ABSTRACT
This chapter delves into the changing societal contours and the societal expectations from higher education teachers with reference to contemporary Indian society. When change is an obvious phenomenon, two broad themes clash against each other and pose challenges to teachers’ professionalism. On one hand is the traditional Indian culture where spiritualism and values are placed at the apex with reverence, and on the other hand, there is the blind chase of materialistic pleasure, especially by technological developments, social networking, and unnatural lifestyles. In view of this, society as a stakeholder of higher education expects teachers to play multiple roles, such as learning manager, learning facilitator, youth icon, and leader. This implies that societal expectations from a teacher are many and diverse. From this point of view, the way higher education in India is organized needs examination.
