Values such as academic freedom and the pursuit of knowledge are commonplace in academic discussions, but faculty members and administrators seldom acknowledge-much less examine critically-other, less overt values. One is the importance that we place on being "smart." We could use many other terms, of course-brilliance, creativity, intelligence-but I think the term "smartness" is as good as any. My many years as a scholar of higher education and as an employee of a large university convince me that some of higher education's most serious problems can be traced to our uncritical acceptance of this value, and to the fact that most of us are not even aware of the power and scope of its influence on our lives and institutions. 

I am not suggesting that the intellect does not have a central place in education; of course it does. But I believe that we are ignoring the most crucial part of our mission as educators when we value the mere demonstration of intellect more than we do its cultivation. 

The importance attached to simply being smart can be seen in almost everything we do: selective admissions, testing and grading, honors programs, merit scholarships, faculty recruitment, and the academic reward system (in particular, valuing research over teaching). The institutions perceived to have the smartest faculty members and students receive the highest rankings for quality, and a disproportionately large share of public and private funds. 

But the value of being smart also has a much subtler influence on how we lead our daily lives as academics. It is human nature to seek approval from one's peers, and we academics thus want to appear smart to our academic colleagues. We have devised a variety of strategies for doing this. The surest way to impress our peers with our intellectual capabilities is through published research and scholarship, which no doubt helps to explain the inordinate weight we give to publishing, in both the personnel process and in graduate training.

Click here to read an excerpt of the LTV Interview with Alexander Astin, The Obsession With Smartness