ABSTRACT
The academic profession is at the central core of the university. Without a strong, well-educated, and committed professoriate, no academic institution or higher education system can be successful. Yet, the profession now faces enormous challenges. The massification of enrollments, privatization, growing pressures for accountability, increased global competition for talent, and the economic downturn combine to influence national policies that define higher education. Furthermore, academic staff are being asked to deal with the broad range of needs of a more diverse student population. Worsening conditions of employment, deteriorating salaries, and threats to job security have made the academic profession less attractive to young scholars in some countries, while other countries are performing a concerted effort to make salaries and working conditions more appealing.
