FOSTERING FACULTY ACHIEVEMENT

These archived pages present the Academic Plan adopted by the Board of Trustees in August 2003.

A new academic plan is being formulated. Please check the Academic Plan homepage for updates.

Fostering faculty achievement requires a broad range of commitments. It begins with hiring and retaining the most talented scholars, but faculty achievement also demands a superior professional support staff, gifted post-doctoral fellows, excellent graduate students, and the inclusion of visiting scholars in the academic community. Moreover, in order to achieve excellence, faculty require laboratory and information technology and library resources that are competitive with our actual and aspirational peer universities. All of these elements enable scholars to work efficiently, putting their knowledge and skills to their best uses.

• Recruitment:
  Recruitment of new faculty entails many dimensions, including negotiating such issues as salary, tenure status, rank, teaching load, travel monies, and research and summer support. For new faculty involved in laboratory research, “start up packages” including laboratory construction or renovation and laboratory assistance is also critical. In addition to the standard competitive part of academic recruitment, there are several small steps we can take. First, we think a “recruitment portfolio” should be developed for the university, which can be specialized by school and department. This would provide information on fringe benefits, maps, cultural attractions, quality of life, and the general advantages of the university, Connecticut, and the New England/New York region. Some relevant materials are already produced for the visitors’ center and by schools such as Engineering. Second, we can cast a wider net in recruitment so as to assure diversity in our candidate pool as well as international awareness of our openings. Third, the needs of incoming faculty for child-care, spousal careers, and rental housing require attention.
  
  We also encourage hiring faculty who have already demonstrated excellence and possess experience beyond the doctoral level. In some areas this will require significant start-up packages. This can assure that everyone we hire has superior qualifications for tenure before tenure decisions are required. Hiring must never be done merely to fill a position, nor tenure awarded to retain a position. Where tenure is denied, corresponding searches will be permitted in the following year, resources permitting and departmental policies remaining unchanged. The University must strive to match the standards for tenure and promotion at the best research universities.

• Retention:
  Retention requires administrative responsiveness to external offers. We believe responsiveness already characterizes the university administration and that resources and flexibility in support for faculty will be continued and augmented. Retention also requires a welcoming environment and responsiveness to the personal needs and interests of faculty, especially those belonging to underrepresented groups. Assuring that new faculty understand tenure and promotion standards is also important. Enhanced mentoring will help all faculty irrespective of gender or race.

• Administrative Infrastructure:
  Administrative infrastructure is an area that requires more support so as to be comparable to leading public research universities. We should recruit and retain excellent staff and enhance their professional development. Management should seek to make procedures as user-friendly as possible. Currently, the university is significantly understaffed in research support, so faculty are often left to perform activities that could be done by qualified support staff. Accounting and budget management, grant-writing, and a variety of office and laboratory activities need more support if we are to achieve the highest levels of performance from faculty. Library resources and information technology must also receive support consistent with the aspirations of the University.

• Faculty Development:
  Faculty development can be enhanced by the more active use of mentors to support faculty especially to explain tenure and promotion standards. Mentoring will assist Assistant Professors and Associate Professors with teaching techniques, career planning, development of research proposals, and allocating time among competing demands. Professors at all levels will be encouraged to consult mentors and to take advantage of appropriate faculty development programs. Efforts by the Teaching and Learning Institute, the Office for Sponsored Programs, the Office of Multicultural and International Affairs, the Humanities Institute, and others to develop and update teaching skills and techniques as well as grant and fellowship-writing skills will be encouraged.
  
  In order to foster faculty development and encourage collaboration, the use of joint appointments should be increased.

• Faculty Performance Standard:
  The general standards for faculty performance are described and defined in the Provost’s Policy on Faculty Professional Responsibilities. They emphasize the interaction of research and teaching, as well as the need for service. This document remains paramount. In addition, the Academic Plan emphasizes the need to excel, individually and in collaborations. Accordingly, we urge that resources be focused so as to advance the research and teaching achievements of faculty. Rewards will be commensurate with achievement, and recognize the different expectations applicable in various fields. Standards for assessing achievement will be comparable to leading public research universities. Exceptional achievement in service also warrants reward.
  
  Standards for tenure and promotion require gradual elevation. The most practical approach is to emulate the standards of leading public research universities. Publication rates and venues will vary according to discipline; thus the standards applied by the best peer institutions will be our guide. Clear and frequent communication of standards to faculty is the responsibility of the Provost, deans, and department heads.

Next: Fostering Student Achievement: Undergraduate Education