At the beginning of my Preparing the Future Professoriate class this semester, Dean DePauw asked us to write what we thought it meant to be a professor. Below I will copy my response from the beginning semester (which I will have pasted in after I write how I now feel at the end of the semester).

To be a professor (as in the sort I think I would like to become, which I recognize is certainly not the same kind all would like to be) is to commit to a lifetime of learning and mentorship and service. As a professor, I will teach, mentor, and serve in a way that makes the world a better place. I would like to provide opportunities for undergrads and grads to do research and to learn both in and outside of the classroom.

To be a faculty member is to commit one’s career to research, teaching, mentorship, and service. There are also implications for the personal life of a faculty member. For example, in many settings, faculty are seen as spokespersons and representatives of their institutions; new faculty might fare well to keep PR in mind with respect to public statements. To be a tenured faculty member is to then be able to make statements and do research with more concern for veracity than for political harmony. I think it is very important that tenured faculty feel quite secure in their position so that our knowledge can advance whether or not the interests in power condone a line of research.

It appears that I removed research from what I thought it is to be a professor; however, I now view research as one of a professor’s primary ways to serve the community and humanity, contributing to public knowledge seems to be a Great way to make the world a better place.