A nationwide survey was conducted of humanities and liberal arts instructors in spring 1983 to obtain information on instructors' age, ethnicity, degrees held, teaching experience, professional activities, goals, full-/part-time status, institutional support, and emphasis on various classroom activities. A comparison of survey results with findings from similar studies conducted in 1975, 1977, and 1978 revealed: (1) full-/part-time ratios had remained steady; (2) 49% of the faculty in 1975 and 36% in 1983 were less than 41 years of age; (3) 48% of the 1975 group and 60% of the 1983 group had taught 11 or more years; (4) gender ratios had remained constant, with males representing 67% of the samples in both 1975 and 1983; (5) minority group representation had increased slightly; (6) 16% of the 1975 respondents and 23% of the 1983 group held doctorates; (7) the 1983 sample seemed to be more professionally oriented; (8) 53% in 1983 and 41% in 1975 indicated that they would like to continue in their current position; (9) the 1983 group had slightly less clerical and paraprofessional support available to them; and (10) the 1983 respondents showed slight increase over the 1977 group in their use of papers, quick score objective tests, essay exams, field reports, oral recitations, workbooks, and class attendance for grade determination. (LAL)