Daily Egyptian Spring 05
Faculty Association questions effectiveness of hiring initiatives
Moustafa Ayad
Daily Egyptian
As the administration rolls out the third installment of its Faculty Hiring Initiatives to beef up faculty-deprived departments, the Faculty Association is claiming the rate of faculty hires does not compensate for all the faculty departures.
In an independent study conducted by the union, the number of faculty leaving compared to the number being hired made the faculty's desire to have a 26 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio unattainable. Union officials said the number of faculty hires needed to match enrollment figures would have to be 69, but 67 leave or retire on a yearly basis. This leaves the University with a continual gap in its hiring practices. Marvin Zeman, president of the Faculty Association, said the chancellor first proposed the faculty hiring incentives as a set of extra hires for the University but said now they are used to fill many positions that are left in the wake of faculty members who leave or retire.
"But what they appear to being doing now is that they are not filling positions that were vacant but continuing to find extra positions," Zeman said. The Faculty Hiring Initiatives were first proposed in 2002 by Chancellor Walter Wendler to help increase the University's research as well as combat the rising student-faculty ratio. According to the union contract, the University must maintain a 26 to 1 ratio of represented students to faculty. Administrators said they believe the initiative is a part of the "Southern at 150" plan, which is SIUC's plan to become one of the top 75 public research institutions in the nation by its 150th birthday.
Wendler announced last fall that he is committing an additional $1 million each year to the initiative. Wendler said Tuesday that the fact that the University has been able to commit $1 million despite the ongoing state budget crisis is a testament to excellence. The $1 million comes from tuition increases. Citing 2004 fall enrollment numbers and the number of faculty in the bargaining unit, the association stated the current faculty number of 674 needs to be 690. Provost John Dunn said he understands the unions' grievances with the low number of faculty on campus and that the administration is doing what it can to fill empty offices.
"The faculty understand that we are trying to make a good-faith effort to push the hiring as far and as long as we can," Dunn said. "Not all searches in the first year net the candidates of choice, but we keep supporting the hiring." Dunn said departments will be submitting proposals for professors by April 8 and then the administration will review which departments will receive a portion of the University's $1 million for new hires. According to the association's newsletter, the provost's office confirmed that 10 percent of faculty leave the University every year and that 60 percent of the searches that are used to fill some of those spots bear fruit. Dunn said he expects about 45 to 50 requests for new faculty from departments across the campus. He said department heads generally appreciate the programs contributions to their already fledgling budgets.
Zeman said he supports the idea of extra hires, but the University must fill the yearly vacancies first before committing student dollars toward everyday hires. He said the University should have an open debate about whether the provost should be in charge of faculty hires that in essence affect the faculty first and foremost. "Faculty hiring needs to be driven by the faculty," Zeman said. "Hiring should be in the hands of the faculty, not the provost and vice chancellor for research."
Last update: Thursday, March 3, 2005 at 3:13:27 PM
Copyright 2009 Daily Egyptian Spring 05