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November 06, 2009, 03:00 PM ET
What You Don't Remember
When I became an academic administrator, one of my mentors encouraged me to always try to remember what it feels like to be a faculty member who grades hundreds of freshman-composition papers in a semester or who needs summers "off" to do even a minimal amount of scholarship or who gnashes clenched teeth at ineffective committee meetings.
I was pondering that conversation the other day and spent a little time assessing what I have and haven't remembered, especially about being an entry-level faculty member. I hope I can keep this warning in mind throughout my career so that I can better encourage faculty members through my role as dean.
What do you wish administrators could continue to remember about being faculty members?
Comments
1. yorknebraska - November 09, 2009 at 10:55 am
That in a functional administration they are to be the faculty's voice to the president, NOT the president's voice to the faculty. If we have representation "at the table," it usually turns out to be bleak for faculty decisions, loads, and morale.
2. yorknebraska - November 09, 2009 at 10:56 am
correction: If we do NOT have representation "at the table," ......
3. catalin_dunnett - November 09, 2009 at 12:42 pm
That we are not cattle.
That we do work when we are not in the classroom.
That faculty scholarship requires time for uninterrupted thought.
That we do not work "for" the administration.
That a University is not a "business" and students are not "customers".
That a little respect goes a long way, but too little too late means low morale and a "what's in it for me" mentality.
That "because you said so" is not adequate justification for policy changes and that we DO have the right to question it.
4. superdude - November 10, 2009 at 12:17 pm
As a new department head, I'll be paying close attention to these comments as they are posted. The way I see it, the dept. head's job is to facilitate the work of faculty and to be an advocate for the department.
However, the head also works for the dean. This means there will be times when the head requires faculty to do things that you might not want to do. In these cases, heads have a reasonable expectation that professionals should work to improve the larger institution. While faculty aren't cattle, they don't have the right to selfishly be free of larger professional responsibilities. I do try to "filter" a lot of the crap, and end up doing a lot myself, so as to not bother the faculty too much. Here too is another thing most faculty do not appreciate (I never did): the head is probably busy doing a lot of rotten tasks in the name of protecting faculty from it, so give him/her some credit.
5. gkmurdock - November 12, 2009 at 01:26 pm
What I wish administrators remembered is the class schedule. You create a lot of problems for a lot of faculty when you schedule a meeting at 1:30, when classes normally run 1:00-1:50!
That the most important relationship on campus is between faculty and their students, everything else is secondary. Administrators should be nurturing a productive faculty-student relationship.
It doesn't hurt for administrators to schedule face-to-face meetings with faculty, to allow faculty to voice their concerns. Don't manage by walking around, manage by allowing faculty a voice.
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