Facilitating And Creating Synergies Between Teaching And Research: The Role Of The Academic Administrator

Teaching and research are often seen as activities that compete for a faculty member's time and energy. This perceived disconnect between teaching and research has been reinforced by a number of norms within the academy as well as by institutional practices related to how faculty are managed and rewarded. This article argues that teaching and research activities of faculty within business schools can have a synergistic relationship and explores the nature of that relationship particularly relative to how administrators can work with faculty to bridge the gap and better align teaching and research activities. Benefits of a closer alignment of teaching and research include teaching that is informed by the latest research findings and research that is more relevant to practicing managers and can be better understood by students.