Assuming this is not your first day on campus, you've probably sat in one the University's ugliest buildings and waded through one of the ugliest debates facing research institutions today.

You certainly didn't care to be in class and neither did the professor, who, despite once enjoying teaching, is now only rewarded for his research. For both parties, class is a passing hassle: For the student it is merely an entry requirement to better classes, and for the professor it is merely another hoop to jump through for tenure.

While the UW has worked hard to mitigate effects of the push-pull struggle between attracting the best minds in research and fostering their interaction with undergraduates, a task force recently formed at Harvard proves especially important to the problem.

"You'd be stupid if you came to Harvard for the teaching," Joshua Billings, a 22-year-old Harvard senior told The New York Times. "You go to a liberal arts school for the teaching. You come to Harvard to be around some of the greatest minds on earth."

This has long been the school of thought often associated with the world's best research institutions, including the UW.

"As one of the world's most renowned research universities, Harvard is where academic superstars are continually expected to revolutionize their fields of knowledge. Cutting-edge research is emphasized and recognized with tangible rewards: tenure, money, prestige, prizes, fame," The Times reported.

The tangible rewards for quality teaching, however, clock in at next to none.

Should we reward quality teaching at the expense of cutting-edge research?

Such a question begs another: For nearly $50,000 a year, per student, can't you have both?

This is exactly what Harvard's interim president, Derek Bok, is trying to do. Creating a task force of nine prominent Harvard professors, Bok is trying to rethink the culture of undergraduate teaching and learning.

While similar to a task force at the UW, titled Committee for the Undergraduate Experience, Harvard's task force takes the institutional analysis of undergraduate learning a step further.

"It's about the pursuit of excellence in teaching," professor Theda Skocpol, dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Science, told The Times. "We need to put our money where our mouth is. We can't just mention excellent teachers occasionally. We have to notice and reward their efforts consistently."

Professors in the task force, including Skocpol, hope to fundamentally change the institutional culture in Harvard toward emphasizing and rewarding mentorship and building relationships with undergraduates. In their findings, Skocpol noted that she was concerned by the fact that, after four years at Harvard, many students never get to know a member of the faculty well enough to get a single letter of recommendation.

It's a sad state of affairs to be sure, but one that hits close to home at the UW. Although I am fortunate enough to have developed relationships with faculty, I know many friends who have not been so lucky.

And though we are a public institution with somewhat different challenges than Harvard, the act of balancing research excellence with teaching excellence at the UW is the same.

Like Harvard, the UW does little to tangibly reward excellence in teaching, which often gives professors little incentive to "go the extra mile" and truly connect with students.

Even the greatest minds and destined academics need great teachers to help hone, direct and foster their skills. One hopes that as Harvard, one of our nation's oldest research institutions, sets the pace to reward teaching in equal measure with scholarship, other institutions will follow.

Reach columnist Maureen Trantham at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.