Engines of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University in the Twenty-First Century

7. Academic Roles

Academic Roles In a nation in which many work into their late sixties and a newly minted Ph.D. is usually close to thirty, academics can expect a forty-year career. Traditionally, they know what to expect from the outset: a career of research and teaching, publishing in academic journals and books, writing grant proposals, and presenting papers at academic gatherings. These activities are often supplemented by service on departmental and university-wide committees and other administrative duties. In a relatively few cases, an academic goes into administration because the challenges are appealing or the pay is better, but most return to the academic life when their term is up. For many, this career is satisfying, and it should be. What we call the traditional scholar is the foundation of the research university. It is a commonplace in highereducation to say that good research supports good teaching, and we believe this will continue to be the case. Changes in the classroom stemming from the technological revolution mean that professors can share their expertise with a greater number of undergraduates while mentoring a group of graduate students who support their teaching and research. In the language of an entrepreneurial university, this alone increases the impact of a scholar’s work. When scholars employ new technology to teach the basic principles and techniques of their disciplines, they have more time for matters that require direct engagement 7 98 ACADEMIC ROLES or small-group discussion. With assistance from graduate students, professors can take advantage of new styles of measurement to build into their courses clear objectives, measurable goals, and specific time frames.While this might sound formulaic and even in some ways antithetical to the academic mission, such an approach can be liberating by providing a structure for meaningful interactions between mentors and students who can best learn the nuances of an academic discipline through personal interactions with a mentor. The best of these scholars inform their own research agendas with the demands of their departments and disciplines and the needs of their graduate students and the university community at large. All departments need a cadre of faculty who research and publish prolifically and whose work is influential and cited by colleagues in their fields. This is how their peers judge the quality of a department, and those judgments have a direct impact on the ability to recruit graduate students and new faculty. Scholarly research is also important because it strengthens the core disciplines, which remain the building blocks of the university we envision. An emphasis on peer-reviewed research is also important for graduate students completing their doctorates and launching their careers. It is difficult to become a chemist or a historian or a philosopher without producing outstanding, peerreviewed research. A distinguished university needs departments that are well respected and attract top graduate students and faculty. For scholars willing to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset, however , the options are greater.We define below several of these options, including the public scholar, the translational scholar, the artistic scholar, and the engaged scholar. The Public Scholar Virtually everything public scholars do is aimed at a broad audience. Instead of writing a syllabus they write a textbook, and their classes are often productions involving hundreds of students and multiple graduate assistants. Their research passes scholarly muster, but they also write for a wider public on topics drawn from their scholarly work, and occasionally their books become bestsellers. Their lectures may be commercially available on DVD, and they are regulars on the lecture circuit or become experts called on by mainstream media. This role is uncommon in any university because it takes a unique set of talents. Only a few academics have the skills required to connect with a mass ACADEMIC ROLES 99 audience, but if a measure of academic success is impact, the public scholar ranks highly. Our colleague Bart Ehrman is just such a public scholar. A professor of religion, Ehrman learned early in his career that writing a textbook was a good way to supplement his income. When his first attempt was a success, he went on the lecture circuit. His interactions with the public convinced him to write a popular book based on his research, and he has published a stream of books for wider audiences. Titles such as Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why and Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And...