t Y, AUGUST 25, 1964 TIHE MICHIGAN DAILY P'AGEI SEwVEN, a ciua. !u r 1ii" 14 SFaculty: Intellectuals, Employees or Special ists? 4, 1 "> Its *'U' Role Is Obscured By Disunity By KENNETH WINTER Managing Editor The faculty member holds an ambiguous position in the Uni- versity. Viewed from one perspective, he is the blue-ribbon citizen of the community of scholars. As the man most dedicated to-and fur- thest advanced in-the pursuit of intellectual excellence, the faculty member is the true educator, and hence the man uniquely qualified to lead the University. The professor who takes this role seriously is likely to be one of the small number of faculty members actively concerned with the University as awhole. He may p work through the established channels, heading or playing a major role in the groups which wield the faculty's power over University policy; he may be a "faculty politician," joining with like-minded students and faculty members to press for University reforms. Chances are, he feels the faculty should have a more direct and decisive say in University government. Hired Man Viewed from another perspec- tive, the faculty member is little more than a skilled employe of a corporate institution. The institu- tion pays his salary, and when he disagrees with those higher in the hierarchy he ultimately must either accept their decision or leave. The faculty member who holds the pure version of this view.,- probably as rare as the "faculty politician"-does his job, collects his paycheck and goes home. His concern for the good of the Uni- versity is no more acute than that of the average General Motors employe for GM's profits. Even in his own job, his concern is not with how well he educates his students or how honestly he does his research, but with how well his work impresses his superiors and :cads to raises and promo- tions. Professional From still another viewpoint,; the faculty member is basically reither part of a "community of scholars" nor an employe. He is basically a member of his profes- sion: a doctor or a historian or an architect. His association with the University is incidental; his real l' alty is to his discipline, and his "colleagues" are not trne pro- fessors on other floors of Haven Hall but the members of corres- ponding departments at Harvard or Caiiff i sa. Within his specalry, he probably is a fine scholar and possibly a great teacher. Outside ic, his interest and ability are minimal. Few faculty members fit any of these descriptions perfectly, but many approach one of the images - particularly the last one men- tioned-quite closely. Indeed, if we are to accept any single descrip- tion as epitomizing the faculty member, this stereotype of the faculty member as a professional with perhaps a polite concern for the University as a whole would probably be our best bet. Varied Governments The loyalty of such faculty members to diverse disciplines leads to diverse forms of govern- ment in the various divisions of the University. In the schools where the conservative professions of medicine and business are taught, the government is quite hierachial, with decisions made at the top after a minimum of par- ticipation by faculty members. Lawyers, more professionally con-N cerned with civic matters, demand that even minor decisions in thei Law School be discussed and made in all-faculty meetings. The huge and diverse literary college uses the whole faculty as its basicC legislature, but in practice much1 of the governing is handled byf the dean and executive commit- tee. Combining all this diversity into any sort of a University-wide fac- ulty government-or University- wide faculty anything-borders on the impossible. If it is difficult to talk to the faculty member, it is almost absurd to talk of the fac- ulty: such a term implies a group1 with some degree of unity, which our faculty is not. Beyond the proposition that professors should be paid more, there probably is1 not one basic educational issue on which the whole faculty could1 reach a consensus. Goods and Bads This diversity has its advant- ages. It decentralizes the Univer- sity, so that, in one faculty mem- ber's words, "the mistakes they make in another department don't foul us up." It permits a variety of methods and styles of education to co-exist, free from stifling uniformity. But on the other hand, it muf- fles the faculty's voice in all-Uni- versity policymaking. It creates a power vacuum at this level, which permits - or forces - the upper administration to make the decisions. Concerned faculty have long sought a representative structure which will give them a loud and clear voice-or even ac- tual legislative authority-in Un- iversity policy. Senate Structure The present answer is the Uni- versity Senate and its committee structure. The Senate, composed of the 1200-odd faculty of tenure rank, is an attempt at "town- meeting" democracy. It is the body officially empowered to articulate "the faculty's view' on University affairs. The Senate meets only twice a year. Between meetings, its busi- ness is carried out by a smaller executive group, the Senate Advis- ory Committee on University Af- fairs (SACUA). This group can meet more frequently and act more quickly, but has no power to represent the faculty. SACUA, in turn, has numerous committees of its own. These deal with specific areas of the Uni- versity, from student affairs to research policy. Apathy Whatever the structural merits of this representational system, in practice it has suffered from the ever-present problem of apathy. One SACUA member morosely confided that last December's Senate meeting, though it went ahead and conducted its business, probably didn't even draw a quorum. (A quorum for the Sen- ate consists of only 100 of its 1200 members.) The "faculty politicians" hope that a restructuring will help. This fall will see at least the be- ginning of a detailed discussion aimed at revising and revitalizing the Senate. But whether the Uni- versity's faculty will be able to agree on how to organize itself- to say nothing of agreeing on any- thing else-remains to be seen. Its Freedom Is Maintained By the AAUP The chief means for guarding academic freedom at the disposal of University faculty members is to support the local chapter of the American Association of Univer- sity Professors. Several hundred faculty are members. The AAUP is a national body whose members include faculty from colleges and universities all across the nation and whose pri- mary dedication is to the preser- vation of academic freedom. The term academic freedom means the right of professors to express their opinions freely and without fear of reprisal from their school if the opinion happens to be a controversial one. The most common deterrent a professor faces in voicing controversial ideas is the fear that he may lose his job as a result of his outspokeness. Political Pressure The AAUP has no legal or ac- tual powers but it wields a strong political pressure in the form of censure. If it is called in to investigate a question of academic freedom violation and finds the case to be such a violation it censures the accused institution. The censure list is published in the AAUP bul- letin. Public statements are also issued at the time of the censure which the AAUP hopes will pres- sure the school into revising what- ever policy or action had been in question. The University . was on the AAUP censure list from 1955-59, because of certain Regents' by- laws which the AAUP felt violated faculty members' rights. Koch Case The charges brought before the AAUP are varied. One of the long- est lasting cases was that of Prof. Leo Koch at the University of Illinois. Three years ago Koch made some statements in the stu- dent newspaper condoning free love. He was fired a while later as a result of the adverse pressure put on the university. After an extremely lengthy de- bate the AAUP put the University of Illinois on its censure list for failing to use due process of law in firing Koch- The dismissal of history Prof. Samuel Shapiro by Oakland Uni- versity aroused a furor at the University. Groups picketed in front of the Oakland student cen- ter and the AAUP was asked to investigate. The local AAUP look- ed into the case and issued a state- ment criticizing the rationale Oakland used in dismissing Sha- piro. In Mississippi the faculty faced strong pressure from the national AAUP for its continued silence in the face of the injustices faced by James Meredith. The faculty was accused of abnegating its duty as teachers because of its failure to take the responsibility many felt was so clearly laid upon its shoulders. Groups like the University Sen- ate also offer faculty a means of voicing disfavor at certain Uni- versity practices, although again, any decisions made in the Senate have only the advisory power the AAUP decisions have. [I LSA Experimental College To Boost Liberal Education .we Jnow! (Continued from Page 2) graduate career. Until and unless the college grows big enough, however, exten- sive library and laboratory fa- cilities will not be duplicated. Stu- dents-as in most other academic and social areas-will still have the opportunity to use many exist- ing facilities of the University as a whole. Innovative Crucial to the new college will be a good deal of experimentation in the kinds of programs, teach- ing and curriculum offered to students. Among the innovations proposed by the literary college faculty committee are: -A simplified curriculum for freshmen and sophomores involv- ing a reduced number of courses that would be broader, deeper and worth more credits apiece. -Pooling large lectures to pro- vide "certain types of basic in- formation." These mass lectures would be made public so that stu- dents not enrolled in the residen- tial college could attend them. -Elimination of course-content duplication, a problem currently recognized by many faculty mem- bers. -Orienting courses toward in- dependent study by students so that classless reading periods could be beneficially worked into courses or into the whole college's calendar. Permit Further Steps While these moves are aimed at esconomy as well as education and are relatively basic, they hope- fully will free faculty time and establish a groundwork for further endeavors: -Tutorials for advanced stu- dents. -Offering courses specifically requested by small groups of stu- dents. -Informal discussions between faculty and students. -Reduced size discussion and seminar sessions in courses where interchange between teacher and student is most needed. To all these ends the residential college's director, Dean Thuma, recommends that "the staff of the new college be given great free- dom to determine its curriculum, internal administration and the teaching techniques to be used." Cut Services It is hoped that service courses -taught by the literary college to students in oth'er schools or col- leges-will be kept to a minimum or eliminated. IT'S A GROWING TOWN IN A CHANGING WORLD! BE REASSURED - deal with a nationally known, long established record shop FIND AMPLE HELP and guidance in choosing from an evergrowing selec- tion of record entertainment. ENJOY SHOPPING where music and artists on records retain their high intrinsic value. BE REASSURED in knowing that the pricing is competitive. FIND A BROAD SELECTION of the best in recorded music. SO JOIN YOUR FRIENDS - Shop where music on records is our pleasure, as well as our business. I :4kwsflc SmP NO 2-0675 417 East Liberty HOME OF U. OF M. 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