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A Faculty for All Seasons

A philosophy instructor, threatened with retrenchment, is given the opportunity to teach Cobol courses. The history department's expert in the Victorian period chooses to retrain in business administration rather than work outside of higher education. And the Coordinator of Counseling for Mature Students, whose position has been cut from next year's budget, applies for a position in freshman composition. On many two-year college campuses-indeed on many four-year campuses as well-the practice of "crossing over" has become familiar. Behind the phenomenon is a background too familiar and dreary to bear much repetition: budget cuts, declining enrollments, declining interest in certain programs and courses, the seniority system, delayed retirements. Nor is there reason to think that the practice will be a temporary one. Changing to a demand discipline in the face of retrenchment is an expedient with which few would quarrel. One's job is saved, an experienced instructor is retained. Lengthy disputes over the meaning of "financial exigency" are avoided. What should not be avoided, however, are questions about the extent and kind of retraining that should be required of a faculty member who takes on the responsibility of teaching in a new discipline. To be sure, the newness of a discipline varies. It is one thing to move from mathematics to computer science and quite another to move from foreign language to mathematics. Backgrounds that include "minors" and dual majors have helped to provide many faculty with at least a measure of expertise in an area outside their graduate field. And the history of higher education gives examples of discipline changes by some respectable figures. William James moved from physiology to psychology, and from there to philosophy, thus accommodating the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities in one remarkable career.