Since my last writing in The Poly, we have made significant progress on the faculty governance review process through the increased involvement of our faculty. The Faculty Governance Review Com-mittee is moving ahead on its analysis, a joint faculty-administration committee is being formed to revise key faculty governance documents, and a committee of clinical faculty has been established to advise the administration on the role of the clinical faculty.
President Shirley Ann Jackson has asked that Professor of Arts Larry Kagan and I co-chair a faculty committee that will review and revise the Faculty Senate constitution and the Faculty Handbook to bring them into conformance with Institute bylaws and with the Board of Trustees’ December 2006 directive on the definition of the faculty. The membership of that committee will be announced in the near future.
You will recall that Jackson, cognizant of the important contributions of our clinical faculty to our academic environment, requested that Vice President for Human Resources Curtis Powell and I work together to a) review compensation of clinical faculty to ensure appropriate compensation, b) develop a clear statement of clinical faculty benefits, c) review faculty teaching loads to clarify expectations for clinical faculty teaching responsibilities, and d) review opportunities for involvement of clinical faculty members in academic programming and faculty governance. I am grateful to the members of the committee who have agreed to serve in this important role. This is an outstanding list of dedicated clinical faculty who have devoted themselves to serving the academic mission of Rensselaer.
Those serving on the Clinical Faculty Committee are Maya Kiehl, clinical associate professor of mathematical sciences; John Maleyeff, clinical professor, Hartford campus, Lally School of Management and Technology; Mark Steiner, clinical associate professor of engineering; Bram Van Heuveln, clinical assistant professor of cognitive science; and Frank Wright, clinical assistant professor in the Lally School.
Jacob Fish, the Rosalind and John J. Redfern chaired professor of engineering and chair of the FGRC, reports that the group has launched its work of benchmarking best faculty governance practices of selected peer universities.
The committee has initiated a literature survey, including a review of papers on faculty governance and governance committee reports from selected institutions. Its members have also compiled statistics on private research universities with very high research activity, selected the list of universities to benchmark, and drafted a template for benchmarking.
The administration strives to assure faculty input as appropriate, regarding the academic mission of the university, without an adversarial relationship. This requires that all constituencies take responsibility for the parts of the Institute that fall under their purview and areas of expertise, and that roles and decision-making authorities are clarified. The faculty plays a key role in advising on matters related to academic programs and the educational process, from curriculum and degree requirements to the initiation of hiring and promotion of faculty. The key role of the faculty in these areas will continue to be preserved throughout the review process and thereafter.
As indicated in her recent letter to the community, the president will convene a meeting of the active tenured and tenure-track faculty to discuss the outcomes of the work of both the FGRC and the committee reviewing the faculty governance documents. Following that discussion, and any final revisions of the Faculty Senate constitution and Faculty Handbook that might become necessary, a vote of the tenured and tenure-track faculty will be conducted to approve modifications. The president will review the documents for conformance with Institute bylaws and Board directives and, once approved, will refer the work of both groups to the Board of Trustees for its consideration.
I know that Jackson and the Board of Trustees join me in expressing our gratitude to the leaders and members of these three committees for lending their time, energy, and knowledge to this important task.
During my work with various members of the faculty on this project, I have been reminded of the exceptional levels of dedication, commitment, and hard work being demonstrated by faculty members across the institution. One of the primary reasons we have been successful as an academic community in recent years is the quality of the experience our students receive at the hands of the teacher-scholars who share their intellectual strength and teaching ability so effectively every day. With the involvement of such people in our faculty governance review, the leadership of our president, and the commitment of our Board of Trustees, I have no doubt that we will succeed in reaching our goals.
