President Ruth Simmons plans on teaching at Brown, but it might be a while before students can shop her course.
When Simmons was appointed the 18th president of the University, she was given faculty appointments in comparative literature and Africana studies. But it will be a few more years before she has time to fill these roles, she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
With the responsibilities of undertaking a capital campaign and running the University, teaching undergraduates would prove difficult. "I would love to be able to teach when the campaign is well launched, which should be in a couple of years," she wrote.
Simmons wrote she would likely lead a course in francophone literature, cross-listed in the comparative literature and Africana studies departments. Due to the "uncertainty" of her schedule, she wrote, "It would be prudent to have someone co-teach with me."
Simmons would add teaching responsibilities to the 70 to 100 hours per week university presidents typically work, according to Stephen Nelson, a research associate in the Education Department whose area of specialty is the university presidency.
"The demands are so great that it prevents presidents from teaching, especially if there is a crisis or a campaign," Nelson said. During campaigns, presidents spend about half their time off campus raising funds and much of their on-campus time preparing for fundraising events and meetings, he said.
"The pressures on (Simmons) to run Brown well are enormous. Having not taught here yet, it will be very difficult for her to get back into the classroom," he said.
Nelson estimated that teaching a course requires at least eight hours of work per week, inside and outside the classroom. University presidents often have to delegate more responsibility to their senior leadership teams if they return to the classroom, he said.
Former Brown presidents who have taught courses include Vartan Gregorian, who served from 1989 to 1997. President E. Gordon Gee, who preceded Simmons, did not teach during his two-year tenure.
A number of presidents at Brown's peer institutions teach despite the demands of their positions.
Harvard University President Lawrence Summers teaches a first-year seminar on globalization. This past fall was his first semester teaching the course, which he plans to offer next year, said Beth Withers, assistant to the president. Summers' class of 12 to 15 students meets once a week.
Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, who has been teaching since his first semester on campus, leads a popular political science class entitled "Freedom of Speech and Press," which attracts over 150 students, said Ayodeji Perrin, a graduate coordinator for the political science department. The lecture class meets twice a week.
At smaller colleges, some presidents have also found the time to teach. Outgoing Middlebury College President John McCardell, who specializes in United States history, teaches a course, according to the school's Web site.
But a number of university presidents do not teach, including Yale University President Richard Levin and Wesleyan University President Douglas Bennet.
Traditionally Catholic colleges tend to have presidents who teach, Nelson said. Rev. Edward Malloy at Notre Dame, who has served as president of the university since 1986, is a full professor in theology and teaches a first-year seminar every semester, in addition to living in an undergraduate residence hall. Under Malloy's leadership, the school recently completed a campaign that raised $1.1 billion, according to Notre Dame's Web site.
When a university president teaches, it often signals to the faculty that the president understands the demands of their positions, Nelson said. The practice of teaching courses also builds respect for the president among students, he said.
Teaching may also prove beneficial to university fundraising, Nelson said. "President Simmons has to be able to sell Brown, and if she can say that she knows the students in the classroom, with some donors, that could be incredibly effective," he said.
