Rather, the loosening of institutional ties has become a major risk, for today's successful university requires effective internal operations aimed at agreed-upon goals. Because faculty do the essential work of teaching and research, their participation and leadership are key. Also, faculty must embody and serve as guardians of the values that should permeate the institutional culture, including, at a minimum, freedom of exploration and expression, commitment to excellence in scholarship and teaching, and tolerance for differences. Promotion of such values requires time, effort, and devotion. Some in business foresee a work force with loose, and even temporary, ties to organizations.
Universities spring from a different culture.
Faculty are citizens of their institutions as well as employees, citizens who deserve the loyalty of the institution even as the institution asks for theirs. Whether universities adapt successfully to the present environment will, in my view, depend on whether individual faculty members correctly read the needs of the era and take personal responsibility for the success of their institutions. I can think of nothing more important or rewarding than to help preserve our research universities for the next generations, so that they may continue to represent the highest aspirations of the American people.