Beyond the classroom

University professors are not just teachers. They are not just researchers. Or lecturers. Or writers. Professors are often misunderstood by students to be people who drive to campus from suburbia, lecture for six hours, and return home to read, write and think. But for most professors, the day is longer than the hours spent teaching. A normal day's duties often include family, commuting, teaching, meeting with students and colleagues, researching and paperwork. "I don't think I've ever met an academic who I would say is lazy," said Classical Studies Department Chairman Ralph Rosen. "All of my friends in academia are busy every minute of the day, if not with busy work, then with thinking about their fields or working on research." Rosen, who himself teaches, runs his department, has a family with young children and likes to spend time with his students and colleagues, often finds that there are just not enough hours in the day. "Even on Friday, when I teach no classes, I have a number of administrative things I need to deal with," he said. "The day is rather fragmented because I have to deal with so many little things." Rosen described one of the most difficult aspects of his job as the need to "shift gears" so often to do different types of jobs. "When I'm in the classroom, I'm in my teacher mode," he said. "But when I'm in the library, I'm in the scholar mode." Rebecca Bushnell, an English professor, also wears many hats as a faculty member. Bushnell, director of the Commission on Strengthening the Community, also chairs the graduate program in English, teaches and has a family at home. "I think it's hard for some students to imagine what a professor's life is like sometimes," Bushnell said. "I let them know up-front that I have kids, a husband, a house and administrative responsibilities, and they are pretty understanding." Involvement in the community is also a large draw on time resources for many professors. Bushnell's involvement on the Commission stemmed from her "strong tie to the University" and her feeling that "things can always be improved." Physics Professor Larry Gladney said he does a number of things in the community, such as introducing physics to West Philadelphia seventh graders, advising local middle school and high school students on their science fair projects, and helping out "traditionally black" colleges. And Arabic professor Roger Allen is the organist at the St. Mary's Church on campus. He also serves as the faculty advisor to his son's University fraternity. Professors are often criticized for a lack of commitment to their students. But, for many, dedication to teaching, as well as interacting with students outside the classroom, is tantamount to their pursuit of excellence. "In the School of Nursing, we have a lot of faculty-student involvement," said Assistant Nursing Professor Margaret Mahon. "If we are not letting students feel that we are accessible, then we have failed." The desire to teach, Rosen said, is something that comes naturally out of his interest in his field of study. "I can't tire of talking about the issues that I find so fascinating," he said. "[Being an academic] really is a privilege. Living a life of the mind and of discourse is intrinsically rewarding, and teaching is a way of communicating that to others." While teaching is the top priority, interactive teaching is crucial to both the sanity and interests of many professors, Rosen added. "I cannot stand in front of a class in one place and read from lecture notes," he said. "There has to be a rhythm of interaction." Professors who spend their lives actively educating themselves and others say they really want students to make an effort to participate in their own education. "There is nothing deadlier than having a student who is required to take your class," Faculty Senate Chairperson and Mathematics Professor Gerald Porter said. "I consistently, throughout my tenure, have loved having students who take math because they appreciate the value and the beauty of mathematics, not because they're forced to take it." Gladney said he looks forward to teaching every day, but only when his students interact with him inside the classroom. "People seem to just sit there and say 'feed me,'" he said. "It's great when they speak up and challenge and explore." And Rosen agreed, saying he enjoys having "talkative" students who show "they're enthusiastic about discourse" and want to be "more active participants in the educational process." William Kissick, a professor in both the Wharton School of Busines and the School of Medicine, said his most exciting days are those during which he has the opportunity to teach. "I look forward to the intellectual give and take," Kissick said. "It's exciting for me when a student leaves class and says 'I understand it, I actually understand it now'." Gladney, Kissick and Rosen agreed that one of the most glaring obstacles to an education for many students is the inferior attitude with which many students look at the University. "The faculty have a low opinion of the students and the students have a very low opinion of themselves, in terms of being at Penn as opposed to Stanford or Princeton," Gladney said. "I'd like to see that change." Kissick said the University as a whole "collectively just doesn't realize how good we really are." He described a T-shirt he received some time ago that has the names of the other Ivy League schools on it. Each name on the shirt is crossed out, and under them the shirt read "Oh, what the hell, I'll go to Penn." "I have found that attitude by students very distressing because they fail to recognize that there are few Universities that offer the same opportunities [that we do]," Kissick said. And Rosen agreed, saying the "inferiority complex" exhibited by many students in the College of Arts and Sciences is "surprising, especially considering the amount of first rate scholars that exist here." All things considered, professors say the University provides an excellent, interactive environment for all types of scholars. Kissick said he enjoys the overlap the University allows between departments. He teaches in two departments, and interacts with students and faculty in many others. "I work with colleagues in the Medical School, Wharton and Nursing on the same array of problems," said Kissick, who deals with health care systems. "Nowhere else in the country could I do this as effectively." The interaction of the various departments and schools within the University appeals to Allen as well. "One of the reasons why I have always stayed at Penn is its own sense of itself," Allen said. "The links between schools and departments makes this a very pleasant place to be a scholar and a teacher." And Porter agreed, attributing the "good atmosphere at the University" to the "tremendous accessibility to colleagues around the University." The underlying force that makes an academic is not, however, the desire to chair a department, teach, or write books, many University professors say. Instead, that force is an intense love for a particular field of study. And that love is transmitted by way of intellectual and physical energy to their respective fields. "As academics, we're all pursuing different kinds of problems," Kissick said. "And when we work for a long time to solve a problem, all we end up with is new questions." Kissick said he believes a University is a "collegium of scholars in search of truth, three-quarters of whom have found it, not two of whom agree." The search for one's own truth, many say, generates both anxiety and excitement. Rosen said he has an "intrinsic, meaningful commitment" to his field that causes him to constantly want to reexamine and explore ideas. "For me, there has always been a sense that what I'm studying is not just a dusty old subject," he said. And summer, when Rosen said he has no immediate teaching responsibilities, is the most anxious time of the year for him. "I usually say that since I'm not teaching and I have no meetings, I can sit down and do my work," Rosen said. " There is a lot of major thinking and writing that has to get done over the summer, and I always feel really on edge." Classical Studies Professor and College Dean Matthew Santirocco describes academia as a "competition with oneself." He said academics are often not measured by an outside standard, but rather by pressure they put on themselves to do better all the time. "Academia is not the rat race that some other professions are," he said. "Rather, it is a self-generated pressure to do that which you love." Statistics Professor David Hildebrand, who has been at the University since 1965, said he still finds small triumphs in his academic work. "You chew around a problem, and you think about it, and nothing happens," said Hildebrand. "And then all of the sudden, 'of course!' and you've got it, the light bulb thing -- and that still happens now." For Bushnell, one of the most infuriating, as well as rewarding, aspects of being a professor is that her work is never done. "You work on campus eight hours a day, but when you go home, your work is not done," Bushnell said. "There is always another book to read. Its not a job that you feel like you've ever finished." Allen, too, said the notion of never finishing one's work is what sets academics apart from other professionals. "You never really put anything down or stop thinking about what you're doing," Allen said. "Professors as researchers deal with ideas, the majority of which do not crop up between nine and five." Because of this, Rosen said, the traditional nine to five day is not a natural way to carry out his profession. "I think about my work all the time," Rosen added. "We are kind of forced into that nine to five mentality. [But, the work of an academic] is a 24-hour affair."

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