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Provost Lee L. Huntsman last week appointed an 11-member ad hoc Committee on Faculty Responsibilities and Rewards, to be chaired by Mike Wallace, professor of Atmospheric Sciences and co-director of the Program on the Environment. The committee's preliminary report is expected by the end of May.
Huntsman, in his letter of appointment, requested that the committee "organize and moderate a University-wide conversation on responsibilities and rewards.
"Assistant, associate and full professors, instructional and research faculty, Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma faculty, and those with and without tenure-track appointments all should be invited to share their views. The committee will be responsible for synthesizing the various views of faculty and making recommendations, as appropriate."
Huntsman listed several key issues to be considered:
"A proposal for post-tenure review or its equivalent is expected as one outcome, though by no means the only one," Huntsman wrote in his letter.
He cited growing expectations of faculty and external pressures as the impetus for the committee.
"Growing competition in securing external funding and publishing, greater expectations for more and better teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and pressures to find new ways to contribute to the larger community place extraordinary demands on faculty," he wrote. "The 'triple threat' career—exceptional contributions in research, teaching and service—is more difficult than ever to achieve.
"At the same time, external pressures for accountability are mounting. In this context, certain sectors of the community are skeptical of the faculty's work. Some question the priority placed on research, relative to undergraduate and graduate teaching. Others ask about the value of what is produced in both research and teaching. The University's autonomy depends to some extent on being able to answer these questions convincingly."
In addition to Wallace, members of the committee are: Gaetano Borriello, associate professor, Computer Science and Engineering; Wayne Crill, professor, Physiology and Biophysics; James Green, senior lecturer, Anthropology; Charles Johnson, professor, English; Robin McCabe, professor and director, Music; Rheba de Tornyay, professor, Psychosocial and Community Health; Ted Kaltsounis, professor, Education and vice chair, Faculty Senate; Cordell Carter, student representative; Cindy Zehnder, vice president, Board of Regents and deputy commissioner, Department of Employment Security; and Kathie Friedman-Kasaba, associate professor, Liberal Studies, UW Tacoma. ¶