WORKSHOP FOR DEPARTMENT HEADS 2010

WORKSHOP FOR DEPARTMENT HEADS2010 You who choose to lead must follow, But if you fall, you fall alone. If you should stand, then who’s to guide you? Robert Hunter

Session 1: Administrative Rudiments • Role of the department head • Budget fundamentals and CPM • Hiring • Supervising academic personnel • Personnel problems • Vision We know the job has headaches. How can it be empowering? Academic Affairs website: http://www.uwyo.edu/AcadAffairs/

Role of the department head Nature of the position “Officers of the university;” serve at will. Retain tenure as faculty members (“retreat rights”) if tenured. (Trustees’ Regulation I). Variety of titles: department head, department chair, division head, dean (Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing). Report directly to the dean of the college.

Reporting line Department head Usually bad practice to circumvent the college dean. College dean and associates • VPAA and associates • Abernethy: curriculum & teaching • Ballenger: personnel & budgets • Murdock: Outreach School President Trustees

Main duties • Hiring • Assignment of duties • Performance evaluations and raises • Recommendations on reappointment, tenure, promotion • Managing the department’s academic program • Administering department budgets • Promotion of academic excellence • All in consultation with the department faculty and subject to the college dean’s approval.

Your own academic career Typical job description: 50% administration, remainder in teaching & research. (Not universal.) • Psychic risks: • Rank-and-file faculty member or administrator? • Your colleagues’ attitudes about administrators • Personal career aspirations: temporary service to the department or long-range interest in administration? • In any case, the job will change you.

Budget fundamentals • Breakdown of UW’s budget: • Section I: state-funded (includes most tuition revenue) • Replenishes each FY (1 July – 30 June) • Authorized each biennium; use it or lose it. • Special case: summer school revenues “roll over”. • Section II: revenues (includes grants) • Can “roll over” from one FY to the next.

Where does UW’s money come from? General fund (legislature) $193.6M/yr Tuition 44.4 M/yr Other (land-grant funds, royalties, etc.)22.0 M/yr Section I total $260.0 M/yr 3/4 goes to salary and benefits Non-grant section II funds $ 102.5 M/yr Grants & contracts (est., w/o fin. aid) 143.7 M/yr Section II total (est.) $ 246.2 M/yr Estimated total $ 506.2 M/yr (FY 2011, ends 30 June 2011

Funded by legislature*: 74% of section 1 38% of total budget (High for state universities) *not including Hathaway scholarships or Endowment for Excellence

Note: any new position requires money for salary and benefits (~ 40% × salary)

Components of the department’s budget • Permanent faculty and staff salaries. Section I. Not much flexibility here. • Part-time salaries. Usually negotiated with the college dean. Barely enough. • Section I support budget. Use for equipment, supplies, travel, speakers. Usually not enough, despite FY 2011 increases. • Summer-school revenues. Section I, but they “roll over.” Opportunity for departmental creativity.

Indirect cost reversions (ICR). Section II. Department’s share (15%) of the indirect costs budgeted for external awards. (IC = 43%  DC.) Lots of flexibility, if your faculty get grants. • Released time. Section II. Money transferred from grants to department account, used to “buy” faculty members out of teaching commitments. Can be used for any salary purposes. Good to have a written departmental policy on its use. • Endowment income. Expendable income generated by investment of gifts. Can be the most flexible type of money available, except for constraints on scholarships. Requires long-term fiscal planning.

Central position management • Basic mechanics: • Vacancies in permanent faculty and AP lines* are captured in Academic Affairs as they occur. • Colleges keep the dollars for the rest of the FY. • Academic Affairs reallocates the dollars each June, based on deans’ ranked requests and institutional priorities. • Overall, amount allocated = amount captured. Reallocation across department and college boundaries can occur. (Actual intercollege transfers tend to be small.) *40 positions, $3.0 million in 2010.

Exceptions: Off-cycle (“exigency”) allocations are possible when there’s a strong supporting case by the college dean. Automatic returns: Department automatically retains all resources associated with denials of reappointment, tenure, or extended term initiated by the department faculty or department head.

How to craft a good CPM request • Align with institutional areas of distinction or other AP emphases. Don’t treat these areas as “extras”. • Manage the resources you have effectively. Make sure your dean is well informed about instructional need.

AY and FY appointments • AY app’ts (most faculty) • Earn salary during 9-month academic year. • Receive ¾ of it in paychecks during the AY, remaining ¼ (“balance of contract”) the next summer. • Don’t accrue vacation. • Have the capacity to earn up to 1/3 of AY salary in summer or through Outreach instruction.

FY appt’s (some administrators, some Ag faculty) • Earn salary year-round, receive it as they earn it. • Accrue 22 days/year of vacation. • Have no capacity for supplemental salary. • FY-to-AY conversions • AY salary = (5/6) × (FY salary). No exceptions. • Must use all accrued vacation before converting. • Conversions at times other than the start of Fall Semester cause unexpected BOC payouts (and angst) in the following summer.

Food for thought: You’ve finally had it with your dean, and you storm out of her office, sending her a note saying that you’re stepping down as department head and returning to the faculty immediately. It’s February, and you’re on a fiscal year appointment for the duration of your administrative term. What problems do you foresee? Discuss, take a break, get back together in 15 minutes

Hiring Hiring standards for faculty, APs, and staff Faculty: Open, national or international search; terminal degree in the field; best qualified candidate; promise of excellence in teaching and national or internationally recognized scholarship. APs: Open regional search, at least; best qualified candidate; promise of excellence in job duties. Staff: Local (or broader) search; done through Human Resources with detailed procedures and guidelines.

3 remarks: • Pre-selection is unethical. Search! • Don’t hire in desperation; extend the search another year if necessary. • Don’t underestimate the value of candidates who have long-range leadership potential.

Affirmative action plan • Affirmative-action principles: • Advertise broadly and fairly. • Include UW’s EEO-AA statement. • Appoint a diverse search committee. • Guard against adverse stereotyping. • Hire the most qualified person.

Exceptions to advertising policy • Can hire into a position not advertised only under the following circumstances: • Target of opportunity (highly qualified person from underrepresented group). • Business necessity (rarely applicable to academic positions). • Domestic partner accommodation. • Require recommendation from dean and VPAA and approval from EPO. There is no special funding for this type of hiring.

Common problems Domestic partner hiring No universal solution, but UW has a pretty good record of solving these problems. Bring the issue to the dean’s attention ASAP. Illegal questions Don’t ask about marital status, family configuration, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, veteran status, disabilities, sexual orientation. Candidates are free to volunteer the information. Chilly interviews Give a pep-talk to faculty before the interviews. The interview is not a test or a hazing ritual. You’re evaluating the candidate and selling the department.

The written offer • Essential ingredients: • Starting date • Rank • Salary (specify AY or FY) • Brief description of job duties • Tenure or extended-term deadline* • Startup package and moving expenses, if any • Deadline for reply. (Two weeks is reasonable.) *Credit toward tenure requires prior approval from Academic Affairs

4.Supervising academic personnel Setting the tone You have a powerful influence on the department’s morale. A positive outlook and a sense of control over the department’s destiny are the faculty’s most precious assets. Cultivate them. If departmental ambitions are high, they will bump up against resource constraints. Some frustration is inevitable. Don’t let it dampen the will to excel.

External peer review A Department faculty review Department head’s recommendation College-level faculty review B College dean’s recommendation University-level faculty review C Review by Academic Affairs Review by President (on appeal) Trustees’ action Tenure, promotion, reappointment, extended terms: the decision chain

Avoid these disasters: • Getting started too late. • Too few external letters. • External letters that lack heft. • Uninformative or flip comments from the faculty. • Citing issues of law, procedure, or “fairness.” Stick to judgments about academic performance, supported by facts. • Risky early cases. (Discuss any early case with the dean.)

Other aspects of T&P Establish a rigorous departmental culture. Thorough, honest reappointment reviews can help avoid nasty battles in the tenure or extended-term year. Play it straight. Say what you mean. Your recommendation should be the most influential document in the packet. Remember the CPM implications. Your department can’t lose resources by making a tough call. You can lose them if someone else has to make it.

Food for thought Your department has a fourth-year faculty member who’s toxicin department meetings and who has a habit of showing up to class unprepared. She seems perennially at odds with her students. Whenever anyone discusses these issues with her, she mentions her attorney. The majority of the department faculty members vote against her reappointment case. One of their comments dwells on the fact that she’s a woman in a field where men have traditionally been more successful. After reading their remarks, she tells you she’ll sue you for discrimination if you recommend against reappointment. What should you do?

Personnel problems Collegiality: The willingness to work with colleagues in a civil, productive fashion that advances the mission of the department and university. Collegiality is tricky: big egos and rebellious spirits are part of the academic landscape. However, failure to contribute to the university’s mission – and interference with it – are grounds for poor performance appraisals, including reappointment denials.

Faculty grievances, discrimination, harassment, student complaints • Best defenses: • Get sexual harassment training. (It’s mandatory.) • When a problem arises, consult with the dean or EPO. • Treat people honestly, fairly, and respectfully. • Base decisions on your academic judgment, not on legalistic grounds. UW has an indemnity clause that protects your good-faith academic judgments. • When in doubt, do what’s right.

Personal problems People (including department heads) are fragile and fallible. Family difficulties, messy relationships, substance abuse, medical problems, and ethical lapses are as common in academia as elsewhere. Be sensitive; maintain confidentiality; protect the legitimate interests of others (including the institution); try to approach problem constructively instead of punitively. Remind us to do the same. Get advice and help. You can’t handle everything yourself.

6. Vision • UW’s setting and mission: • The only 4-year institution in the state • A public land-grant institution • One of the smallest Carnegie research-doctoral extensive institutions in the U.S. • Commitment to access • Balance between general and professional education • Judicious mix of theory and application in research • Need to focus expertise and work synergistically. 

Defining a scholarly culture • Stress the attributes of successful careers, not minimal expectations. • Make external peer review a guiding principle. • Cultivate a small number of areas of distinction consistent with the AP. Stick with them. • Integrate scholarship with teaching.

Interdisciplinarity • A vehicle for expanding research communities at UW • A strong current motif in many disciplines • A key competitive advantage for a small university • A natural mode of inquiry at land-grant institutions • A way to influence hiring outside the department.

The research-teaching cascade. A university is a center for learning. When you learn something nobody knew before, we call it research and creative activity. When peer-reviewed, it’s the most demanding form of scholarship. When you expand your own understanding with what others know, it’s still a form of scholarship – and part of your job. The raison d’être of the research university is to inform teaching with scholarship and hence to allow our curriculum and modes of teaching to evolve.

That’s all for today. Questions?

Extra slides

15% to dept.* Breakdown of ICR 5% to college Typical grant budget: 5% to VPR Direct costs (salaries, GAs, equipment, travel,etc) 75% to UW general fund Indirect costs (0.405 × direct costs) *specified on greensheet

Dismissal • It’s distinct from reappointment denial and PTR. • Grounds must constitute “cause”: • Incompetence. • Conviction of a felony or other crime that interferes substantively with the ability to perform duties. • Moral unfitness. • Neglect of duty. • Failure to improve performance (post-tenure review). • Cases are rare and difficult. Documentation is crucial.

“When compared to leading a department, the management is a breeze. There is nothing in management that can’t be learned on the job. A good head enunciates a vision and sets the direction a department should pursue.” John B. Conway, former Math Department Head, U. Tennesee

Post-tenure review UniReg 808 Stage I: Periodic performance reviews. Normal for all employees, tenured or not. Stage II: Comprehensive review. Triggered by an assessment of “performance below expectations.” Outcomes: (a) change in job description or (b) performance improvement plan. Stage III: Failure of stage II to resolve the problem. Outcome: possible dismissal.

Caveats: It’s a good idea to warn a faculty member in writing of an impending “below expectations” rating, in time for the person to make changes. Document the measures you’ve taken to avoid entangling issues of academic freedom. Copy the college dean on all documentation.

Guidelines for job descriptions: One 3-credit course/semester = 25%. Assignments less than 50% teaching are rare, justifiable by realistic expectations of significant external funding. Ph.D. supervision can justify some reduction in teaching assignments. Communication with the college dean is essential. Job descriptions can change, subject to performance reviews and individual faculty goals.

Temporary hiring • Done in virtually every unit, for teaching and research. • Only type of employment possible if salary is “soft-money.” • Requires ½-time appointment or more to receive benefits. • Make the terms of employment clear, in writing. Include job expectations and ending date.

Personnel problems Academic freedom versus collegiality Academic freedom: The right to conduct and disseminate scholarship and to teach in accord with one’s expertise, free of constraints arising from unrelated considerations such as politics or religion. Also, the right for the institution to determine what it shall teach and who shall teach it. It does not include the “rights” to neglect one’s job duties, to have an idiosyncratic work schedule, or to force one’s inexpert or off-topic opinions on students.

Job descriptions and performance reviews • Elements of job descriptions • Teaching (responsibility for credit-bearing courses.) • Research and creative activity (definition is discipline-specific; external peer review is the coin of the realm.) • Service (includes service on committees.) • Advising • Administration (limited to department heads, directors of major institutes, etc.; doesn’t include chairing committees.) • Cooperative extension (limited to certain jobs in Ag.) • Professional development (applies to lecturers and extension educators, in lieu of research expectations.)

Guidelines for performance reviews: • Do them annually, both in writing and in person. (Some deans expect them every other year.) • Take all elements of the job description into account. Don’t take a reductionist view of teaching or research. • Be forthright. If there’s room for improvement, say so, and give constructive suggestions. • Identify performance below expectations in writing and in these terms, and notify the college dean. • Make them count: use them explicitly in every T&P evaluation and in every raise allocation.

FY 2011 - FY 2012 Biennium Funding Sources Total Biennium Funding: $ M State’s General Fund: $ M (%) Tuition Income & Other Revenue: $ M (%) Self-Generated Funding:$ M (%) Funded by legislature: 74% of section 1 38% of total budget (High for state universities)

Food for thought: Your department has a fourth-year faculty member who’s a highly charismatic teacher. His scholarly record is thin -- barely acceptable by department standards. His CV lists 15 works in progress. While it’s hard to document, you have serious concerns about his honesty: You think he stretches the truth in reporting his own research accomplishments; His colleagues report that his teaching, while immensely popular with students, is filled with basic errors; In his 3.5 years at UW, he has launched three grievances against you and your associate department head. Hearing committees have dismissed all of them. He routinely recruits graduate students to take sides in his disputes with senior faculty members. What’s your recommendation for reappointment?

WORKSHOP FOR DEPARTMENT HEADS 2010