleges of agriculture, even if they are not always so
recognized.
Factors That Adversely Affect
Emphasis on Teaching
Before suggesting some steps that can be taken to enhance the
balance between teaching and research, it is important to examine
the factors that adversely affect teachers. First, there are many
forces at universities that serve to divert faculty from making the
commitment that is necessary to motivate students in the learning
process. The pressure on faculty to obtain grants from the federal
government and private industry has increased in recent years. In
part, this reflects the fact that base support at most institutions has
been seriously eroded. In most grant programs that are open to
research scientists, the competition has intensified as the number
of scientists seeking funding has increased. In th e interval be-
tween 1977 and 1987 there was a 60 percent increase in the num-
ber of research scientists at universities in the United States (Abelson,
1991). Although funding for research increased, it did not keep
pace with the increase in scientists and the increases for overhead
and the basic costs for supplies and equipment. AS a result, in
relation to the number of grant applications received, the percent-
age of grants, particularly in the biological sciences, funded by the
National Science Foundation and by the Competitive Grants Pro-
gram of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declined. It
is currently between 1 S and 20 percent.
Of particular concern for young faculty at the start of a tenure-
track appointment is the need to obtain an initial grant. Often, at
this stage, new faculty are assigned the responsibility for teaching
the introductory course in their field. The broad background needed
to teach such courses demands a major commitment of time. When
tenure is at stake, it is not surprising that the tilt in allocation of time
will be toward research and the preparation of grants at the ex-
pense of teaching commitments. Although there is a tendency not
to acknowledge this impediment to teaching, it is necessary to
recognize the fact that the financial and professional rewards for
excellence as a teacher are rarely equivalent to the rewards for
outstanding contributions in research (sykes, 1988).
In 1989, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teach
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TEACHING AND RESEARCH
ing completed a survey of faculty at research, doctorate-granting,
comprehensive, liberal arts, and 2-year institutions (Moyer' two).
The survey presented a number of questions concerned with atti-
tudes toward research and teaching assignments. Several of the
questions related closely to the subject of balance and the recogni-
tion of teaching versus research. The following statements and
responses were obtained from faculty at doctorate-granting institu-
tions, which would include all the research-oriented land-grant uni-
versities with colleges of agriculture:
1. In my department it is difficult for a person to achieve tenure if
he or she does not publish. Seventy-one percent strongly agreed
and 18 percent agreed with reservations.
2. At my institution publications used for tenure and promotion
are counted but not measured quantitatively. Fifty-three percent
agreed.
3. At my institution we need better ways besides publications to
evaluate the scholarly performance of the faculty. Seventy-seven
percent agreed.
4. During the past 2 to 3 years, financial support for work in my
discipline has become harder to obtain. Sixty percent agreed.
It is apparent from these responses that most faculty believe that
research should be their first priority. In a survey of the chief
academic officers at doctorate-granting institutions, the question
was raised as to whether in the evaluation of faculty performance
the balance in teaching, research, and service has shifted. Fifty-six
percent of the respondents agreed that there had been a significant
shift, with increased emphasis on research at the expense of
teaching and service. These surveys provide additional evidence
to support the perception that outstanding performance as a
teacher is not rewarded to the same degree as an outstanding
contribution in research is, notwithstanding the efforts to redress
this situation.
A second major factor that can affect teaching adversely is the
service requirement, including extension-related activities, that can
impinge directly on the time available to prepare for teaching courses.
Most faculty involved in teaching undergraduates in colleges of
agriculture have appointments that combine teaching with research
and service commitments. There is constant pressure to respond
to requests for advice from growers, industry representatives, and
county and extension colleagues. Service, in the broad sense, also
includes the need for faculty to be involved in faculty governance,
with commitments to departmental responsibilities as well as col-
lege and university assignments. Faculty are also expected to re-
view papers and grants for colleagues and to serve as panel mem-
bers for various granting agencies. In addition, as members of
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
professional societies there is the expectation of service on com-
mittees, editorial boards, and related society functions. Senior fac-
ulty members are often asked to serve on national advisory boards
or committees of government and private foundations.
A third major commitment of time is associated with service as a
mentor for young colleagues and faculty in other disciplines and
involvement in advising undergraduate and graduate students. When
one considers the other demands on a faculty members time, it is
necessary to decide not only how to balance teaching and research
but how to balance these two activities with the service component
as well.
Another major effect on motivation for teaching is the lack of
positive feedback, particularly for an individual at the start of his or
her career. Excellence in teaching is rarely recognized until a teacher
has taught for several years and students begin to spread the word
that an individual teacher is outstanding. Once recognition comes
via awards and other evidence of faculty support, such recognition
is usually within a college or department and rarely extends to the
national or international level. In contrast, a breakthrough in a
specific research area may result in very rapid national and interna-
tional recognition and professional advancement. More recently has
arisen the prospect that a major advance in research can be pat-
ented and royalties may be forthcoming, particularly in the area of
biotechnology. Financial rewards also can come from consultant-
ships and increased research funding.
An additional negative impact on teaching is the fact that there is
always a certain degree of ambiguity in defining the responsibilities
of any faculty appointment. it often is not clear how much time a
faculty member, especially a new member, should invest in teach-
ing at the expense of research and service. When one considers
all of the above factors that impinge negatively on teaching, it is
perhaps surprising how many instructors are still willing to devote
the time, energy, and thought needed to be outstanding teachers.
Steps to Improve Balance
Outlined below are some steps that can be taken to enhance the
balance between teaching and research.
1. Reward both teaching and research. To ensure that teaching
and research are seen as both essential and complementary activi-
ties of all faculty, both must be rewarded if both are to be per-
formed well. The impetus for reward must be implemented from
above, and the promotion and tenure system, which is at the heart
of the reward system in academy, must reflect this equity of em-
phasis. Such concerns have emerged in various forums (Koshland'
1991; Pelczar, 1990).
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TEACHING AND RESEARCH
2. Minimize teaching of ~how-to" courses. A debatable proposi-
tion to balance time in teaching and research is actually to de-
crease the teaching of training or~how-to" courses to a minimum.
This recommendation is made because the pace of modern sci-
ence continues to accelerate, which makes it even more difficult for
university and college professors to keep up with their respective
disciplines and take time to teach (Koshland, 1991 ). As noted
above, added to this time crunch is a necessity to secure funds to
support the research for which professors are employed.
3. Panel teaching should be explored. By panel teaching, we
mean that there should be courses that are taught simultaneously
not a sequence of individual lectures by a number of professors
from the same department but lectures by several instructors from
different fields. Such courses would emphasize the integration of
ideas, consider differences in perspectives, consider how different
disciplines interact, and simultaneously provide a forum for peer
evaluation of teaching. This suggestion is proposed because it is
curious that in real life, people such as farmers, small business
people, producers of value-added products, or persons involved in
global commodity trading integrate multiple inputs of information in
their decision-making processes. However, students rarely observe
such integration in college and universities. it is principally in sports
that a team approach by the coach (teacher) and players (students)
is rewarded in universities. Under a team system, all participants
strive to reach a common goal. Interdisciplinary research by facul-
ty, a form of integrated problem solving, is being tangibly rewarded
in some universities, but students rarely witness such activity.
For example, in the area of crop protection or sustainable agri-
culture, it would be valuable to have students exposed to a prob-
lem from the merged perspectives of the plant breeder, entomolo-
gist, plant pathologist, soil scientist, agricultural meteorologist, weed
scientist, ecologist, social scientist, and/or biochemist working as
teaching teams or panels, all of whom should be familiar with the
latest thinking and developments in their respective fields. Stu-
dents should be exposed to the process of integrating and synthe-
sizing knowledge based on different viewpoints and should not
have to learn to integrate knowledge solely through postgraduate
experience. Such panels would also serve the dual purpose of
encouraging research and encouraging teaching coordination and
communication among faculty. Such a panel approach could affect
the total teaching time of faculty, either positively or negatively.
Faculty need increased time for the assimilation and synthesis of
knowledge; the amount of new information is overwhelming. The
panel approach for certain advanced courses ideally could alleviate
that constraint.
In many situations, such a panel approach has proven to be
highly effective. For example, the longest-running program on pub
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
kc television in Nebraska, Backyard Farmer, has had a panel format
throughout its 39-year history.
4. Specify teaching roles for adjunct faculty. Each adjunct faculty
member should have a specified teaching role. Many campuses
are fortunate, for example, to have USDA personnel who may su-
pervise graduate students in research. However, it is unfortunate
that these scientists must teach on their own time, if they so desire
and if their own and affiliated administrations approve (we know of
only one exception). Cooperative agreements nationwide should
be modified to allow for a teaching role for USDA and other scien-
tists, and if congressional approval is required for such action, it
should be sought. Such a role for adjunct faculty will lead to
increased professionalism and improve the prospects for U.S. com-
petitiveness and the future education and training of students in the
sciences and technology. Thus, the teaching burden on state-funded
faculty would also be lessened.
5. Teaching schedules should be flexible. Teaching should be
flexible with respect to the times and credit offered. Such flexibility
could permit a reduction in a particular faculty members teaching
time by fewer credit hour requirements or at least offer more effi-
cient use of time. All the courses in colleges of agriculture seem to
be tied to a standard daytime regimen. Where are the weekend or
evening courses that might be attractive to instructors and that
might also attract students7 As we vie for nontraditional students,
courses need to be presented at nontraditional times. Also, minicourses
should be identified, and courses should be presented as short
modules. Both individual and panel instruction could potentially
equalize teaching loads and would be adapted to the needs of the
clientele students, many of whom work part- or full-time. This
could improve science literacy, one of the goals for the year 2000
of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and
Technology~s Committee on Education and Human Resources.
6. Students should participate in teaching. In at least some ad-
vanced courses, students should participate in teaching, with the
instructor as guide or mentor. This suggestion could potentially
lessen the burden of preparation time for faculty. Such participa-
tion occurs in some graduate courses. This may rekindle the en-
thusiasm of undergraduates in some cases, a characteristic that is
considered by some critics as being in short supply (sanoff, logo).
7. Learn to value good teaching. Universities may need to learn
from other sources how to value good teaching and aim for more
coordination between subjects and disciplines in teaching. There
seems to be a general opinion, justified or not, that small liberal
arts colleges are doing something right. Furthermore, projects such
as the Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-
Secondary Education can serve to improve teaching at research
universities. At the University of Nebraska, for example, this in
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TEACHING AND RESEARCH
valves critical self-evaluation by faculty, with administrative support,
that leads to specific rewards for effective teaching (Narveson' 1990~.
Still missing from all materials and analyses, however, is what we
can learn from the industrialized nations that have a better record in
science and technology education than we do. What can be used or
modified that would be useful to the U.S. educational system?
8. lmproue the ways to prepare teachers. We need to improve
the ways in which we prepare graduate students and young faculty
for their roles as teachers. Many innovative approaches have been
suggested recently (Barinaga, 1 also; Lee, l also; Palmer, l also; Pool,
1991). In addition, good teachers recognize that effective teaching
requires application of basic well-defined skills in communication.
There are very effective guidelines for success in communicating
ideas in the classroom and in evaluating success in teaching by
testing students for their knowledge and comprehension of the sub-
ject matter as well as ability in synthesis, application, analysis, and
evaluation (Bloom, 1956). All instructors can gain from personal
contact with the master teachers in a department. This type of
mentor supervision is often lacking and may be preferable to re-
quirements for a short course in teaching methods for those indi-
viduals who have never had the opportunity to benefit from super-
vised guidance in a teaching position.
9. Reuise the current concept of scholarship. in his excellent
treatise entitled Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professo-
riate, Coyer (1990) emphasized the need to revise our current con-
cept of scholarship that places research as the preeminent activity
of a university professor. Foyer advocates a broad definition of
scholarship that would place teaching as well as integration and
application of knowledge on the same plane as research or discov-
ery of new knowledge. He also outlines in some detail how this
can be accomplished.
The question is often raised as to whether an active research
program enhances the ability of a faculty member to teach in a
more competent and effective manner than if he or she had no
research experience. Most faculty would agree that the opportunity
to engage in research does enhance the quality of teaching. How-
ever, it is often not evident to young faculty members that the
reverse may be true.
Needs for Coor~iination
and Communication
In balancing research and teaching, one of the most difficult
challenges to solving problems and generating new knowledge in
this age of complexities is the need for increased coordination and
communication among faculty. This leads to both commendation
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
and criticism from the Alliance for Undergraduate Education, en-
compassing 16 major universities, whose main goal is TO foster
mayor innovations in the way undergraduate science is taught, and
to forge more intimate links between research and teaching (Cer-
tain, 1990:2). The alliance, which has the role of leadership in
science and engineering education, has not clearly included agri-
culture within its purview. The alliance has identified areas of
concern and produced an agenda for revitalizing freshman-level
courses. Some of these objectives are particularly applicable to
agriculture because of its historical development apart from the
other sciences dating back to the nineteenth century. The alliance
recognizes the importance of collaboration among the different dis-
ciplines, as does the National Science Foundation: "Future agricul-
tural scientists will need skills and knowledge outside traditional
agricultural disciplines" (National Science Foundation, 1 989:4).
Furthermore, we must find a way to involve colleagues in indus-
try in the education and training of both faculty and students. There
is something fundamentally wrong in our educational system when
senior officials in industry claim that, with the possible exception of
biotechnology, innovation and incremental advances in knowledge
most often occur in industry (National Academy Press, 1991). We
need candid assessments of how to change the conditions that
foster this perspective, if we consider that this is incorrect, as well
as how to improve the training aspects of both faculty and students
to solve the problem.
In some areas of agriculture, such as biotechnology, we should
take to heart the recommendation of the National Research Council
report that says "highest priority should go to increasing the retrain-
ing opportunities available to university faculty and federal scien-
tists to update their background knowledge and provide them with
laboratory experience" (National Research Council, 1987:107).
Strategies for Management of Time
In addition to the approaches discussed above, it is helpful to
consider how individual faculty members can manage time more
effectively in their search for balance. It is essential to recognize
the critical importance of time management when dealing with competing
demands. The concept that needs to be emphasized is the neces-
sity of recognizing that one must "invest" his or her time rather than
Spend" it on daily assignments. The ability to organize one's time
is the most precious of all skills. Priorities need to be established
on a daily basis; this enables one to avoid the so-called drippy
faucet syndrome, in which attention is given to minor doable as-
signments in preference to dealing with major or long-term projects
that warrant priority for completion. Many faculty would profit from
a short workshop on time management.
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TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Conclusion
There is much that can be changed. Although this chapter has
dealt principally with faculty issues, consideration also needs to be
given to what balance means to students relative to how they learn,
what they learn, and their programs of study. We have suggested
a few possibilities that can add to the consideration of how to
improve undergraduate education, including how to balance teach-
ing with research and service.
References
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Certain, P. R. 1990. The Freshman Year in Science and Engineering. A
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Koshland, D. 1991. Teaching and research. Science 251:249.
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FIRST RAPPORTEUR'S SUMMARY
Throughout Anne M. K. Vidaverts and Arthur Kelman~s opening
comments, observations and generalizations about agriculture were
made. They were often made as statements without rebuttal or
discussion, so they should be taken in that light.
The definition of the domain of agriculture is critical to determin-
ing the balance of what is taught and researched and the future of
colleges of agriculture. Much of the discussion about agriculture
concerns its maintenance as a field, without addressing the basic
issue of the domain of agriculture. Science is rapidly moving ahead
of many colleges of agriculture; one participant felt that only by
eliminating most current departments would the needed radical changes
in colleges occur.
Agriculture will have fewer resources in the future, and colleges
must downsize. They must also develop new approaches and at-
tract new students. To remain viable, colleges will have to change.
Professional societies create barriers to change through accredita-
tion requirements that more often reflect current status rather than
future directions. The historical base of organization of profes-
sional groups and their lack of response to change may not impede
changes in colleges of agriculture, but it may also not contribute to
a climate for change.
Agriculture needs to be concerned about minority issues and to
encourage minority students to study science. Although some ad-
vances in gender balance have been made within colleges of agri-
culture, the enrollment of more undergraduate and graduate minor-
ity students and their graduation are critical to achieving diversity.
Instruction
The need to broaden course content and to make courses of
greater interest to more students was expressed by several partici-
pants. More courses that are not strictly discipline based should be
available; The problem is finding courses to teach," reported one
participant. It was suggested that a basic conflict exists in hiring
discipline-based scientists with a focus on production agriculture
problems and in expecting them to teach broad-based interdiscipli-
nary courses. Agriculture should capitalize on the current interest
in the environment.
Flexibility in course schedules, including weekend and minicourses,
should be increased to better serve nontraditional students. The
possibility of teaching a course by a panel of several instructors
from different fields should be explored, emphasizing integration
and the interaction of different disciplines and giving students the
advantage of observing differences in faculty perspectives.
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TEACHING AND RICH
The importance of having the best teachers offering introductory
courses was stressed. Courses that include writing requirements
and regular feedback on papers and exams as well as cohesive
capstone courses were described as time intensive in nature but as
having a great potential to better teach and integrate course con-
tent. Vidaver and Kelman urged that teaching of training or How-to"
courses should be kept to a minimum; others commented on the
benefits of providing students with hands-on experiences. They
felt we should better relate courses to the needs of students.
Teaching and Rewards for Teaching
a
The faculty reward system should (l) be consistent and based
on clear expectations, (2) reflect the assessment of both teaching
and research as complementary and essential activities, and (3)
provide incentives for teaching excellence and curriculum innova-
tion. Promotion and tenure guidelines may actually be disincen-
tives for teaching. Guidelines that specifically engender a greater
emphasis on teaching are needed. It was noted that teaching evaluation
should be at the level of research evaluation and that we need
more peer review of teaching and review of course examinations.
A suggestion that did not receive general support was to require
and reward excellence in teaching before requiring and rewarding
excellence in research. A recognized problem is that new faculty
(indeed, many faculty) reduce their teaching involvement by Buying
out" of courses to increase the time they can devote to research. It
was attributed directly to the promotion and tenure system of re-
wards.
Recognition should be given to the importance of teaching, in-
cluding the option of devoting sabbatical leaves to developing inno-
vative teaching methods and courses. Structured programs for the
improvement of teaching should be encouraged, and adequate support
should be made available. Recognition and rewards for attracting
additional students in courses should be given to faculty in areas
where there are declining enrollments.
Vidaver and Kelman indicated that it would be advantageous to
have adjunct faculty, for example, U.S. Department of Agriculture
personnel, with teaching responsibilities. No response to the idea
was made. The merit of assigning faculty to teach areas closely
aligned with their research focus and methodologies was stressed.
The need for teachers who themselves have the ability to assimi-
late and synthesize ideas and who challenge students to develop
these skills was recognized. We need to integrate undergraduates
more fully into the department and disciplines through participation
in research, in teaching, and through opportunities for social ex-
changes with faculty. Students who participate in teaching, with the
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
professor serving as a mentor for the student teacher, increase their
identification with the goals of the department and the discipline.
Pleas were made for coordination and communication between
and among such groups as the Alliance for Undergraduate Educa-
tion, colleagues in industry, and other university faculty with faculty
of colleges of agriculture. One participant noted the potential for
faculty from colleges of agriculture to learn from faculty in U.S.
liberal arts colleges and from other industrialized nations about good
ways to teach science and technology.
SECOND RAPPORTEUR'S SUMMARY
Anne M. K. Vidaver and Arthur Kelman presented an overview of
the basic issues confronting higher education in agriculture as ad-
ministrators and faculty attempt to create and ensure a balance
between teaching and research. The paramount question is how to
ensure that the two are complementary and not divergent.
In attempting to address the question, Vidaver and Kelman out-
lined four issues that are basic to the resolution of the problem.
Factors That Influence the
Duality of Teaching
There are pressures of competing forces teaching versus re-
search versus service. We sometimes neglect the service function,
particularly the on-campus service function. The pressures result
from a competition for time, including time for university gover-
nance, professional activities, and mentoring. The mentoring as-
pect involves a tremendous time commitment, not only for students
but also for young faculty, and it is often overlooked.
Creativity and effectiveness are often difficult to evaluate in teachers.
The rewards for good teaching are never equivalent to those for
excellence in research. We are the problem in believing that there
is a problem in evaluating or rewarding teachers. No one prevents
us from effectively doing it.
Reference was made to the possibility that teachers hinder the
creativity of students. Outstanding students prefer to be challenged
and not stymied. The following question was also raised: Are we
prepared for the challenge of teaching a class of students with
diverse backgrounds? In addition, doctorate-level students who teach
sometimes lack training in the art of communications, for example,
techniques in managing a class and the actual teaching process.
We have a responsibility to mentor our peers and create internal
structures to improve and reward teaching so that faculty can effec-
tively respond to these challenges.
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TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Factors That Favor
an Emphasis on Research
We tend to instill in our students the idea that the path to gaining
preeminence is research rather than teaching. This is somewhat
related to the ready accessibility of tools for measuring creative
and effective research.
The mentoring rewards are evident in research endeavors and
through funding, publications, and graduate assistantships; but it is
not evident in the teaching program, where there is a pattern of
delayed recognition and a lack of positive feedback. It was pointed
out that there is an ambiguity of expectations.
Faculty paid exclusively out of the teaching budget are also ex-
pected to consult and do research. Researchers who are paid
exclusively out of the research budget, however, are not required
to teach.
Strategies to Enhance Balance
Is involvement in research essential for effective teaching? The
response was that more of an impact is made on students" lives
through their involvement in active learning experiences. For ex-
ample, the experiences of a student working alongside a bench
scientist can be an effective stimulus to creativity and knowledge
assimilation.
Teaching and research are integrative processes that contribute
to the genuine overall education of students and teachers. There
are grants in the teaching profession, and there are grants in re-
search. We should not track students on the basis of their interest
but, rather, try to truly educate them and not create clones after our
own image. The numbers game is rather pervasive on our attitude
toward teaching and research: We generate so many publications
and teach so many students without any reference to the effective-
ness of our teaching or our research endeavors. The pressure to
publish is being driven by the tenure system, and all educators are
a part of that system. This must change so that equal recognition
can be given to excellence in teaching.
During the discussion, individuals were asked to respond to the
issue of enhancing balance from the perspectives of a dean, a
department head, and an assistant professor.
Dean's Perspective
· Strong administrative support for the integration of teaching,
research, and service is the original spirit and mandate of the land-
grant university philosophy.
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
· There must be advocacy for and commitment to excellence in
teaching as well as research and service and a strong emphasis on
quality among students, faculty, and support staff.
· A comprehensive program of teaching awards, enhancement
grants, salary enrichment, faculty teaching development programs,
and recognitions should be emphasized.
· There should be a strong and challenging undergraduate re-
search and scholarship program.
· One of the problems associated with teaching is that it is done
and evaluated locally, which is not true of research and, to an even
lesser extent, extension. This leads to issues related, first, to how
evaluation is done locally and, second, the difficulty for a teacher
to become established nationally among his or her peers. Many
faculty respond to these forces by deciding to emphasize research.
This situation needs to be addressed by good local evaluation and
reward systems for teaching. For example, at the end of the year,
when raises are given, there should be clarity on the impact of the
contributions or lack of contributions in teaching, research, or ex-
tension on that raise. Too many raises are attributed to the re-
search efforts of the faculty when, in fact, it may have been due to
the teaching efforts.
· Prospective faculty members should not only give a research
seminar but should also give an introductory class lecture and be
seriously evaluated on both during the interview process. This
sends a signal to everyone in the department that teaching and
research are important.
· Evaluations of each area must be objective; that is, evaluators
should be wary of student evaluations. Performance criteria should
be set at the beginning of the evaluation period.
· In cases in which split teaching appointments are in place (two
or three way), the evaluation should be balanced accordingly.
· Evaluations should be ongoing, not once per year.
· Teachers must become directly involved in creative activity
(not necessarily original research). New ways to teach information
should be developed. Researchers must be involved in teaching at
some level.
· Organizational philosophy must be clearly delineated by the
dean.
· There should be encouragement and support for good teach-
ing and/or good research (scholarship).
· The nonpriority service responsibilities of junior faculty should
be minimized.
· Departments should be provided with the funds to do the job, not
to micromanage full-time equivalents, for example, a 404~20 split.
~ There should be uniform teaching, research, and service as-
signments for all faculty in a department. Teaching, research, and
extension should not be micromanaged.
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TEACHING AND RESEARCH
· Teaching should be built on a variety of approaches: advise-
ment of individual students with individual faculty, mentoring, indi-
vidual research assignments, laboratory efforts, field trips, summer
internship experiences, classroom teaching, student clubs, and guest
lecturers from industry, government, etc.
Department Head's Perspective
· When the undergraduate is integrated into the research enter-
prise, excellence in teaching and research will tend to be parallel.
· There is no fundamental premise that deficiencies in under-
graduate education occur because professors are tOO busy doing
research.
· Student evaluation of teaching is an effective tool both for the
evaluation of teaching and the modification of techniques. It should
be supplemented by collegial evaluation.
· There is a richer diversity of teaching situations than just class-
rooms. A good teacher who researches in an academic setting is
always teaching by example. We should broaden the publicts per-
ception of what teaching is.
· The academic senate (faculty) should have a powerful voice in
the academic personnel process.
· The idea that time is best spent in the laboratory should not be
promoted. Rather, balanced programs should be developed.
· Faculty should be encouraged to share research findings (in-
cluding mistakes and problems) with their classes.
· Special-problem courses should be developed so that under-
graduates can be exposed to research techniques, concepts, and
attitudes.
Assistant Professor's Perspective
· A young assistant professor should be able to choose two of
the categories on which he or she would be judged for promotion
and tenure. Excellence in" could describe the first category, and
"highly competent" could describe the second.
· The categories should be realistically evaluated.
· A "mid-term" evaluation with the department chair is essential.
· The department head and colleagues should visit the class-
room and the laboratory to authenticate the value of what the assis-
tant professor is doing.
· There should be agreement that the amount of time spent
reviewing grants and manuscripts should carry the same weight as
the time devoted to creating materials to support classroom instruc-
tion.
· Professional societies should honor outstanding teachers.
· Articles extolling faculty who give the extra energy to teach
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AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE
undergraduates should be published: Who are they, what moti-
vates them, and how do they get their rewards7
· Every faculty member should be expected to teach, participate
in scholarship, and serve.
· It should be recognized that support of excellence in teaching
does not necessarily mean less time or effort on research and
extension but a commitment to raising the quality of instruction and
teaching programs to higher levels.
· A teaching foundation that parallels the research foundation
found on most campuses should be set up.
· Research excellence is currently viewed and valued as bringing
in money to run and enhance a department or college. Therefore,
the value placed on research is in part due to a "greed" factor. if
there were some way that research achievement could be divorced
from indirect costs, it might be viewed in a more equitable light.
Strategies for the Management of Time
Vidaver and Kelman used their fourth point, strategies for man-
agement of time, as a summation of the various perceptions of
conflict between teaching and research.
The discussion group agreed that as colleges of agriculture in
land-grant colleges and universities continue to debate the balance
of teaching and research as being imperative, we must ask our-
selves, "Are the problems real or just a figment of our imagination,
and are our perceptions pervasive throughout the university or just
unique to the college of agriculture?"
In order to resolve the problem, we must do the following: de-
velop clear expectations of faculty who teach, focus on synergistic
activities that promote both teaching and research, and encourage
classroom visitation to complement the student evaluation.
Define the responsibilities of the job. Have a formal commitment
to all responsibilities without assigning labels; for example, require
each faculty member to spend lo percent of his or her work time in
public service. Have and demonstrate an organizational philoso-
phy that is clear and concise, one that supports good teaching and/
or good research and scholarship, and one that provides good
mentoring for new faculty and effective leadership.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
liberal arts
