Pedersen suggests that professors need to be "following the field and figuring out new developments in it," she says.

But teaching, especially good teaching, requires time that might also be spent on scholarship.

Vaux believes the university does not respect the efforts professors make to be good teachers.

"In hard-core research institutions like Harvard, attention to teaching is considered to be the mark of a mediocre intellect; the great minds (the reasoning goes) focus on their cutting-edge research," he writes.

Pedersen says that professors often have a hard time balancing the demands of academia and teaching.

"There's no question that teaching seriously cuts into your time for research," she said.

Baird Professor of Science Gary J. Feldman also admits that a professor's teaching ability is not a strong consideration when professors come under review.