Carpet lifted by university teacher (4)
I believe the answer is:
guru
'teacher' is the definition.
(teacher or guide)
'carpet lifted by university' is the wordplay.
'carpet' becomes 'rug' (synonyms).
'lifted' is a reversal indicator (going up in down clue).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation as in UMass).
'rug' backwards is 'gur'.
'gur'+'u'='GURU'
(Other definitions for guru that I've seen before include "Hindu sage" , "Hindu or Buddhist spiritual teacher" , "Hindu or Sikh religious teacher or leader" , "Recognised expert in some field" , "Swami" .)