The paper presents the results of the empirical study of faculty culture at a Russian provincial university. This research study examines faculty attitudes toward implementation of the new State Higher Education standards. A survey was conducted among a majority of faculty members. We also interviewed representatives of the university administration and the administration of its schools. We identified three groups of professors with different views on changes required, proved, that implementation of new educational standards strongly depends on Chairs’ leadership and that the ability to articulate educational outcomes is a professor’s core competence.