Universities tend to evaluate professors based on their research output, but does that measure reflect the realities of higher ed? A study of 4,300 professors by Kyle Myers, Karim Lakhani, and colleagues probes the time demands, risk appetite, and compensation of faculty
The research comes on the heels of a 2023 report by the American Association of University Professors showing that during the past three decades, academic employment in the US has shifted away from tenured positions—which tend to bring higher salaries and job security—toward contingent appointments.
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To succeed in academia, professors often feel the pressure to “publish or perish.”
But in evaluating professors’ productivity based on total published studies and grant funding, are institutions overlooking other factors that affect a faculty member’s ability to conduct important research?
[This article was provided with permission from Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.]