Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Volume 4

Over the last 30 years, the role of teaching in academe has been ambiguous. At both established and developing universities, faculty attitudes and activities came to be shaped by the demands of, and rewards for, discovery scholarship. At two- and four-year colleges, heavy teaching assignments stifled pedagogical innovation. Faculty with an interest in teaching became confused and frustrated by the conflicting messages of mission statements and reward structures. In the narrow confines of discipline, specialization, and department, the community nourished by teaching disappeared.