The Evolving Higher Education Professoriate: Implications for ASHE

Professors devoted to the study of higher education number fewer than 200. They are located in academic departments of several kinds, come from a variety of scholarly backgrounds, and join together primarily through membership in ASHE. Surveys of ASHE professors in 1972 and 1980 reveal a significant increase in the average age of the professors and a striking rise in the respect they acccord to theory and research. These trends are accompanied by growth in scholarly productivity reported by the professors. Changes in the professoriate suggest a reassessment of the role and mission of ASHE.