Abstract
This essay reflects on the problem of faculty who have become unproductive, disengaged, or resistant to change and considers how academic communities perceive and respond to such colleagues. Through an extended narrative and metaphorical analysis, the author distinguishes between those who have not yet reached professional maturity, those who have declined after earlier achievement, and those whose self perception is disconnected from their actual performance. The essay examines institutional tendencies to tolerate or obscure persistent non productivity, often due to bureaucratic structures that make intervention difficult. Drawing on metaphors of light, shadow, perception, and psychological projection, the author explores how differences in self understanding and worldview shape faculty behavior and limit the effectiveness of persuasion or administrative action. Particular attention is given to personalities whose distrust of others creates self reinforcing conflict. The discussion situates these issues within broader cultural shifts, including diminished respect for age, restricted mobility, and constrained budgets, which intensify pressures on departments. The essay concludes that while some individuals cannot be reformed, departments must attend to their collective purpose, resist procedural fixation, and confront the ways in which entrenched behavior can distort the discipline and weaken academic community.
Recommended Citation
Garvie, Peter
(1985)
"Under and Over the Hill,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 53, Article 16.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol53/iss1/16
