ABSTRACT
One of the comments I heard over and over again as an assistant professor was that time spent on teaching was time spent away from research. Although teaching was considered something important, when it came time for tenure evaluation at a research institution like the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the only item on the curriculum vita that mattered would be published research, books, and refereed articles. Currently, I am in my second term on the University Tenure and Promotion Committee and I have yet to hear the word teaching mentioned in the committee meeting as a basis for decision. Not only is teaching not a basis for decision, but the activity receives no discussion during the tenure and promotion process. Essentially, the only real element ever discussed by the members of the committee has been the adequacy (quantity and quality) of the published or funded research.
