xt79gh9b8v6f https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt79gh9b8v6f/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Kentucky University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies 1992 volumes. Call Number: LD2762.9 .K38c. Accession Number: 2018ua049 journals LD2762.9 .K38c English Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection University of Kentucky Odyssey Magazine Research -- Kentucky -- Periodicals Education -- Research -- Periodicals Research -- Kentucky Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1992 text images Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1992 1992 1992 2026 true xt79gh9b8v6f section xt79gh9b8v6f 0 THE MAGAZINE ()E I'NIVERSITYOE KEN’I‘L'CKY RESEARCH 0 SL'N’I‘VIER/EALI‘ 1992 '

10TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

 

  

ODYSSEY: Ten Years of Highlighting UK Research

he idea ofpublishing a magazine devoted

to L niverisity o/ Kentu1ky researeh began
developingin I 980. W knew that there was a
trerriendous amount of important 11nd signifi—
earil work underway by our finally and that
mueh of it was having 11 )ro/ourid impart
throughout our .state and often throughout the
nation, This work was, unintentionally we felt,
a wellvkept .seeret. We did 11 ’t want it to remain
one.

The (ornrnitment was made to inerease the
inforrriation available to the 1111/1111 on II’K’s
researeh program, (1111] it was deeided that (1
magazine would be one oft/1e 11r11ys we 11111111
aeromplish this goal. After 1'11ttir1gba1'k several
other publieations to enable us to have the
resourees to proreed with the magazine we ti 11k—
ered with design for 11 while finally seltlingon
the eur'rent /1rrrriat and the name ODYSSEY

 

()ur first Issuez was published in the s mug of

I 98 2 and was rnel with very [111111111 ble reviews by
our readers, 1'olleagues at otherinstitutions, 11nd
by ( ’Kfaeulty 11nd staff ODYSSEY was offa 11d
ru n 111 ngl

Like most things in life, 11 rriagazine evolves
and develops—a nd ODYSSEY has 11 ndergorie
ma nyfi ne tu n i ngs 11 nd ad justrrien ts .si are l 982.
In this issue, there are
several rhange.s——all of
whieh are intended to
make the rriagazine more
readable, more interest—
i rig to you. IIop1fully,
in the years to 1'orrie
ODYSSEY will (on—
tin ue to reflert new up
proaehes and ernbraee
fresh ideas.

Fro m a personal van-
tagepoint, this has been
a growing, learning 10
years for me as editor of
ODYSSEY. W1 th every
issue, there are many
more researeh projeets that deserve to be featured
than we have room for. While it 11111 be [111 strat—
ing not to be able to tell you about every interest
ing projeet, the researeh we do publieize is testa—
ment to the depth and breadth of work going on
at this institution.

This issue is 1'onsiderably different than past
issues ofODYSSEYin terms of 1‘ontent. Instead
of featuring 11 sele1'tior1 ofresearrh projeets, we
are addressing questions under diseussion in
many parts of Kenturky as well (is in our
nation—”I'low do researeh and te111'l1ing re

 

ODYSSEY staff} (from left to right) Suzanne
Iir'oelieh, staff 111riter'," [eff ' mm, assoeiate editor;
Susan Hodgetts Stempel. editor; Teresa Shear,
designer; and I .isa I lizer, p'111'1li1'ations assistant.

late ? ”a rid “What benefits are 111egettingfrom the
researeh?” The voiees you will hear on the

following pages i nelude those of experts outside

the state as well as undergraduate 11nd graduate
st udents from the University ofKen tu rky,f11 1'11 lty
from other Kenturky universities and .s1'hools,

and our own I'K f111ulty

Reseanh is often 11 longdrawn— —out proress It
takes a tremendous 1'omrriilrnent to spend the
vast amount of ho 11 rs, weeks and years needed to
explore new areas 11nd to 1'reate solutions for
many of'today Ts problems. Yet underlying that
1'ommitrnent is an ex1'ilernent on the part ofthe

_/111'11lty researeher 11 n1] that exeitement is ("outav

gious.

I1'11t1‘h it all the/i me almost every time I walk
into 11 laboratory or /111'11lty offi 1'e 11nd hear about
new ideas 11nd projeets. Alore importantly, this
ex1'itemer1t is 1'ontagious to the students.

Students sense the enthusiasm ofourfa1'11lty
rese11r1herfs, who 11111 make very diffieult, (one
plex subjeets f11.s1'in11ting 11 1111 understandable to
them. After all s.tuder1/s are in the enviable
position of learning/111m the p1opl1 who are
(reatingthis knowledge 11 ml these i 11 run rationsv
[he/aeulty.

While this issue of()DYSSEYapproaehes the
s11bje1t of resear1'l1 11nd
teaehing more 1lire1'tly
tl111npasti.ssues, thelink
between the two—eve
dent in every issue of
ODYSSEY—is 1111 i m-
portant one, and its i me
part rea1'hesf11r beyond
the borders of» the 1111114
rrionwealth.

The fine staff of
ODYSSEY 11nd I hope
you enjoy this 11 r1 niver»
.sary issue. And, par—
ti1ularly, we hope you,
too, 1'al1'h the/eeling of
exeitement about the
many 1111'.ornplishments of our [’I\ finally re~
sear1 hers 11nd realize the great promise their work
holds for the/11 t u re.

 

Susa n I I odgetts Stempel
Editor, ODYSSEY

1)ire1'tor, (Iommu11i1'111‘ions U’ Advaru'errienl

[Due to spa1e1or1 strain/s two regular features are not
in1l111le1l in this issue "Behind the 8111111“ and
“I%Ii4\'()——Stellar Students, Premier I’la1'emenls. “
They will, however, appear in the next issue of»

ODYSSEY. /

 

   
  
 
 
 

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Universlty Archlve:
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University 0‘ Kentucky
Lush-flea, Kmnrcky 40506

I/INIIHYI/I/l‘ MHz/inn, [1. 26

Contents

 

.\ Hucknttrcl (}I;tnce:
The Emergence <>I Research ['nivei‘sities in the I'nitecI States ’

 

Research \‘s: 'I'euching: hon" TOWL’I‘ Iilitists. the Six—I {Utll‘

 

 

\\'(>1‘I\'\\‘eek. uncl ()thei‘ Myths :thotit the Protesm >1‘i;tte ()
Research: The Magnitude of the Mandate 1 i
But (Ian 'l'hey ’l‘ettch? 2t)

 

Ht>n<)i';1hle \Iention:
I'K 01‘;th Puts Ll \‘en' Rice on Mother Ruth 30

 

Kiosk:
”Kentucky Pipe” Dream. ListeningI I‘()1"l‘tiin()1‘s. LIIILI More... 38

 

l'pclzite:
Piecing 'l‘ogethei‘ the Past 5

 

 

 A Backward Glance:

The Emergence of Research
Universities in the United States

Byjefl Worley

ODYSSEY 2

 

 

he character of the American university has

changed considerably since the first col-
lege was planted on this continent over 550
years ago In responding to various expecta—
tions and urgencies. American higher educa-
tion has moved through three distinct. yet
overlapping phases.

The colonial college. with its strong British
roots, took a view of college life that focused on
the student—on building character and prepar—
ing new generations for civic and religious
leadership One of the first goals the English
settlers of Massachusetts pursued. according to
a description of the founding of Harvard Col-
lege in 1636, was to “advance Learning and
perpetuate it to Posterity." *

The colonial college was expected to educate

 

 

Physiology classroom, 1897—98, shortly afler

the university began admitting women

 

and morally uplift the coming generation Teach—
ing was viewed as a vocation—a sacred callr
ing an act of dedication hont )red as fully as the
ministry. In fact. what society expected of
faculty was largely dictated by the religious
purposes of the colleges that employed them.
Students were entrusted to tutors responsible
for their intellectual. moral and spiritual devel—
opment. According to historian Theodore
Benditt‘ “professors were hired not for their
scholarly ability or achievement but for their
religious commitment."

This tradition. one that affirmed the centrality
of teaching. persisted well into the 19th cen—
tury, Young scholars continued to be the
central focus of collegiate life, and faculty were
employed with the understanding that they
would be educational mentors, both in the
classroom and beyond.

But change was in the wind. Higher
education‘s focus gradually began to shift from
the shaping of young lives to the building of a
nation. The idea that Americans should strive
to build a better world began to come into
prominence.

In 1846. Yale L'niversity authorized the cre—
ation of a professorship of “agricultural chem-
istry and animal and vegetable physiology." In
the same decade, Harvard president Edward
Everett stressed his institution‘s role in the
service of business and economic prosperity

The practical side of higher learning was
remarkably enhanced by the Morrill Act of 1862.
later called the Land Grant College Act. This
historic piece of legislation gave federal land to
each state, with proceeds from sale of the land
to support both education in the liberal arts and
training in the skills that ultimately would

 

 

  

 

undergird the emerging agricultural and me-
chanical revolutions. In Kentucky. this legisla—
tion had a direct and almost immediate consc
quence: the founding in 1866 of Kentucky‘s
A&.\l College. a component ofthe one-year—old
Kentucky Ifniversity,

The Hatch Act of 1887 added energy to this
effort by providing federal funds to create
university—sponst)red agricultural experiment
stations that brought learning to the farmer. and
the idea of education as a democratic function
to serve the common good was planted on the
prairies. Kentucky I'niversity president James
K. Patterson. two years before the Hatch Act
was signed into law. had already convinced the
university board oftrustees to create an agricul—
tural experiment station. The General Assem—
bly approved the board's action. awarding the
station state funds and giving it the obligation to
serve the state‘s farming interests by testing
commercial fertilizer.

By the end of the 19th century. American
education. once devoted primarily to the intel—
lectual and moral development of students.
added sen'iceas a mission. and both private and
public universities took up the challenge. In
1905. David StarrJordan. president of Standford
I‘niversity. declared that the entire university
movement in the 20th century “is toward reality
and practicality." By 1908. Harvard president
Charles Eliot could claim: "At bottom most of
the American institutions of higher education
are filled with the modern democratic spirit of
serviceableness."

Skeptics looked with amusement. even con-
tempt. at what they considered the excesses of
utility and accomm<)dation. Some even viewed
the agricultural experiment stations as a be—
trayal of higher education‘s mission. They
ridiculed the "cow colleges." seeing in them a
dilution of academic standards. Others recoiled
from the idea that non—elite young people were
going on to college.

The idea that professors could spread knowl—
edge that would irnprove agriculture and manu-
facturing gave momentum to what later became
known as applied research. In the 1870s and
1880s. many agreed that education was. above
all. to be considered useful. Over the next 50
years. these agricultural sciences developed at
a rapid pace. vastly increasing the knowledge
that scholars could apply.

 

Service during this expansive period had a
moral meaning. too. The goal was not only to
serve society. but to reshape it. Andrew \X’ltite.
the first president of Cornell Ifniversity. saw
graduates "pouring into legislatures. staffing the
newspapers. and penetrating the municipal and
county boards of America.“ In this era marked
by a continued emphasis on liberal education
and values. the faculty‘s role was energized by
determined efforts to apply knowledge to prac—
tical problems.

Basic research. which can be traced to the first
years of the Republic. also began to take hold.
Our country‘s earliest research effort had been
led mostly by investigators out—
side the academy—people such

 

 

 

as Thomas Jefferson; the matlr The COlOTlidl COll€g€ was

ematician Nathaniel Bowditch;
the pioneer botanists John and

expected to educate and marally

William Bartram; and the uphfi the cmmnggenemtion

pCI‘SCV'CI‘ZlHT LISII‘OUOIIICI‘ Nllll'lll

Mitchell. who set up an observa~ Infact, 111th 3062.60? expected of

tory on lonely Nantucket Island

and. on one October night in famlt)‘ was largely dictated by

184'”. discovered a new comet.

Still. colleges themselves were ”1/6 Tell-@0115 p'LHPOSES offlte
not wholly devoid of scientific
effort, As early as 1758. John COZlegeS that emPZQWd ”MY”.

Winthrop of Harvard. the first

academic scientist. had a laboratory in which to
conduct experiments. However. this change to
research experimentation at the college itself
came slowly: when Benjamin Silliman became
the first chemistry professor at Yale in 1802.
there were only 21 other full—time scientific
faculty positions in the I'nited States.

At Kentucky I'niversity. the first research
project was carried out almost as soon as the
doors of the institution opened. In 1860. a
stranger from Pennsylvania. OWN. Yost. ap-
peared before RegentJohn B. Bowman seeking
the help of faculty and students in testing a farm
machine he had invented. Yost's proposal can
be called the first research contract L'K received
In gratitude for the help he was given. Yost gave
the college the sum of 823.000. an astonishing
amount when translated into 1992 equivalents.

The research mission the university assumed
from its beginning was also exemplified in other
fields. In the 1890s. the university pioneered in

continued on page 4

 

5 ODYSSEY

 

  

 

Basic scientific knowledge
came to be regarded as the foundation for

the achievements ofapplied science during the war.

the new field of X—‘ays, Merry 1.. Pence and
joseph W Pryor. MI), studied scientific jour-
nals and, guided by them. built an X—ray
machine, Pryor used it for his research into the
anatomy of the hand. and he placed their
machine at the seryice ofthe Lexington medical
profession.

By this time. late in the 19th century. a number
of Americans had gone abroad to study in
Europe and were profoundly influenced by the
research orientation of the German university
and wanted to develop a similar model here,
G. Stanley Hall. first president of Clark Univer-
sity, wrote in 1891. “The Gennan University is
today the freest spot on earth . . . Nowhere has
the passion to push on to the frontier of human
knowledge been so general." Some. it is true.
resisted the German influences. The prominent
American humanist Irving Babbitt argued that
the PhD. degree led to a loss of balance. He
complained about the “maiming and mutilation
of the mind that comes from over—absorption in
one subject." declaring that German doctoral
dissertations gave him “a son of intellectual
nausea."

Still. research and graduate education in
creasingly formed the model for the modern
university. And to men like Daniel Coit Gilman.
who introduced the term “research" to Ameri-
can higher education in 1906. this European
model called for a new kind of American

 

 

 

Carnegie Library, the library of
the University of Kentucky from 1909 to I 931

 

ODYSSEY 4'

university. one based on the conviction that
knowledge was most attainable through re-
search and experimentation. Acting on this
conviction. Gilman founded johns Hopkins
University in 1876. a step described by sociolov
gist Ed 'ard Shils as “perhaps the single. most
decisive event in the history of learning in the
Western hemisphere." since Gilman was the
first to "transplant." successfully. the German
university model to American soil.

So by the turn of the century. the advance—
ment of knowledge through research had taken
finn root in American higher education. and
colonial college values, which emphasized
teaching undergraduates. began to lose ground
to the new university that was emerging.

In contrast to European university professors.
however. American professors who wanted to
undertake research projects had to scramble for
the necessary funds. Chair appointments for
European professors typically included direct
support for research institutes or seminars.
Before 1900. it was common for American
professors to pay these extra expenses out of
their own pockets.

A true research economy did not come into
existence until the 1920s. The stimulus for this
development was the war—related research con
ducted by scientists during World War I.

American scientists had been mobilized dun
ing the war to perform a wide variety of tasks.
of which antisuhmarine warfare was probably
the most scientifically challenging. Scientists
not only performed these tasks effectively. but
their accomplishments seemed to vindicate
past investments that had gone into building up
academic science. Basic scientific knowledge
came to be regarded as the foundation for the
achievements of applied science during the
war. In the United States, at least. this was a
monumentous realization. "For the first time in
history.” according to internationally renowned
American physicist Robert Millikan. “the world
has been waked up to an appreciation of what
science can do,"

Universities in the 1920s began to view
industry as a source of revenue for research
work—the role of industry should be to support
the universities and then reap the eventual
harvest of practical results. Afterthe war. in fact.

 

  

 

 

[7K rereives experimental electronic

digital computer kit in 1957fmm IBM:

{left to rig/ll) I Ien ry Simpson, IBM; Dan Terrell,
(lean oft/2e (fallege Q/Iingineming' Walter (Ira/21M,
IBM; I IA. Rmnannzvitz. head 0/1 'K Department
n/If/erlriml Iingi nemi 11g.

MIT made an explicit commitment to work
closely with industry. The MIT "Technology
I’lan" encouraged contributions by businesses,
giving them access to MIT‘s facilities. personnel
and expertise. A Division ofIndustrial Coopera-
tion and Research. set up to administer indusi
trial contracts in conjunction with the plan.
became a permanent fixture—the first univer—
sity office of grants and contracts.

As the Great Depression gave way to a
devastating war. another watershed in the de—
velopment of the university research system
was reached. Yannevar Bush of MIT andjames
Bryant Conant of Harvard volunteered the help
of the universities in bringing victory to the
nation. In 1940. Bush took the lead in establislr
ing the National Defense Research Committee
which. a year later. became the Office of
Scientific Research and Development. Aca—
demics flocked to Washington to staff the new
agencies. and federal research grants began to
flow. Universities and the nation had joined in
a common cause.

Remembering the growth of higher educa—
tion in the years following World War I. and
anticipating another such time of growth after
World War II. the University of Kentucky planned
for the future as the war was ending. The
administration thought in terms of both under—
graduate and graduate education. and at the

 

same time of research activity. In 1946 the
Kentucky Research Foundation was established
to oversee an expected increase of outside
funding for research and expansion of gifts for
scholarships and university development. It
was evident that the federal government. which
had been granting money to universities for a
long time. would participate on an unprec-
edented scale in supporting university research.

A few years after the war. with the help ofthe
GI. Bill, a veritable army of freshly minted
Ph.I).s fanned out to campuses across the
country. These young scholars sought to
replicate the research climate they themselves
had recently experienced. In just a few de—
cades, priorities in American higher education
were significantly realigned. The emphasis on
undergraduate education. which throughout
the years had drawn its inspiration from the
colonial college tradition. became overshad—
owed by the European university tradition. with
its emphasis on graduate education and re!
search.

 

 

According to Higher education ,SfOCUS gradually

Roger Geiger. pro-

fessorofeducation began t0 Shlfifrom the Shaping Qf

at Pennsylvania

State University. the young lives to the building ofa nation.

current climate

seems to be ripe for universities to convey the
hope that science will contribute to resolving
the current economic malaise. to spread faith in
the efficacy of basic research to provide us with
more knowledge. more alternatives. and more
flexibility to deal with future challenges.

*

/ I n/brnzaliwszr{171's attic/e a 'as taken/ruin Scholi
arship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate.
Ernest Boyer, Hie carrlqeie [buna'alirnr/ln‘ [be Ail—
z'ancemcnzr Q/‘Yeacbing (Princeton. XI). 1900: “Hille-
z'ng the Sacred (four Research and the Quest 1m-
1 ire/ill KHUZI‘Ié’dgé’ in (be American I 'nz'z'em'ti' since
I 020. ”RogerGezger. Science. ’I‘echnology & Human
Values. 13. .Vosp’ ("v 4. SummerfiAutmnn [988,-and
As We See It: Recollections on the E111ergence of
Research & Graduate Education. Susan I], [lot/gens.
ezI.. [be l‘niz'elsiti' of Kentucky (Lexingtrm. KY).
1990/

 

3 ODYSSEY

 

 Research vs. Teaching

Ivory Tower Elitists,
the Six-Hour Workweek, and
Other Myths about the Professoriate

thflWm‘lo

 

ODYSSEY 6

 

t‘s an old debate, one that re—emerges

from time to time on the venerable
dais of higher education: research vs.
teaching. And as the American research
university settles into its second century
of existence, it has, once again, been
called on the carpet to explain itself.

From UCLA to Harvard, with stops in
between, the issue of how faculty appor—
tion their time has gained momentum,
and criticism has come both from the
general public and from within research
universities themselves.

UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young
bluntly stated recently that there is an
imbalance between teaching and re-
search. “I don’t think it’s a great imbal—
ance, but in the last few years there‘s
been kind of an erosion in temis of the
amount of time and effort devoted to
undergraduate teaching.” “The quality
of education and teaching is at risk in a
research university,” said Harvard’s
fomier president Derek Bok in the fall of
1990, “because the rewards of society are
so powerful in the direction of research.”

 

1n responding to what he characterizes
as an unprecedented volley of criticism
fired at American research universities in
recent years, David Riesman, a professor

‘Tersonally, I don ’t want to be
taught by somebody who has not
continued to learn. ”

—I)az/ia’ Riesman,
professor mnm'tus of sociology at Harvard

emeritus of sociology at Harvard who is
well known for his studies of American
higher education, warns against what he
calls the “anti—intellectual” nature of some
of the calls for reform, particularly in
what he sees as a tendency for "simple-
rninded dichotomies" of teaching versus
research. “I worry about this rhetoric,"
he says, “and all this talk that there's . . .
too strong a focus on research. Person—
ally, I don’t want to be taught by some—
body who has not continued to learn.”

 

  

 

 

. . lots of profossors on campus ” would

ronsz'der a 53—hour workweek light duty.

—.\'1'('}tolos Rust,
I 'K Hut/null Professor of (kology'

 

titled “’l‘ight Budgets Demand Studies of Faculty
Productivity." says that a number of studies
have been done since that time by individual
researchers. institutions. state boards of higher
education. and state governments. The overall
results of these studies. interestingly enough.
have varied little over time.

In general. Layzell says. fttll—time faculty mem—
bers are found to work from 30 to ()3 hours a
week. with approximately half of their time
devoted to instructional activities—preparing
for classes. grading papers and administering
tests. A recent report by the National Center for
liducatit )n Statistics. "Profiles ofFaculty in Higher
liducation Institutes. 1988." indi—

catesthat in the fall of 198" full-time “Racking begms 101th what

faculty metnbers at all institutions

\vorked an average of 3% hours a [he [ea(hmhn0w5_ [hose

week and spent 30 percent of their

time in instructional activities. ZUhO teach must, (lbOUP all,
\‘icholas Rast. I'K littdnall I’t‘tr .

fessoroffleology. says that "lots of be lug” "Ifde and Steeppd

professors on campus" \vould coir in ”If kHOZUlegP Ofthfll

sider a i’urhour \vork\veek light

dttty. "1n the fall. I taught two fields. Teaching (an b? 1UP”
courses. involving every week six

hottrs in the classroom. between 10 regarded only asprojtessars
to l§ hours of lecture preparation. . '

and three to four hours of advising (1T6 102d?” read and

students in mv office. I s )ent three . '

\veekly hours'on my adulinistrative mtelloctually mgagfid. ”

duties and up to it) hours on re~

 

 

 

.V/r/to/m It’lly/ trig/tit tt'tt/t (LrtrlthNl/I‘ \Ittrlr'ttl I’t/rr

(tom/mm]. rt (,ttt't'tmt [‘t’fflltt’ tt'lto Ito/m In romp/etc
luv I’ltl). ttt {rm/rm m ”If \Itttttltt’) n/ 1002

search. divided between time allo— —1§t72t<$f Bttt‘t’t'.
cated to my o\\'n investigations and pmstdmrt oft/w (frttwgtt)
time allocated to four or five gradu~ foundation [Or the
. _ ate students," t ‘) i " U ~ ‘ ,
closer to home. several broadstdes ltave :ltflfltlttttté’ttl (if [NU/”"5

Rast may well be right about I‘K
faculty effon. According to the 1991 Self—Study
Sun'ey of faculty. staff and students at PR. of
faculty involved in teaching ()1 percent spent
from 11 to fill hours on instructional activity (a
few \vorked more than this). and 19 percent of
Tllt’ "SlX-HOUY VVOI‘lsWE’C‘ku professors involved in research \vorked ll—fitt
hours on research projects. Thirteen percent of
those condttcting research pttt in even tnore
time—31 hours a week or more. \V'hen time
spent on public service. administration and
professional development is added. a 00—hour
\vork\\ eek becomes commonplace for many
professors.

“Recent charges that [K professors \vork six-

been fired at Kentucky's flagship university. the
criticism ft )cused primarily ( >n faculty \v< )rklt >ads
and the quality of undergraduate education at
the I'niverstty of Kentucky.

11o\\ can faculty meaningfully engage stu-
dents. the question rttns. if professors are so
seldom in contact with them?

The issue of ho\\ faculty spend their time isnt
new. In a recent monograph. Flatt/(1' \l'tn'At/orttt.
Research. ’llteotj' and Interpretation. Harold
Yuker notes that the first study of faculty
\\orl\‘load.s “as done in 1919. Research and
fiscal analyst Daniel Lay/ell. in a recent article c‘ttttfttlutttftttt/u((i\l(>.\'

 

 

‘ ODYSSEY

 

  

ODYSSEY 8

 

“Research and teaching are like sinning and confession.
If you do not do the first, there is no need for the secand. ”

—l’Villiam Harris, president of 'l‘exas Sauthem University

 

Louis .S'wlft‘, the College ({fAHS and Sciences”
Distinguished I’m/essnrfar I 991792

hour weeks seem to have given rise to a
comparison I‘ve heard around campus recently."
says Louis Swift. dean of [Tniversity Studies at
UK. "The analogy has been put forward that
Rick Pitino. on a typical week. coaches two
basketball games. Each game takes about three
hours. so he‘s spending only six “contact hours‘
a week doing his job. So shouldn't he also be
coaching tennis, maybe golf as well? Like
I’itino. UK professors spend quite a lot of time
preparing to do the best job they can."

Robert Hemenway. chancellor of the Lexing:
ton Campus. says that a L? K faculty member. on
the average, works about 56 hours a week. But
how many hours faculty work. he says. is “the
wrong question."

In an article published in the Lexington
Herald Leaderin early March, Hemenway says
that what should be asked is this: What is the
quality of education students receive? "Calcte
lating faculty labor by counting hours is like
judging your minister on time spent preaching.
Ministers, like faculty. are trained to organize
their workweek around their public perfor—
mance. There is a public ministry on Sunday,
and preachers spend hours preparing for their
parishoners, just as faculty do for their stuA

 

dents." University faculty, Hemenway adds.
are like ministers: “Teaching is a calling. and
faculty endow and inspire each new genera—
tion with knowledge. challenging them to
make a better world."

Swift has a thing or two to say about the
quality of instruction at UK. He recently
chaired a committee to select final candidates
for the Chancellor‘s Awards for Outstanding
Teaching at the university. Swift says he found
this committee assignment to be “one of the
most difficult in my 21 years at UK.

“The Chancellor‘s Awards recognize top
notch teaching on the Lexington campus."
says Swift. “'I‘here we were, sitting around a
table goingthrough 71 nominations—71! And
as we reviewed and discussed them. we kept
saying. "l‘hese people are all so good! How
can we make these decisions? I don't think
people realize that there's a great deal of
excellent teaching that goes on here."

Swift believes that research and teaching are
complementary. not antithetical. "It seems to
me that one of the reasons we want to make
sure professors are involved in research is so
that they are intellectually alive. If you want
to keep current. to bring students up-to—date
information. you have to do research." Swift
adds that the impact in the classroom may be
immediate a discovery in the lab that stu—
dents can be shown during the next class
period. or it may be more gradual—develop—
ing a new attitude toward the work ofVirgil or
Goethe, "But." says Swift, “there‘s no question
about the fact that research influences teach—
ing in a positive way,"

 

The Research/ Teaching Link

From the time the first "research university"
opened its doors in 1876 [see article titled. "A
Backward Glance: The Emergence of Re~
search L7niversities in the L'nited States." p. 2].
research has been envisioned as a companion
to instruction. lt's reasoned that a faculty

 

  

 

 

metnber wlto is also a practicing explorer is
better equipped to lead the next generation into
tlte lrontiers of knowledge. "It's dillerent being
taught by a teacher. yersus being taught by a
tliscoyerer.” says Benjamin \‘y'are. \‘ice presir
tlent for research at Syracuse l'niyersity. who
describes a predisposition to insight that can be
impattetl only by a researcher. “At a researclt
tlniyersity. w e want to deyelop students who.
rather than just reciting lacts that we‘ye gi\ en
them. can look at a body ol' knowledge. see
what'smissing.andlocusonwltatreinainstobe
asked.”

l’.\ en lirnest [st )_\ er. president olitlte (Iarnegie
Foundation tor the ;\d\'ant'ement ol leaching
and a leadingt rittt ol \\ hat he sees asthe misuse
ol' faculty talent in American colleges and
uniyerstties_ agrees that all laculty sltt )uld estab—
lish their credentials as restxtrchers [Boyer pie
lets the term "stholarship." which lte says.
includes disct n ety . integratit in. applicant in and
teat lung. to the term “researthl "\Vhether or
not they cht N )sL‘ spet iali/ed. im estigatiye work
on an ongoing basis. e\ ety scholar must. \\ e
belie\ e. demonstrate the tapacity todooriginal
research. study a serious intellectual problem.
and present to tolleagttes tlte results "

The “Enthusiasm Factor"

In addition to bringing current inl'ormation
and perspectb es into the classroom. researclr
k'l'\'tl\‘lk'.ltillk‘l'\ can enliyen the classroom with
a constantly renew ed enthusiasm. says _lellety
liteber. assistant prolessor in l'K‘s Department
ol' liducational Policy Studies and liyaluation.
“lfyen it researclters cant discuss the work
they’re doing with. say. an undergraduate class.
they can still spark the group with sortie ol‘ the
enthusia