Quote:
Originally Posted by Gresto
After all, isn't the principal function of a professor to teach and inspire his or her students with aplomb, mastery, and erudition? Research and publication should rightly be deemed secondary,
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You're looking at this from the point of view of a student (or perhaps a teacher?), not an academic. If academics are most passionate about teaching, they wouldn't get a PhD and spend years of their life doing research, they'd become teachers. Sure, education, mentoring, and outreach are all important parts of an academic's life, but the science (or... humanities? I don't know, maybe things are different there) is the goal. Many faculty "don't mind" teaching, and some even enjoy it, but it's not their priority. Places with the lightest teaching loads are more desirable, and in some cases faculty can often even use grant money to "buy-out" their teaching slot, hiring a lecturer or adjunct or something to fill the role. There are places that make education a priority (e.g. liberal arts colleges, supposedly), but everywhere I'm familiar with, teaching is "important" and "crucial," but in practice tenure decisions are made based on publications, grants, and how much people like you.
(Disclaimer: I'm soft-money "Other Academic Appointee" with a non-teaching primarily-research role).