"It is often said that the American academic, protected by tenure, is free to do pretty much as he or she pleases. Lewis argues that this freedom is largely an illusion. Faculty actions are greatly limited by governing boards and the academic administrators they appoint, who control institutional resources. Although ostensibly independent professionals, in many ways faculty have no more autonomy than most employees. Indeed, what power they have derives...

In Marginal Worth, Lionel S. Lewis examines the contemporary academic labor market to explain why teachingwhich is almost universally acknowledged both off and on campus to be at the center of the American educational experience - is not at the center of the academic labor market, and why it is only modestly rewarded. The evidence collected and analyzed by Lewis suggests that this is the case because teaching is not a particularly productive activity,...