Chair Talk 3.6 September 28, 2016

The Many Kinds of Faculty

Contrary to the fears of some, there is little evidence that tenure will disappear from the UA.  The number of tenure and tenure-eligible faculty at the UA will be slightly greater in 2016 than it was in 2006 or 1996 or 1986, just after I arrived here.  At the same time, the number of other-than tenure track faculty at the UA has dramatically increased over these 30 years.  Such faculty play an increasing role in much of what we do at the UA, in particular enabling us to provide quality instruction in a cost-effective way.

Unlike many of our peers, we have significantly reduced the use of part-time and short-term adjuncts, as the vast majority of our other-than tenure track faculty are now in full-time positions. However, we still lag well behind our peers in granting these faculty greater access to, and engagement in, shared governance. Only about 5% of them (only those with multiple year contracts) can vote and participate as faculty at the campus level.   It is worth noting that 10 of the other PAC 12 institutions include a broader range of other-than tenure track faculty in shared governance at the campus level as do 10 of our 14 academic peers (including UIUC, UT Austin, UW, Maryland, Minnesota, and Penn State, among others).

Faculty Senate has been working over the past few years to bring the UA into the modern age with regard to other-than tenure track faculty, and has proposed adoption of new policies to broaden access to shared governance for faculty.    The proposals, which have already been approved by Senate, and which will be voted on soon, expand the definition of the General Faculty to include faculty on year-to-year contracts who serve multiple years. This would bring greater intellectual consistency and fairness to shared governance by acknowledging length of employment rather than just length or type of contract as a core indicator of a faculty member’s status in, and contribution to, the academic mission of the University.

These new policies will unite all faculty under common governance and give our faculty who are not eligible for tenure a more appropriate venue for participation in shared governance, while giving our tenure track faculty and continuing status professionals access to a broader spectrum of faculty perspectives.

The proposals are expressly not intended to erase or elide distinctions between the roles and responsibilities of the various kinds of faculty within the academy.  That said, individuals in all categories of faculty employment regularly demonstrate their commitment to and engagement with the institution, though the nature of those commitments vary across faculty types.  The expansion of general faculty status at the university level is one step.  The Faculty Constitution affords colleges and units the ability to extend voting or participation in shared governance, and we strongly encourage such action.

You will shortly be given the opportunity to vote on these proposed changes beginning Monday (10/3-10/14), and we strongly encourage you to vote for them. You will receive an email on Monday with the link to the new voting website. If you have any questions or issues with the voting, please contact the Faculty Center staff at 621-1342.

Lynn Nadel, Chair of the Faculty
Michael Brewer, Vice Chair of the Faculty and Chair of the NTT Ad Hoc Task Force