I wish to challenge our faculty in particular to get more involved in the lives of our students. I prefer not to fault individuals, since this situation exists at all leading universities. It is a situation of our own collective making. And despite all protestations to the contrary, we continue to orient the reward structure so that interaction outside the classroom with undergraduates counts for very little. So let s admit up front that we indeed expect an exceptional level of scholarship from our faculty.
Balance is the key.
Graham Spanier, Ph.D., is the president of Penn State. This essay is an excerpt from his 1999 State of the University Address. The Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802-3303. Contact the editor for permission to reprint.