Many academics prioritise research activity over the pursuit of teaching excellence – a prioritisation that threatens the European Commission’s agenda for teaching excellence in higher education. This article considers what underpins such prioritisation, and how the tension it creates may be addressed. The discussion centres on micro-level theoretical perspectives on people’s attitudes to their work. The author’s ‘proximity theory’ explains such attitudes as determined by what people perceive as the proximity between their ‘actual’ and their ‘ideal’ job situations, and the extent to which their work requires them to compromise on their values and priorities – which for some academics may be research-focused and for others teaching-focused, while some may value a teaching-research balance. A policy of specialisation is accordingly proposed for the European HE sector, allowing academics to play to their strengths – teaching for some, research for others – with the aim of, collectively, achieving sector-wide excellence in both.