THE ROLE OF THE ACADEMIC MAN AS A CROSS-CULTURAL MEDIATOR.

In the U.S., through the Fulbright Program and other arrangements for educational exchange, an unprecedented number of positions for visiting professors, researchers, and students has been established in universities outside of the United States. Visiting professors are expected to conducting research, participating in professional discussions and professional meetings, which require frequent interaction throughout the year with various persons in the host countries. This article discusses several implications of being a temporary envoy and the fact that persons playing this role are members of the academic community. It is obvious that when an actor moves from the system in which he is a member into another system, where the set of expectations for his position differ, inappropriate role behavior is likely to ensue. Since the visiting professor is not a permanent member of the host university and hence does not become a competitor of serious concern to other professors within that system, the situation may easily be structured so as to encourage cooperation with him or indifference to his presence. His legitimized rank makes his position salient to his colleagues, thus cooperation is more likely than indifference. It would seem, then, that the visiting professor occupies a very favorable position to initiate positive modifications of attitudes of those in the host institution.