I am really super excited about the Faculty Convocation upcoming on Tuesday, September 4 (3-4:45) in the Pray Harrold Auditorium (Rm 213, by the coffee shop). We have a website online with information about this event (http://www.emufaculty.org/), as well as a flyer that you can print out and post around campus, along with a welcome letter from the organizing committee.
I have been meeting with this fabulous group of committed faculty for awhile now, brainstorming all sorts of ways that we can help to get our university back on track. After the seemingly unending series of tragic calamities last year, we wanted to use our collective energies to steer our university in a more positive direction, thriving on the past experience which has been so hard won, not just surviving each successive bump in the road as it comes.
The upshot of our meetings is the Faculty Assembly, “The Future of EMU: What Do We Do Now?” The Assembly will be followed by a series of events, or “Conversations,” each highlighting specific topics that the faculty identify as most important at the Assembly; for example, reaching out to other members of the campus community, such as clerical workers or lecturers, participating effectively and actively in the presidential search, ensuring that academics is given the resources that it deserves, improving the relationship between the university and the surrounding city of Ypsilanti, and whatever else comes up via our collaborative rumination about the state of our university.
At the Assembly, four people will speak briefly on the initial topics that we have identified as most pressing at this time:
- Putting Academics First
- Creating Transparency
- Democratizing Governance
- Resurrecting Community
For the bulk of the Assembly, the audience will address these topics and/or introduce any other topics that may arise from the ensuing dialogue. Our invited guests Regent Sidlik and Executive Vice President Loppnow, as well as our two fulsome faculty leaders, Russ Larson (President Elect of Faculty Council) and Howard Bunsis (AAUP President), will be on hand hear our suggestions and convey their reactions.
It is crucial that as many faculty as possible come to the Assembly, for we want each of you to have a stake and a voice in shaping the agenda that will result from this first meeting. Don’t worry if you have some other engagement that makes you come late or leave early. Just do your very best to get your precious self to PH 213 for as long as you are able. Once there, you will be able to share your comments, concerns, questions, etc. both verbally and in writing, feedback that together will make for a unified platform that faculty can undertake over the course of the year.
I definitely will do what I can to make it to this. Unfortunately, my son’s school doesn’t start until the Wednesday after Labor Day, and so that might complicate my appearance. I’m sure that a lot of other faculty-types will have challenges making it to this because of other prep work for the beginning of the term.
Nonetheless, I think it’s great that this event is happening. In an ideal world, I’d like to see two things come out of this (besides all sorts of obvious things, of course):
* Let’s have faculty union and administration leaders start talking now about whatever things we can about the next contract. If we can have an on-going dialog between labor and management on things like work conditions, hiring more faculty, etc., etc., then maybe when we get to a place where we really are negotiating, and perhaps neither side will feel compelled to do something dramatic to make a point.
* Let’s have some kind of program where we get some members of the BoR visiting with some faculty/lecturers/ adjuncts/GAs in some classrooms and labs, and I’m not talking a 15 minute smile and handshake sort of thing. I mean sitting through at least part of a class and talking with students and instructors about the experience.
My door is always open, though since I’m on sabbatical and doing some quasi-administrative things this year, I might not be a really good choice.
This is likely to be a very important event — I’m definitely going to be there and I hope that everyone who wants to put academics first at EMU will also be there.
“Academics first” does not mean “faculty first”. It does not mean “students first”. It means dissemination and acquisition of knowledge (i.e., education and research) is the mission of EMU, now and in the future. EVERYTHING at EMU needs to serve academics or be recognized as secondary. Students and faculty are at the center of “academics first”. Ground zero, so to speak. In most ways, but not in all ways, students and faculty know what they need now, and can guess what future faculty and students will need.
I don’t advocate a caste system, with faculty playing the role of a brahmin caste, and laying down the “law” to administration and staff. Not at all. Faculty are too human. But the legitimate needs AND DESIRES of faculty and students in engaging in the academic enterprise must receive first attention from the university.
Why do we need to clean up university budget and expense reporting? Because sloppy processes divert available resources from academics. As soon as we have plenty of money to fund academics, then the budget process can lapse back to slovenly (as far as I’m concerned). (just kidding … slovenly processes actually offend my sense of aethetics)
Why do we need high quality legal counsel? To avoid making mistakes that cost money that is then drawn away from academics.
Why do faculty have tenure? Because it’s good for academics (I can explain why in a different entry, if you want). When tenure fails to serve academics, then dispense with tenure.
Why do we want full time faculty rather than University of Phoenix-style part time teachers who are “professionals in the field”? Because it’s good for academics (and I can explain this in a different entry also, if you want).
Why do we have athletics? To engage the student-athlete at EMU (I care about the student who happens to be an athlete, not the athlete who happens to be a student — if you’re in the latter category, transfer to a university with a different mission immediately, please). Also to engage the students and alumni in EMU activities, and thus indirectly have students and alumni keep an eye on events at EMU, thereby help maintain academic quality.
Why should faculty get a 3.5% raise when (rumor has it) the BoR put the cap at 2%? Because in the future, near and far, we’d be far less likely to attract quality faculty and that is fatal to academics. When we have, say, 20 Nobel Prize winners or equivalent caliber in humanities and the arts on the faculty, and another 20 clamoring to join the faculty, then a cap less than the CPI (consumer price index) will make more sense.
The vast majority of faculty do NOT want to engage in observing the business practices of the university. But I have discovered in the last year that faculty have to stand up and voice their concerns, loudly and unambiguously. The top-down, rigid hierarchical control of processes that affects academics must be modified to more “feedback-control”. The top-down control has lost sight of academics — they believe that doing their job well means satisfying a bulletized list of objectives. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! The non-academic side of the university is doing their job well when the academic side of the university has what it needs and desires to fulfill the mission.
See you Tuesday.
Unfortunately I cannot attend this meeting due to appointments scheduled months ago. I like all of our faculty have a great deal of interest in what transpires at this meeting. I hope that the proceedings (preferably not just a summary) would be made available for all. Perhaps even a video (in the age of youtube and “transparency”) it is rather easy to do.
I am refraining, a bit, from comment until I see what transpires at this meeting. So please don’t just provide me an edited version.
Or perhaps, just audio, podcast or stream it online?
Hi Ryan,
I contacted some people to see if a podcast would be feasible, and I will let you know what happens with that. We had talked of a video camera, but people who had done that before said that it made people too uncomfortable and changed the dynamic too much for it to be worth the record that it would provide for those who are absent.
We had planned on someone (probably the able UFC Secretary Prof. Westman) taking detailed notes and then making those notes available to faculty through the new faculty discussion list. I will put up an emutalk post describing that forum shortly.
I know that faculty get bombarded with meetings this time of year (just at the moment when they are rushed to get everything together for classes), but I hope that as many faculty as possible are able to come. We really do need your input and welcome your participation.
If you are not able to make it to the Assembly, you can sign up for the new discussion list ‘emufaculty’ to get a record of what happened and to be able to participate in whatever conversation ensues from it.
Personally I strongly recommend against videotaping, audiotaping, podcasting, etc. These technologies make it more likely that people will become concerned about speaking their minds, asking questions, and reacting spontaneously. Perhaps the question initially is not phrased correctly, or the reaction can be taken out of context. As a result I believe it is better that we concentrate on the ideas presented, help each other clarify concerns, and continue the discussion after the meeting.
I can see the concern about recordings…but with everything we went through, I can imagine a lot of faculty…and students … AND the public might be interested in this. Notes are good, but still leave the room for mistakes in context.
If “no” to recording…maybe post a transcript? Works for the news networks. A transcript couldn’t possibly identify the person asking (unless they self identified). Granted, you have to record then have some poor soul TYPE the thing up!
It’s looking like the podcast is a no go for logistical reasons if nothing else. Most of the talking will come from the floor, and that would lead to poor sound quality or at the very least a complicated mixing job.
Prof. Westman is a very able secretary, however, so it shouldn’t be too much of a loss. I will put the four presentations online, and people can clarify or further elaborate on whatever their comments were at the Assembly more fully via the listserv.
We had decided not to invite the press to this event because we wanted to touch base with each other and set an agenda before reaching out to other parts of the EMU community and the larger public.
I hope that you can come in person, Andrew! ‘Tis really one of those things that would be best with first hand experience. Please introduce yourself to me if you do come.
Is anyone willing to report on what happened at this meeting?