Life in a Research University

Abstract

When Greg Semenza and Garrett Sullivan requested an essay from me on “Life in a Research University,” I replied that my career had little typicality in terms of today’s PhD tracks; and, further, that the issues of teaching and undergraduate education that have dominated my 43 years at Rutgers involved choices that few, if any, beginning assistant professors could now make without committing professional suicide. The changing definition and expectations implied— demanded—by the term “professional” now have little relevance to the world of humanities education I entered in 1971. Here I want to address, in the context of my own experience, issues that involve teaching, research and publication, and building an institution. Rutgers has changed vastly since I arrived: from being a collection of liberal arts colleges, it has become a major public research university. Having been a part of Rutgers through all of these changes—as both a professor of English and an administrator in several roles, including vice president of undergraduate education and dean of humanities for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences—I want to describe here what “Life in a Research University” once was, and has become. The trajectory I trace here indicates in some ways, I think, what the future holds for those who might be fortunate enough to work in a university like Rutgers. .