A working paper in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this study provides information on the debate about "research versus teaching" in the modern American university and, specifically, in Arizona's three universities. The Arizona universities' alumni survey, conducted by the EEC Task Force Staff, solicited facts on background, education, and employment history and sought opinions on the quality and impact of the college experience. There were great differences between the impressions of Northern Arizona University (NAU) alumni of their undergraduate experience and those of University of Arizona (UA) and Arizona State University (ASU) alumni. NAU undergraduate alumni appreciated small class size and personal attention and thought the effort of the teachers was exceptional. UA undergraduate alumni felt that faculty were extremely uneven and professors should spend more time teaching. ASU alumni said professors do not care about their students. The mission factor is discussed, and issues peculiar to Arizona are noted. Other subjects presented are: scholarship and stewardship of human knowledge; role of the teacher; university instruction; the ideal world; research versus teaching; the best that research universities have to offer to undergraduate students; the value of research-oriented faculty; the value of graduate students; and the value of modern equipment. Since good research and good teaching go hand in hand, undergraduate students must have rich experiences in the classroom and labs. This means each faculty member, department, college, and university must define the optimum balance between teaching and research. (SM)