This chapter integrates two of the most influential authorities on teaching, Robert Boice and Parker Palmer, into the system's approach to teaching articulated by Douglas Robertson in order to help college teachers find sustainable balance by acknowledging and managing emotions in the classroom.

A number of brief, focused self-help interventions designed to help faculty manage stress more effectively are described such as being assertive, setting priorities, and using quick relaxation techniques. Related causes of stress are cited. (MSE)

The problem of balancing personal and professional aspirations is a principal source of stress in faculty lives, but it has not been addressed by academia. (Author/MSE)

A unique approach to promoting faculty renewal is reported that incorporates faculty-designed conferences focusing on issues of personal and professional development followed up with advanced workshops, special training courses, discussion groups, articles in campus publications, and regularly scheduled seminars. (MSE)

The research literature suggests that the decade of the '80s is producing a generation of professors coping with surprisingly high levels of job stress. Key reasons include inadequate participation in governance and institutional planning, work overload, low pay, poor working conditions, inadequate recognition, unrealized career expectations, and…

A detailed examination of faculty burnout looks at what it is, why it strikes, and what colleges and universities can do about. It concludes that in a broad sense, burnout is the condition of boredom, indifference, and discontent with the profession. (Author/MSE)

Interviews with 33 midlife college professors identified as seriously disillusioned revealed that the turning points behind their career derailments fit a pattern of events, usually in early career. Successful renewal programs for such faculty members involve them as mentors for new faculty or partners in contracts for change with departmental…

Stress is an inevitable characteristic of academic life, but colleges and universities can introduce stress management activities at the organizational level to avert excessive tension. Preventive actions are described, including flexible work schedules and social supports. (Author/MSE)

Suggestions are given for institutional action to reduce unproductive tension in the professoriate, focusing on stresses related to reward and recognition, time constraints, departmental influence, professional identity, and student interaction. (MSE)

Part-time faculty members strongly believe that institutional employment policies and practices are developed for the primary benefit of the employer and contribute significantly to the job-related stress they experience. (Author)

Techniques enabling faculty to decrease stress to more reasonable and productive levels are discussed, including management of chemical stressors, physical activities, relaxation, coping strategies for disappointment, emotional support, assertiveness, and time management. (MSE)