For the past year, members of the faculty and key administrators have been meeting, separately and together to respond to long-standing needs in terms of how faculty are reviewed and rewarded at this University. One impetus for this process of deliberation was an awareness of increasing external pressures on University faculty to demonstrate that they do a careful and conscientious job of governing themselves, particularly with regard to performance reviews throughout a faculty member’s career. Another impetus was the growing concern that the salary policy of this University should be revised to assure that all meritorious faculty can anticipate predictable salary increases over a career.
The result of the year-long deliberations is a consensus among participants from both the faculty and administration that the University of Washington needs a new statement of faculty rewards and responsibilities and that this new statement should be accompanied by a strong commitment to tying faculty reviews to predictable salary increases for meritorious faculty. The consensus has been expressed in a proposal for new provisions in the Faculty Code, as well as in an executive order, pertaining to faculty rewards, responsibilities and salary.
Three key principles have guided the creation of this faculty-administration proposal. One is that all meritorious faculty should be able to anticipate a salary progression over their careers that reflects their continuing contributions to the work of the University. The second is that faculty should participate in all judgments of merit. The third is that the administration and the faculty should have flexibility in making decisions about allocation of monies for rewarding faculty performance.
A series of important new proposals is expressed in the proposed policies. Some of the key proposals are these:
Those members of the faculty who are working most actively with the administration to develop new policies have concluded that the changes contained in the proposals that have been made will make a substantial improvement in the way faculty are supported in their efforts to make an important contribution to the University of Washington. Through a long process of deliberation and negotiation, they have worked closely and effectively with the administration to revise and shape the proposals, such that the faculty now has an important opportunity to respond to the needs of the future.
Now, the faculty must voice its opinion about these proposed policies. Throughout the past year, we have visited the faculty meeting of every department that invited us to visit it. We have talked about the new policies and have listened to many useful suggestions from our faculty colleagues. Furthermore, we have, through repeated announcements and Web-based communications, elicited and received comments and suggestions. We have paid close attention to all the comments we have received and have incorporated many of them into the developing versions of the new proposals.
When the proposals are finally judged by the Faculty Senate and, we hope, by the faculty as a whole, the proposals will reflect the comments, criticisms, improvements, and suggestions of all faculty who have made the effort to make them. This has been a highly interactive process of two-way communication. We encourage further commentary. The proposals are now contained in a single document that is available from the Faculty Senate office (685-2703 or senate@u.washington.edu).
We anticipate that the proposals will be discussed and debated in the meetings of the Faculty Senate this spring, and we encourage all faculty members to work with your unit’s senator(s) as well as to communicate directly with the Senate office. ¶
Professor Gerry Philipsen, Vice Chair, Faculty Senate
Professor Theodore Kaltsounis, Chair, Faculty Senate
University Week
The faculty and staff publication of the University of Washington
uweek@u.washington.edu
April 1, 1999