Addressing and Supporting Disengaged Faculty
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By Kathy E. Johnson, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer
In January, an article in the Chronicle (by Kevin R. McClure and Alisa Hicklin Fryar) captured the essence of what many faculty have shared with me as we’ve navigated through the fifth semester impacted by the pandemic. Unlike staff, who often can shift more quickly to new roles if they succumb to the lure of The Great Resignation – faculty aren’t fleeing academia. However, they are definitely tired, frequently unhappy, and they are focusing on basic tasks – teaching classes, meeting with students, collecting data, attending committee meetings – but are far less emotionally invested and engaged in their work. I confess that I’ve weathered quite a few days when I’ve felt much the same – I was doing everything that I needed to do, but without my usual high energy and lacking my normal urge to delve as deeply into a task or new project as I could. I was exhausted, but also having trouble sleeping. When I read McClure and Fryar’s article, it was a Eureka moment – that’s it! I was disengaging, but wait – leaders can’t disengage if they are focused on trying to sustain the morale of their colleagues!
This is the reason why it is so important for department chairs, directors, associate deans, and other academic leaders to model self-reflection and acknowledge the toll that 2020-2022 has taken on all of us. We’ve lost time typically devoted to things that are most important to us. We’ve spent WAY too much time sitting in chairs in videoconference meetings. And face it – we probably haven’t taken that many steps to improve our own state of mind, never mind model healthful habits to others. My ask this month is that we all try to prioritize opportunities to check in with colleagues on how they are doing.
Share information about IU’s SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in a department newsletter or faculty meeting. Familiarize yourself with Healthy IU’s wellness programming and resources available at IUPUI, and even consider scheduling walking meetings or participating in a virtual chair yoga class from your conference room. Faculty members are wired to be experts and it is not usually in our wheelhouse to reach out for help. But leaders can help to normalize these behaviors, while at the same time deepening relationships, promoting empathy, and helping to support a departmental culture that is welcoming and supportive of everyone.
Sympathize and be patient if people don’t pick up on your exciting suggestions. Their time will come.
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Per IU practice, promotions take effect with the next fiscal year (July 1st for 12-month, August 1st for 10-month faculty). Tenure, once approved, only comes into effect the next year, for a very technical reason: faculty are ALREADY appointed up to that date. The beginning of tenure follows end-of-regular-appointment.
Who would like IU to change that so that tenure became effective the same time as promotion? (Does NOT change anything about job security or sabbatical eligibility, just makes it easier to explain, and allows faculty to participate in tenure decisions in P&T committees that fall.)
Please email feedback to etagelppA lehcaR.
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The Spring Reappointments cycle is underway. That’s capitalized because it is a major event: over 1,400 full-time faculty are involved across campus.
We have two minor-league cycles each year: Fall and Winter. These are for people who are on one-year initial appointments, AND, are in their first (Winter) or second (Fall) years. Thus, if you make an initial appointment that is three years, they do not appear in Fall and Winter cycles. School of Medicine has started standardizing at three years.
IU policy requires one year’s notice of non-reappointment. Right now, people in this spring cycle have appointment end dates of May 31 or June 30, 2022. If they are not going to be reappointed, they must be notified of non-reappointment by one year prior: hence, the Spring Reappointment cycle, whereby we (you!) either push their end date out another year to May/June 2023 (or later for those on multi-year / long-term appointments), OR, you notify them of non-reappointment, OR you notify us that they will retire or resign.
Do you need to non-reappoint someone? Is it involuntary (that is, they are not already retiring or resigning on their own)? If so, please contact etagelppA lehcaR specifically and quickly so that she can walk you through the steps. Faculty can be non-reappointed for reasons of either program needs or poor performance. This applies to pre-tenure faculty as well as non-tenure track faculty.
Your hard-working school HR staff will be asking you to cooperate with them in getting reappointment records up to date. Thank you, Hardworking HR Staff!
This process generates congratulatory letters from campus. We are trying to make sure that all letters have the correct titles, especially for people who have been approved for promotion during this year’s P&T cycle.
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- Next month, we will discuss Office of Equal Opportunity's responsibilities and investigation practices.
Reminders
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- Faculty Affairs Guidance materials shared via IU Office 365: A repository of helpful information including how-to’s, when-to’s, and where-to’s.
- New Faculty Notes: Just-in-time monthly guidance to new faculty who cycle through New Faculty Orientation each year.
- Hiring Best Practices.
- The Forum Network: An integrated coordinating structure that supports faculty collaboration and creativity.
- Faculty Crossing: A technology-rich collaboration space for faculty and teaching staff of all appointments. Part workroom, part café, the space provides a welcoming environment that promotes creativity and innovation. This space will reopen in the fall.
- Review the official long-term calendar for refresher on holidays and breaks for AY 2021-2022.
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