Shared Governance & More

1. Shared Governance & More • Brian Kay • August 15, 2013

2. Topics Today • Senate: • What is its role on campus? • What is its structure? • What are its challenges? • The role of the Head • What it takes to be an effective unit leader • Faculty mentoring

3. Website • http://www.uic.edu/depts/senate/

4. Senate • Shared governance • A forum for open discussion about all aspects of UIC and its place in the University of Illinois system • Encourage discussion of faculty, staff, and student issues in a timely and proactive manner • Approve curriculum revision • Interface with Campus Leadership and University Administration (UA)

5. Senate Structure • Officers: Presiding Officer, Secretary of the Senate & Chair of the Executive Committee, Vice Chair of the Executive Committee, and Coordinator • Senators (253) • Senate Executive Committee • Various subcommittees

6. Subcommittees • academic freedom and tenure • academic services • budget, planning, and priorities • educational policy • external relations and public service • faculty affairs • research • student affairs • student recruitment • support services

7. More about the Committees’ Responsibilities can be found in the Bylaws.

8. Senate Schedule • Three Senate meetings per fall and spring terms • Biweekly Senate Executive Committee meetings with Chancellor, Provost, Vice-Presidents, Vice-Provosts, guests, etc. • Regular subcommittee meetings • Monthly University Senates Conference meetings • A UIC Senate observer at the University of Illinois Board of Trustees meetings

9. Governing Rules for the Senate • Written Bylaws • Robert's Rules of Order • Yearly elections • Three year appointments by senators • Publicly posted meetings dates and files • Emails from the Clerk with the agenda and supporting documents

10. My Thoughts about the UIC Senate • Why is shared governance difficult to enact? • How is power shared? • Why is the UIUC Senate more active than UIC’s? • Will UIC Senate’s role change with the formation of the faculty union?

11. Role of the Head • Create a management team • Handle disparate responsibilities: • Educational, research, and outreach missions • Maintain and repair Infrastructure • Bear the brunt of the bureaucracy for the faculty • Accountable to the Dean and College • Financial responsibility • Obtain resources ($, space, talent) • Promote the professional development of the faculty, staff, and students

12. The Importance of Good Leadership • The Head ensures the proper functioning of the academic unit • The culture of a Department is set by the style of the Head • S/he can instill a culture of collegiality and comity • Communication is one key to success

13. How to be an Effective Unit Leader • Create a transparent, fair organization where everyone knows the rules. • Consult with your staff and faculty on a regular basis. Be a good listener. • Develop better time management skills than you ever had before. • Delegate, as there is not enough time to do everything.

14. When in doubt, be non-committal in conversation and not make snap decisions. • Lead by example. • Find a peer group to discuss problems with and learn from. • Promote the departmental mission, and its faculty and staff, to management on a regular basis. • Develop realistic goals for the department and move toward them, as well as be flexible and stay alert for unforeseen opportunities. • Have fun at what you do.

15. Challenges of Being the Head • Have to manage both small details and the big picture. • We live in a resource limited environment. • The faculty feel overworked and are stressed out by the current low grant paylines. • There is constant room for improvement. • It is easy to neglect your own scholarship. • Email is both a blessing and a curse. • One needs to plan past the headship.

16. Faculty Mentoring • Elevates professional success of the individual and builds teams • New hires need to be mentored on how to be successful academics • Associate Professors are a neglected group that need mentoring • Required at UIC since 2001

17. Create a Mentoring Culture • Host frequent public discussions about the importance of faculty mentoring • Establish mentoring guidelines: • create mentor-mentee pairs • encourage faculty to take the time for mentoring • provide discussion checklists • Meet with all Assistant and Associate Professors separately, at least once a year

18. At the Yearly Head Meetings • Provide a self-assessment form: • review accomplishments in outreach, research, service, and teaching • assess professional career development • Give feedback on the faculty member’s performance • Evaluate effectiveness of the peer mentoring program

19. Sample Checklist Provided to Mentor-Mentee Pairs • Compare CV to established departmental standards and give feedback • Consider the balance between personal and professional life • Assess time management strategies • Discuss research management strategies • Outline plans for upcoming manuscripts and grant applications • Share teaching techniques • Provide advice regarding service on committees • Confer on mentoring and management of graduate students • Float ideas about possible sabbatical opportunities • Identify additional mentors that would be helpful

20. Thank you for your attention. • bkay@uic.edu