Although a recent Harvard Graduate School of Education research project stated that faculty are more satisfied at public, rather than private, institutions, faculty at Boston College find the Jesuit tradition most rewarding. For many, it comes down to the merits of a particular university more than the issue of public or private.
According to the research project, titled the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE), "faculty at public colleges and universities rate tenure clarity, the clarity of performance expectations, and the reasonableness of those expectations higher than faculty at private institutions, according to a survey of nearly 7,000 junior faculty members from across the country. Early-career faculty at public institutions also expressed greater satisfaction than those at private institutions with work/life balance."
The study claims that, although private institutions scored higher than public universities overall, public institutions scored higher on important areas of the questionnaire, such as tenure clarity and faculty expectations.
Yet for many professors at BC, the smaller, private community can lead to better communication and opportunities. Philip Altbach, the J. Donald Monan S.J. professor of higher educatio, found BC to be more generous with its funds. He is currently the director of the Center of the International Higher Education in the Lynch School of Education, and previously worked at both SUNY Buffalo and the University of Wisconsin. "Private universities usually have more access to resources and greater responsibilities, and BC is much more generous than SUNY Buffalo," Altbach said. He also noted that salaries tend to be higher at private institutions.
For Candace Hetzner, associate dean for academic affairs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the benefit of a private institution like BC is a lack of bureaucracy.
Prior to coming to BC, Hetzner worked at UMass Boston, Rutgers, and Fordham University. She has found that it is easier to accomplish goals at BC since private universities do not have to consider public accountability.
"At public universities, there are state legislatures and political problems to deal with before you can do anything. Some states are better at it than others, but bureaucracy definitely plays a huge role in university conduct," Hetzner said.
Altbach prefers less bureaucracy because of its implications for the treatment of faculty and students. "Boston College cares more about its workers and students. It's nicer to be in a smaller community," Altbach said.
At all of the schools for which Hetzner has worked, she felt comfortable with her capacity to speak freely with the students. However, she commented that at universities such as Fordham and BC, the types of questions being asked were very different.
"Fordham and BC, as Jesuit universities, both have a commitment to asking fundamental normative questions about humanity," Hetzner said. She noted that as a social scientist, she is constantly observing human behavior, and here she feels freer to discuss not only her observations, but also what those may mean in relation to all of life.
"A major complaint today is that universities are ignoring major humanistic questions. Yet at BC, and other Jesuit institutions, Jesuits have always honored the humanistic tradition; it is built into the fabric of the school," Hetzner said.
She stressed that BC is unique in that it continues to enjoy the spiritual aspect of a community that other institutions may be lacking, or just rediscovering.
Both Altbach and Hetzner enjoyed their time at each university for which they worked; however, both feel that there is something special about BC that can be traced to the Jesuit tradition of the University.
"The question is not necessarily public or private; it has more to do with the particular school and policies," Altbach said.
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