High quality education for all students is promoted nationwide. University teacher educators must deal with reality as they provide instruction for prospective teachers. If schools and teachers are to improve, then college faculty must also improve. This must be a unified effort in which higher education institutions work with existing and new faculty to create an equitable situation. All parties in the educational system must work together to produce a more respectful, humane treatment of people involved in education. The key is to help systems self-organize and transform themselves. This paper examines what recent brain-based research says about professors' self-esteem and discusses how universities can intervene when teachers need better training. It examines influences that change idealistic new faculty members, noting how they relate to prospective teachers and focusing on: utilizing prior teaching experience; the effect of pecking order on college faculty; and economic rewards for college faculty. The paper discusses factors that can influence the societal view of teacher education (historical events, international changes, and national accreditation agencies). Finally, the paper discusses the need for faculty empowerment, emphasizing the need for clear, organized orientation; cleanup of the pecking order; cross-disciplinary research; sharing of faculty members' positive actions; more innovative techniques; an authentic task approach; action research; portfolio development; and technology use. (Contains 34 references.) (SM)