Collegial Professionalism: The Academy, Individualism, and the Common Good

Discussions surrounding collegial practices and exchanges are common, but this volume departs from the usual and focuses on serious problems facing professionals in higher education--from being "open to corrections" and paying more attention to the "ethics of higher education," to creating collegial models that counter the traditional models of "insistent individualism." Bennett looks at the basic structure of what academic professionalism in higher education is and could be. Focusing on the flaws of autonomy that weaken the academy, he develops a more "relational model," which emphasizes "togetherness," "constructive education," "roles and virtues," "hospitality," and "thoughtfulness." He defines and reviews criticism, and he covers topics such as faculty individualism, departmental separatism, generational differences, codes of ethics, collective bargaining, and the competition in the academy for funding and students. The author does not call for an "unreachable academic utopia," but rather for change toward incorporating the collegial ethic of hospitableness and thoughtfulness. Not a bad idea in a world that often seems self-absorbed and disconnected. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. (From the Publisher)