Inter-Institutional Faculty Senate

Remarks to the Board of Higher Education

 

September Meeting, 2008

 

Good Morning President Kelley, Vice President Francesconi, Chancellor Pernsteiner, Directors, University Presidents, students, staff, and guests:

Thank you for this opportunity to address you today.

 

For the Record, my name is Lee Ayers, IFS President 2008

 

IFS last met at EOU in June and will not meet again until the SOU October meeting. In the spirit of the brief college presidential history theme offer to you at the July meeting, today I offer a few comments about key issues that are keeping college presidents and faculty awake at night.

 

The title of “University President” is synonymous with one noun (also a verb) and that is “worry” reports one university president. While Presidents aren’t necessarily immobilized by worry, it is a common thread woven throughout their leadership experience. One thing that has caused a sufficient amount of worry lately is the budget situation. In a recent op-ed piece regarding state budgets, one President offered that “It’s common sense that you can’t leap a 20 foot chasm in two 10 foot jumps.” He also went on to say, “… its common sense that for the state to improve elementary and secondary education and increase the number of college graduates within the state, education at all levels must be adequately funded.” While there is tremendous agreement and support that education is a continuum, it appears that when it comes time to making decisions about providing resources to support all stages of the educational process, the same president notes, “… there seems to be a collective case of extreme ‘memory loss’.” University Presidents across the nation note having a, “… tough time understanding why others cannot fully comprehend that today’s student may become the teacher of tomorrow’s school children, the CEO of a major corporation, or a legislative leader who will be weighing information and making sound decisions that affect the rest of the citizenry.”

 

Also noted as major worry by Presidents is the tough time others have comprehending the interconnected and synergistic topics such as the support for higher education and economic growth both carry. It seems so clear to many that providing access to higher education benefits the state with a stronger economy, better-educated citizens who enjoy greater earning power and the capacity to create a larger tax-base for the state. With this knowledge, notes one President, “… isn’t it obvious that supporting higher education adequately is highly beneficial for the citizenry and the state’s economy?”

 

And finally, a major worry keep college President’s awake at night is the concern with their ability, under such harsh budget circumstances, to fulfill their obligations to the society that sustains them. One President notes that “If the role of higher education is to advance the humanistic, intellectual and economic interest of our state, given this fiscal crisis, will we fall short in fulfilling that role?”

 

Worry affects faculty and presidents alike. Some faculty are worried about class size, academic quality, delivery & access, learning outcomes & assessment mandates, and of course, faculty retention. On that note, have you ever heard of academic poaching? Not known as an Olympic sport, the recent figures reveal that it is becoming quite competitive for public universities to “fight raids on faculty” and retain maintain key faculty. The Chronical of Higher Education August 15, 2008, reports that some faculty still participate in a process known for seeking “outside offers to increase their current salaries” while administrators find their institutions under attack and seek prevention as the answer for successful retention.

 

Prevention, according to the article, includes:

*paying careful attention to the academic grapevine (whispers and hints that someone is looking)

*creating supportive environments for research and teaching, and

*recognizing and rewarding essential faculty before recruiter call them

 

Some institutions note they are setting aside critical reserves of cash for the prevention process. Florida University System received a Legislative appropriation of $65-million to raise faculty salaries as a prevention method. Georgia also reported 161 counter-offers in the last year, resulting in 120 professors being retained. Over the last four years, the Georgia system allotted Deans $6-million dollars to assist with retaining faculty known as the “best and brightest” knowing that other institutions would be courting them. It is important to identify disciplines that offer much lower faculty salaries than what other peer institutions are paying faculty in those same disciplines. Filling in the gaps is a key prevention tool. Compressed salaries, productivity levels that warrant salaries at a different scale… thus, connecting the compensation with compression is vital for retaining faculty.

 

Investing in faculty and keeping them at institutions is not just a salary issue, The Chronicle reports. Supporting release time for research, leadership opportunities, stipends, lab space, equipment funds, operational funds, and support of collegiality were also mentioned. Even parking, yes, parking spots designated for faculty makes a difference!

 

Setting aside funds in today’s cash strapped environment to retain faculty can be a challenge. How do you make the ends meet? University of California Berkeley received a $113-million gift from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation to assist with keeping professors’ salaries competitive with elite private institutions. The gift gave Berkeley the ability to retain 165 of the 236 professors who had received outside offers.

 

Keeping up morale is also a major factor in this equation. The Florida System cut the college budget by $47-million dollar and oversaw staff and faculty layoffs. In an effort to maintain morale, the system released $11-million in tuition revenue to give faculty members cost-of-living increases. one president notes that, “faculty are much more willing to endure hardship if they feel like the institution is moving forward and that they can still develop as scholars.”

 

Inclosing, there are many factors that keep college presidents and faculty awake at night. As we approach the up coming year with the forecast ranging from mild thunderstorms to hurricane winds and torrential down pours, I look forward to delivering the agenda for the IFS 2008-2009 academic year.

 

Are there any questions?

 

Thank you.