The average number of Arts and Sciences faculty taking paid leave to do research has jumped by more than 35 percent in recent years, as a result of the administration's attempts to enhance Tufts' reputation and invigorate scholarly output.
This year, 28 faculty members in the School of Arts and Sciences will take research leaves of either one or two semesters, according to information provided by Tufts' Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler. This number is slightly lower than last year's 32 research leaves, or sabbaticals, but exceeds the totals of previous years.
The average of 30 professors taking leave over the two-year span compares with an average of 22 in the four previous years.
This increase coincides with an initiative sponsored by Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg, which took effect in 2006. His initiative specifically affects junior faculty members by allowing them to take two semesters of leave. They had previously been allowed only one semester.
"The purpose of a sabbatical is to enable faculty to have time off to advance their research, and thereby to increase the reputation of the university," Sternberg said in an e-mail.
Junior faculty members, known as assistant professors, are teachers who are on the six-year track to earning tenure. Sternberg said that having an extra semester to do research will help assistant professors prove themselves as scholars.
"The reason for this change in policy is that junior faculty have a relatively short time in which to earn tenure," he said. "If they cannot [produce] research of sufficient quality, quantity, impact and visibility during this period, they are not eligible for tenure."
Still, most junior faculty members only take semester-long leaves. Only three last year and six this year took full-year sabbaticals.
Provost Jamshed Bharucha also considers it a top priority to increase research opportunities for faculty members.
"I think that Tufts students really deserve to be working with a faculty that is not just teaching out of other people's research but are themselves intellectual leaders," he said. "Speaking for myself, I've always found that when I'm active in research, I am able to bring into my teaching lots of new ideas that I think are necessary in order to keep your classes fresh and current."
But some students are worried that the university might not be able to find an appropriate balance, and that encouraging a high number of professors to go on leave is a move away from Tufts' undergraduate-education focus.
"The thing is, on one level it's going to bring up the academic standards of the university, but on the other hand it will detract from how much they teach," junior Sudeep Bhatia said. "From an undergraduate perspective, ... I want to be able to take all these good classes and talk to my professors."
But Sternberg argued that "research and teaching are not a zero-sum game."
"On the contrary, the best teachers are often the best researchers, because the best researchers have the deepest understanding of scholarship and what research is and are themselves doing work on the cutting edge," he said. "They share with their students their excitement and enthusiasm."
Even so, research can sometimes be done during the school year without sabbaticals. Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser had such an experience, and feels it can be beneficial.
"I've had a sabbatical, but generally I've been able to reach a certain level of productivity despite the fact that I have teaching and administrative obligations," he said. "I like the balance; I like doing both."
But he said he still understands the need to take sabbaticals. "There are times when you just have to have the time to work on your own research agenda," he said.
