Abstract
This essay critiques the common administrative practice of removing unproductive faculty from departmental life by assigning them to isolated roles or special niches and argues that such actions avoid rather than solve the underlying problem. The author contends that faculty who appear stagnant are often healthy individuals displaced by shifts in departmental culture, new techniques they have not assimilated, or the force of more energetic colleagues. Administrators share responsibility when inadequate hiring or lenient tenure decisions allow individuals to enter or remain in roles unsuited to their abilities. Effective response requires that the faculty member genuinely desire revitalization and that administrators commit substantial time to counseling. The essay proposes five strategies for reintegration. These include extended sabbaticals with structured focus, team teaching to stimulate collegial engagement, alumni relations work that reconnects faculty with student success, interdisciplinary teaching assignments that renew intellectual curiosity, and conversations aimed at recovering the original motivations that drew the faculty member to academic theatre. The author concludes that these approaches support humane renewal and help departments confront stagnation without resorting to isolating or degrading solutions.
Recommended Citation
Distler, Paul A.
(1985)
"On Avoiding the Special Niche,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 53, Article 18.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol53/iss1/18
