set forth three foci: the content we teach, the training we need to teach effectively, and the con-texts in which we teach. Each topic became a task group that worked mightily to produce materials and offer workshops. It is the third topic that remains the least developed yet the most sociological. "To a significant-indeed crucial-degree, the teacher's performance, behavior and orientation are the products of contextual forces and conditions. Teacher performance and teaching process can be viewed as dependent variables, and the institutional, disciplinary, and societal forces as independent variables" (Mauksch and Howery 1986:73; see also Goldsmid and Wilson [1980] 1985and McGee 1971. More recently, Kuh and Hu (2001) find that "institutional context [has an effect on] learning productivity." Their study found that different types of institutions had different levels of "student quality of effort, engagement in good prac-This article focuses on how the institutional contexts of colleges and universities shape these "greedy institutions." We look at the current social, political, and economic trends affecting all postsecondary institutions, specifically the forces that encourage "greediness." We examine the literature on structural arenas that influence teaching in higher education, including type of institution and departmental level characteristics, considering how the varied structural features of institutions and departments shape the conditions of academic life and demands placed on faculty. We identify the features of the institutional context that can help faculty manage demands on their time and enhance teaching and learning. The article closes with identification of areas for future inquiry and a challenge to sociologists to contribute to an examination of the contextual forces that shape the work lives of faculty and students.

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In this article I examine how the sociology major is structured at institutions of higher education in the United States. I use content analysis of college catalogs from 100 institutions to examine the sociology major at top institutions among regional and national universities and liberal arts colleges. I first examine the basic structure of sociology programs and then evaluate implementation of the recommendations from Liberal Learning and the Sociology Major (Eberts et al. 1990). In 1990 the Council of the American Sociological Association voted to “encourage departments to consider and implement the recommendations” for the undergraduate curriculum found in Liberal Learning. These recommendations suggest a cumulative curriculum, including a four-level sequence and a capstone course. I assess the extent to which these recommendations had been adopted a decade after the report (by the year 2000), and conclude with suggestions for expanding the implementation of recommendations for study in depth in sociology.