UDM is Research

Research at UDM:

Universities expect their faculty to contribute to "peer-reviewed research."

That means three things:

One - Write:

Faculty do their own research and submit it for peer review. Peer review publications test research for accuracy and for originality.

Two - Referee:

Faculty serve as referees for other scholars' research. Usually the review process is "double blind." The researcher does not know who referees her/his work; the referees do not know whose work they are refereeing. The focus is on the work itself, not the personalities involved.

Three - Read:

Every faculty member, just like your doctor or dentist or lawyer, is expected to keep up with new research in her/his field. That means lots of reading and thinking.

Refereeing other peoples' research is one of the hidden labors that faculty members do along with their own research, their class preparations, office hours, and committee work.

Why Research?

The answer goes right to the heart of why universities exist.

Universities are places where students learn to think critically and to understand reality from many different perspectives. Universities also give grades which testify to a student's competence. The faculty who teach critical thinking and evaluate student achievement had better know their business. Universities represent the best in the human desire to understand things accurately and wisely. Scholarship depends on many people working at the research and editing process in an on-going effort to "get it right." UDM expects its faculty to be practicing scholars as well as classroom teachers.