It would be very odd if the Los Angeles Lakers shelled out millions to abenchwarmer and offered their MVPs and all-stars the lowest salary possible.
But many feel that for one reason or another this is how the University treats its best teachers.
Of the 33 people nominated by students for the 1999-2000 Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, only 12 were tenured professors-the others were graduate students, visiting professors, assistant professors, research professors, professors of the practice and lecturers.
This pattern of student preference for younger, non-tenured teachers raises age-old questions as to whether the tenure system, in its attempt to promote quality research, stifles quality teaching.
William Chafe, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, said the results this year were an aberration, not a trend. "I think our tenure-track faculty care deeply about teaching," he said.
But Associate Director of Alumni Affairs Barbara Pattishall, who oversees the award, said it is a general trend that most of the nominees are not tenured professors. "That's always the case," she said, but declined to comment further.
Award nominee Celia Bonaventura, a professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment, said the tenure system does have a negative impact on teaching. "The appointment and promotion process emphasizes one's research skills and one's ability to gain insight into one area of science. I don't think there is a parallel emphasis on good, quality teaching," said Bonaventura, who teaches at the Duke Marine Lab.
Bob Thompson, dean of Trinity College, said tenured professors are recognized for their teaching. "We have a lot of evidence that our higher-level tenure-track faculty are being appreciated," he said, citing the Trinity College Teaching Awards, which annually honor professors whom faculty members and department chairs think have exhibited excellence in teaching.
Thompson said that among tenured faculty, there is an expected amount of variety of interest in teaching. "I'm sure there are some [professors] that are more enthusiastic about their research than their teaching," he said.
Thompson said he thinks it is important that the administration continue to tell tenure-track professors that teaching is important. He added that teaching is considered when tenured professors are reviewed. "Teaching is attended to during that review, so if there are concerns then they are brought up," he said.
Associate Professor of Physics Josh Socolar, also an award nominee, said the process only prevents less-than-mediocre teaching. "It's certainly true that the tenure system rewards high-quality research and doesn't reward high-quality teaching. It doesn't discourage it; it's just neutral-that's the message young faculty get." he said. "You can hurt yourself by teaching horribly, but you can't help yourself by teaching very well." Socolar also said the tenure system selects more for good research than for good teaching.
Michael Montague-Smith, visiting assistant professor of chemistry and an award nominee, disagreed. "The tenure system is structured so that it puts an emphasis on research and scholarly activities. People do what they have to do to get that, but I'm not sure it attracts people who aren't interested in teaching."
Montague-Smith noted, however, for those who do not enjoy teaching it would be very difficult to make the profession more appealing. "I think that is just the way it is. And I personally love [teaching]."
Economics instructor David Johnson, winner of the Alumni Association's 1997-1998 teaching award and current nominee, said the large amounts of time that many tenured professors must dedicate to research take away from a professor's ability to teach well. "I think the bare facts are that in order to teach well, you have to devote a significant amount of time to your teaching," said Johnson. "Because it tends to be a zero-sum game, time I spend preparing to teach is time that I can't spend doing my research.... It's an unfortunate fact of a research university."
Thompson also felt that the balance between time spent teaching and time spent researching must be closely considered. "We expect our upper-level faculty to teach. We think that is the best educational experience," he said.
Socolar said balancing his research and teaching responsibilities was a struggle. "I balance my time by making more of it-staying later at night. Teaching well takes a lot of time."
Socolar also said that tenured faculty face an increased burden of administration which can subtract from the effort they can dedicate to teaching. "One thing that is objectively true is that with tenure comes increased responsibility with committee work," he said.
Many think that these awards are important to reassure teachers that they are playing a meaningful role in students' lives. "The teaching awards are important because they are a very public display," Thompson said.
Bonaventura, a full professor, agreed. "I do enjoy teaching, but I would never have thought of being among the group that is nominated for this.... The positive feedback is a very definite incentive."
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