The Value of Faculty Scholarship

I hope you will enjoy browsing the research, scholarship and creative work of Susquehanna faculty members, who produce books and articles, conference and other public presentations, performances, literary works and visual art.

Why do we attach such value to faculty scholarship? Two powerful human impulses are at work. One is curiosity, the drive to inquire and to know. The other is the generative drive to create and to express. Both impulses—trained, disciplined and practiced—are traits that we seek to develop in our students, some of whom will become scholars, but all of whom will use scholarly skills and habits of mind as they move on to lives of achievement, leadership and service. Our productive faculty scholars are essential role models and guides for the intellectual development of our students.

Scholarship engages faculty members deeply in their disciplines. That engagement raises the level of intellectual discourse on campus and ensures that our faculty remains at the forefront of advancements in knowledge and understanding. Our students benefit because their instructors have access to—and, sometimes, were involved in advancing—the latest developments, and they teach not by rote but from experience. Who could be better to introduce our students to the context, explanatory power, and analysis of ideas than an active scholar in the field?

Our active faculty scholars create opportunities for students to engage with their disciplines and experience the infectious thrill of discovery and creation. Student collaborative work with faculty members is comparable to an internship where the student learns the work of advancing knowledge and understanding from an experienced practitioner.

Carl O. Moses, Ph.D.
Provost and Dean of the Faculty