building the plane as we fly it: faculty, universities and change

BUILDING THE PLANE AS WE FLY IT: FACULTY, UNIVERSITIES AND CHANGEKerryAnn O’MearaJanuary 27th, 2014Virginia Commonwealth University

THE COMPARISON: REQUEST TO SUSPEND DISBELIEFApollo 13 Mission

AND

2014 Higher Education and Faculty Careers

LAND ON THE MOON.

ESTABLISHED ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE FLIGHT, OPERATING PROCEDURES, CONDITIONS.

DECREASED PUBLIC FUNDING/INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OUTCOMES• States are reducing per student funding to colleges• Public institutions expect declines in net tuition revenue• Less funding but increased accountability for access,

retention, time to degree, career placement and student debt default• Public institutions must find more revenue elsewhere or cut:

federal/foundation grants, outreach teaching, new programs

GLOBAL AND DOMESTIC RANKINGS

•USNWR and Global Rankings (Shanghai, Times, QS) major game changers• Striving to get in top 100, 50 of world universities,

top public universities•Resource allocation, student decisions, partnerships

all influenced• Administrators, alumni, state governments, faculty,

graduate students all involved

RESTRUCTURING OF FACULTY EMPLOYMENT & REWARD SYSTEM• Shift from tenure-track to non-tenure track (part-time and

full time NTT) employment•Ratcheting up of expectations for tenure and promotion:

more articles, books, international reputation, grant funding•Newer forms of scholarship have emerged, more

interdisciplinary work

IN-BETWEEN PLACES• Uncertain• Uncomfortable• Loss, Gain• Challenge/

Opportunity• Metamorphosis

IN BETWEEN PLACES: HIGHER EDUCATION AND FACULTY

I. Faculty Evaluation, Regard, and Reward SystemsII. Identity and Balance of Teaching, Research and

ServiceIII.Work & LifeIV. Cultures and Structures for Full Participation

I. IN BETWEEN PLACE: FACULTY EVALUATION, REGARD, AND REWARD SYSTEMS

• Tensions over tenure: “Do not do this until you are tenured.”

• Tensions over promotion to full professor: “Pressures to show impact or where the impact is appearing.”

• Tensions between department, college and university guidelines: “Oh, we value it—but they won’t when it gets to the college or university.”

MIXED MESSAGES AND PENDULUM SWINGS“I found that I constantly got mixed messages as far as what was important. For getting tenure, research is overwhelmingly the most important factor, as long as you’re a decent teacher here. But the pendulum tends to swing back and forth and I think the pendulum has swung to far to the research side these days.”

“Casualties on the road”

II. IN BETWEEN PLACE: IDENTITY AND BALANCE OF TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND SERVICE• “We want to promise a small class learning environment but

also be a world class research university.”• “Bandwagons to jump on” & feeling fragmented and pulled in

different directions• Hiring of faculty stars, increased course buy-outs, reduced

course load, incentives

High Impact Practices• First year seminars• Common intellectual experiences• Learning communities• Writing intensive courses• Collaborative projects• Undergraduate research• Diversity/global learning• Service-learning• Internships• Capstone courses

Rankings Criteria• Faculty publications• Faculty editorial

appointments• Faculty Citations• Faculty Grants,

Awards

III. IN BETWEEN PLACE: WORK & LIFE

Ratcheting up of research expectations with high teaching loads

Framing of “real work”Ideal worker norms, “greedy” institutions and work-lives

“I teach 100%, I research 100%, I do service 100% and I am a mom 100%--that’s 400% that I am trying to do by myself. Is that possible?” (Wolf-Wendel & Ward, 2005).

IV. IN BETWEEN PLACE: CULTURES AND STRUCTURES FOR FULL PARTICIPATION

GETTING HOMELovell: “Gentleman: What are your intentions?”Commander: “Failure is not an option.”1,000 things had to happen“We’ve never tried this before.”

INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES• Designs for 1865, 1925, and

1940 versus 2014• New Designs Needed—by

Individuals, by Institutions• Ideal Strategies: Intersection

of Individual Agency and Organizational Structure

INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES

• Career development strategies (containing attention, identifying goals, structuring time)• Integrating and finding “instruments for action” (Hoyt)• Peer support and critical networks• Resources, examples (failure/success), and models

ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES

• Clarifying missions and strategic goals (niches, markets, partnerships)• Analyzing workloads in transparent ways to reflect distributive and

procedural justice• New Recognition, Regard and Reward Systems (newer forms of

scholarship, recognize bias, peer review; alternatives to the market)• Employing critical agency networks in the service of strategic goals• Investing in faculty development and department retreats/planning

“HELLO HOUSTON, THIS IS ODYSSEY……”

“You never know what is going to transpire to get you home.”

What could our “finest hour” look like?

[Ladies] and Gentleman: “What are YOUR intentions?”

THANK YOU!

KerryAnn O’MearaAssociate Professor, Higher EducationUniversity of Marylandkomeara@umd.edu