College’s faculty members balance teaching, publishing prospects

Austin Baragary- Beyond the Hill Editor
2/10/12

William Jewell College students are accustomed to large amounts of reading required for classes. Often this reading takes the form of scholarly articles or chapters and excerpts from scholarly texts. However, it is unlikely that many William Jewell students pause to consider the source of their readings or the fact that the very professor from whom they are learning likely has published several articles, maybe even a book or two.
Academia as a profession and institution functions on writings and research. It is based on the premise that there is always something new to learn and professors, as people who have devoted their lives to academia, are the ones who conduct this research.
William Jewell, however, does not focus on research. Rather, the College focuses on teaching and imparting knowledge, according to Dr. Alan Holiman, professor of political science. This, he says, is as it should be.
“It [the College] shouldn’t focus on research. It’s a teaching institution, not a research institution,” Holiman said. “The purpose of a research institution is to generate discovery. The primary purpose of Jewell is to pass on the ability to think critically.”
That does not mean, however, that William Jewell professors do not engage in research, Holiman clarified. Holiman has published two articles and currently is working on a book. While professors must make certain contributions to their respective academic community, it is up to each department to determine what will be considered an academic or scholarly work or achievement.
“Every department has a scholarship statement indicating what a faculty member must accomplish in order to advance or receive tenure,” Dr. Sara Morrison, assistant professor of English, said. “In the English department, we have academic achievement and academic activity. Publishing is classified as an academic achievement.”
Holiman indicated that the reason the standards are left to the departments is because academic achievement looks different in different departments.
“Staging a play is not an academic accomplishment in political science,” Holiman said. “In the communication department, it is. So not having a set standard of what each faculty member must achieve across the board is good.”
Should a professor decide to publish research, the process through which he or she must go is extensive. Morrison, who is currently in the process of publishing a book of which she is an editor, said the process began in spring 2010.
“I co-chaired a seminar at the 2010 Shakespeare Association of America with Deborah [Uman,  the book’s co-editor] and that led to us deciding to put together a collection,” Morrison said. “By the time we made the decision, we already had quite a bit of material with which to work.”
After accumulating essays for their collection, which is called Staging the Blazon in Early Modern English Theatre, Morrison and her colleague approached Ashgate, a publisher for scholarly works.
“At the point that we approached Ashgate, we had a clear vision and much of our introduction written,” Morrison said.
After speaking with her editor at Ashgate, Morrison sent a preliminary draft of the collection to the publishing house, which then forwarded the materials to external readers. This peer-review process is one of the most important aspects of the publishing process.
According to Dr. Elaine Reynolds, chairwoman of the department of history, the peer review process is the way in which one receives the most feedback prior to publication.
“I’ve participated in that process as both a reviewer and as a subject of the review, and both times I’ve found that process to be very informative,” Reynolds said. Reynolds has published articles, book reviews and a book, Before the Bobbies: The Night Watch and Police Reform in Metropolitan London.
The final aspect of publishing a scholarly book is compiling the index. According to both Reynolds and Morrison, this is quite a chore. Morrison, who is working on her first book, expects the process to be lengthy.
“After we get proofs back from Ashgate, then we have to compile the index,” Morrison said. “It seems daunting.”
Completing the index, though, means Morrison will be one step closer to seeing her book published, which, for anyone, certainly counts as an academic achievement.