Ed White on "There is no ivory tower now, if there ever was one"

Cleaning out my Library and Sharing the Best Nuggets with You...

From:  "English Professor as Public Figure: My Days in Court" by Edward M. White. College English, Vol. 73, No. 2, November 2010

There is no ivory tower now, if there ever was one... I think of the sermon I give our fresh PhDs as they assume their tenure-track jobs. You must, I tell them, become citizens of higher education as well as campus professors, be ready to stand up in court, in a hearing room, and in committee rooms as well as in the classroom to defend the values we represent. Such a defense can be complicated and frustrating; it may be ignored or it may have immediate or delayed effects. You may be listened to with respect or suspicion, and what you say may not be heard as you intend. But you must be prepared to speak out, because your job as an English professor comes with important public responsibilities you should not avoid. That part of our job was taken for granted by professors of my, mostly now retired, generation. With the increased corporatization of the university and the general replacement of tenure-track appointments with adjuncts, that task is both more difficult and more important than it was fifty years ago. We must hope and trust that tomorrow’s professoriate will be equal to the job.