�MINUTES OF THE FACULTY HANDBOOK REVISION
COMMITTEE
Wednesday, March 7, 2007; Mason Hall, D5 �
8:30 � 10:00 a.m.
Present:� Kevin Avruch, Associate Director
and Professor of Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and
Resolution; Lorraine Brown, Professor of English, College of Humanities and
Social Sciences; Rick Coffinberger, Associate Professor of Business and Legal
Studies, School of Management, Chair; Martin Ford, Senior Associate
Dean, College of Education and Human Development; Dave Harr, Senior Associate
Dean, School of Management; Marilyn Mobley, Associate Provost for Educational
Programs and Associate Professor of English; Suzanne Slayden, Associate
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Science.
Absent:� David Rossell, Associate Provost for Personnel and Budget, ex-officio.
Our next meeting takes place in three weeks � March 28, 2007 from 8:30 � 10:00 a.m. in Mason Hall, D1.
Presentation to BOV:� Rick will make brief presentation to BOV Faculty and Academic Standards Committee at its next meeting March 21st.� Marilyn will also attend meeting.�
Faculty Handbook Forums:
Fairfax:� Wednesday, April 18, 2007�� - 3:00 � 4:30 p.m., Mason Hall, D3 A&B
Arlington:� Monday, April 23, 2007 � 3:00 � 4:30 p.m., Original Building, room 257
Prince William:� Wednesday, April 25, 2007 � 3:00 � 4:30 p.m., Bull Run Hall, room ____;
Discussion:� Content of Forums � April 2007:
- To prepare a 5-6 slide presentation � similar to BOV presentation:� committee members, emails, mark-up slide with �old/new� templates; minutes available on website.
- To use transparencies or power-point?
- To provide handouts of selected significant and substantive changes, as well as things added to existing Handbook.� Committee members to give rationale; eventually will need to have it (in writing).�
- AAUP Spring meeting takes place on campus � to show them as a dry run?�
- Expectation will need to have a separate/special session with BOV members.� Some may have a lot of questions; to have set of recommendations mid-late fall.
- Also to send recommendations to the Faculty Senate. Important to have their vote, although acknowledged you will never have unanimity.
- If old five year limit on renewal of term faculty moot; if people can be renewed forever; dichotomy that you cannot go beyond 9 year limit; if you do not put yourself up for promotion after the 9th year, you�re out?�
- Does not define initial rank:� assume hired as assistant � promotion to associate.� Not intended to apply to those hired with associate rank.
- Is a year-to-year appointment available indefinitely if someone has not been promoted?� Concern that dean would not want someone to say could not hire person if wished to do so.�
- Criteria for promotion is a subject of much discussion in one unit; a lot of people say term faculty member should demonstrate genuine excellence in teaching for promotion to associate term professor.� Current policy says (tenure-track faculty) must demonstrate genuine excellence for promotion (to associate) with tenure.� To keep someone from year-to-year indefinitely; difficult to ask them to demonstrate genuine excellence in teaching.��� What we ask our term faculty to do year-in and year-out, makes this an almost impossible bar; won�t pursue promotion but wish to continue teaching.
- Unfair to demand genuine excellence in teaching as not in term faculty job assignments.� The biggest difference between genuine excellence and high competence may be publishing and presentations made about teaching.� Teaching-oriented term faculty not required to publish or make presentations about their work.� May also demonstrate by showing impact on graduates � long time-frame, also applies to tenure-track, as they have an imposed time limit.� Third element:� program development/improving curriculum:� but not as important, would have to be very dramatic (changes).� Junior faculty are not at that level.� Genuine Excellence in Teaching criteria would have to be elaborated quite a bit.
- If �high competence� in teaching not enough, to require a �plus factor� such as administrative work?
- AAUP revisions every three years � say everyone should have obligation for service, governance, and impact on overall excellence to institution and whole community, not enough to have student interactions.� AAUP repeated concerns about part-time faculty, wants to make them full citizens in terms of service; not just at GMU, but all over the country.� Part-time faculty often on the road between two institutions, doing too much and not able to contribute.� AAUP Handbook (2006 edition) copy available at Faculty Senate Office.�
- Is it advantageous to try to convert some adjunct faculty to term faculty?�� A financial question � term faculty receive benefits, adjunct faculty paid by course.� Benefits to university to aggregate part-time faculty into full-time positions; do not want to discourage that.
- Not just instructional faculty, but also research faculty:� soft-money people cannot be tenure-track.� It makes sense to have more research term faculty for more research projects.� To project/drive growth in term research and instructional faculty; 25% is too low, perhaps 33-35%.� Others suggest limit of 20%.� To keep 25% provided does not include research faculty?� What is trend over last five years?� To look at IRR statistics -� are full time and part-time broken out?� Are research faculty included? Perhaps to say no limit (on percentage of) research faculty?� Are there any research faculty not on soft money?� �Research Faculty� is a formal term of employment in HR terms.�
- CHE article in December broke out totality of faculty of all types across the country of major research universities �astounding percentage of other types of faculty � much higher than 25-35% of university.� If you are Cal Tech or MIT, not surprising; you�ll have a lot of research faculty.�
- As a general concept, why would we want to limit multi-year term faculty contracts?� Without some limit, financial flexibility watered down.� Use of term as well as adjunct faculty because it�s so attractive budget-wise, comes out of hide of tenure and tenure-track.faculty.
- Where�s the harm of multi-year term contracts, especially with corollary of promotion?� Tenure and tenure-track protected within 75%.
- Many term faculty do a very good job.� In SOM term faculty are well-paid.� How much to put on the table to make it attractive?� Does it take away from (tenure-line) positions?
- AAUP would argue no role in faculty governance, curriculum development, you want all in university to be part of a community, with free speech protected by tenure.
- (Present policy) defines multi-year contracts as three or five-year; examples of two-year contracts exist, and have been renewed for two additional years based on how long grant is.� Three years equal to tenure-track contract; might be a standard.� To add other length contracts in special circumstances.
- What�s wrong or right about multi-year vs. single year within percentage of term faculty?� Why to legislate that?� To keep someone you want, to reward.� Reward or entitlement?� Some not in favor of legislating percentage among multi-year or single-year contracts.� Suppose Provost says no to change from single-year to multi-year contract?� Then you�ve lost faculty member you wish to retain.
- If faculty member does not hold doctorate, cannot have multi-year contract.�
- Concern increase in multi-year contracts lowering distinction between tenure/tenure-track and term faculty.�
- Some faculty prefer term faculty job description vs. tenure-track position.�
- There is no cap on adjunct faculty.� Some committee members prefer cap on term faculty; others prefer cap on number of adjunct positions, would rather have full-time term faculty.� Noted that for adjunct faculty, not the way they earn their living.�� If you put a cap on adjunct faculty, will constrain growth of the university; loss of entrepreneurial capacity; growth of new degree programs.� Sometimes new degree programs grow out of concentrations.� Skepticism about new degree programs with no cost.
- If we have 25% limit, why do we have 35% (overall) limit? 25% result of a bargain reached with the BOV.� Differences between needs of professional schools, large schools, and small schools.�
- If you say you cannot have multi-year term faculty due to arbitrary policy limits, laying groundwork for equity complaint.�
Respectfully submitted,
Meg Caniano
Clerk, Faculty Senate