ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the three pillars of higher education and explains why a public relations (PR) professor must excel in all of them, especially on the tenure track and, certainly, after obtaining tenure and promotion. The first pillar of academia is teaching. A full-time, tenure-track professor, given the policies and expectations for scholarly productivity, may pursue traditional research, engage in the development of creative works, or both. This work is the second pillar of academia. The third pillar in academia is service. The chapter addresses basic institutional matters about university/college hierarchy and the kind of support and enculturation systems available to new professors. For PR faculty, department service could include serving on one or more committees, field service could include being an officer in a professional or scholarly organization, and community service could include being a member of a board of education or board of directors of a nonprofit organization.
