Faculty vitality in the comprehensive university: Changing context and concerns

Much of the current research on faculty vitality—including studies of faculty workload, reward structures, and morale—are focused on research universities and liberal arts colleges. Results of two surveys of faculty vitality at DePaul University, administered in 1986 and 1992, suggest that the earlier models of faculty vitality, although useful, need to be reexamined for comprehensive universities. This case study suggests that nontangible correlates, particularly institutional direction and mission articulation and their relationship to faculty workload and the reward's structure, play an important role in ensuring a balanced effort at promoting faculty vitality at comprehensive universities.