Faculty Development in the US:

Faculty Life Cycle Selection and Retention

US-China Computer Science Leadership Summit

Debra RichardsonUniversity of California, Irvine

Valerie TaylorTexas A&M University

ProfessorAssociate ProfessorAssistant Professor[Postdoctoral Researcher]

Doctor of Philosophy

The Academic “Ladder”

Chaired Professor

Distinguished Professor

President/Chancellor

Provost/EVC

Dean

Associate Dean

Department Head/Chair

tenure

Reward Structure

Strategies for Success:Components of the Job for which faculty are rewarded

Research =Scholarship=Teaching

Service

Tenure

“a status granted after a trial period to a teacher protecting him [her] from

summary dismissal” - Webster’s Dictionary

• Tenure is a long term commitment by the institution and is not taken lightly» A ”club” with lifetime membership

• ~70% of CS/CS “regular ranks” faculty at PhD granting institutions are tenured» ~60% of women, ~72% of men are tenured

Tenure Time Line

Usually a six-seven year “clock”

• 7 year probationary period» Yearly oral evaluations by Dept. Head/Chair» Intermediate “mid-career” review during year 3» Tenure review usually during year 6

– Based upon work from first 5 years

» Tenure effective in year 7

• Typical evaluation (for tenure and beyond)» Regular written evaluations by Dept. Merit & Promotion (M&P) Committee, Dept. Head/Chair, Dean and Campus/School M&P Committee

» Promotion and tenure review with letters from external evaluators

Primary Criteria: what matters?

• Evidence of scholarly distinction, accomplishment and impact in your field» coherent body of important work» significant theme showing growth as a scholar» sufficient productivity to show promise for sustained

productivity» respect by acknowledged experts» good teaching portfolio: good evaluations in a blend of

courses (size, undergrad/grad)» high quality, reliable service so that colleagues respect your

contributions to the department, university, research community

• Different fields and different universities have different cultures - such as,» how publication patterns affect expectations» how collaboration is assessed» how impact is measured

relative importance depends

on instituti

on

}No substitute for Quality

• Basic factors» excellence in research» excellence in teaching» excellence in service

• Research» How many and what kind of

papers are expected?» How much grant support is

expected?» How is support from industry

viewed?» How is [interdisciplinary]

collaboration viewed?» Is your research area viewed

favorably?

• Teaching» What do faculty expect of

students?» What do students expect

from faculty?» What do colleagues expect

from your course?

• Service» How much service is

really required?» How much can be gained

from service by getting to know others on campus?

Research

• Evidence of research impact is most important • Research independence is critical

» especially independence from PhD advisor» clear individual contributions in collaborative work

• Publications» Quality before quantity in publications» Journal publications

– Not all journals are equal: journal reputations are best measure » Conference and workshop publications are valued just as highly

– Bring visibility and more rapid recognition of your work– All conferences/workshops are not created equal: leading conferences, reputation and acceptance rates are measures of quality

• Research Funding and Graduate Advising» Appropriate level of research funding from top agencies» Excellent graduate students are important to advancing

• Much of computer science is experimental

• Impact can be evaluated in many ways» journal publication» conference publication» curriculum development» artifact creation - especially if used or built upon

» technology transition and patents» effect on standards» citations to the work» even hits on the web

Fundamental basis for academic success is

IMPACT

… your colleagues and the M&P committee

must be convinced of impact

Tenure Dossier

• Impact must be documented in the tenure dossier

• Detailed CV• Statement of contributions in research, teaching, and service

• External letters» Leaders in the field evaluating the work, stating– established in your field– significant contributions with impact

• Publications• Internal letters

Advancement to Full Professor

• Based on international recognition as an established researcher and leader in the field» Generally about 4-6 years beyond the Associate Professor level

• Recognized in your particular research area via:» Editorial boards, program chairs, committees, etc.

• About 1% of the faculty achieve the status of Distinguished Professor or Chaired Professor» Based upon extremely distinguished research contributions

» Chaired professors carry with them an endowment generally from a philanthropist

Faculty Recruitment

• The top US universities are competing for the best and brightest new PhDs and also the distinguished scholars in the discipline» Faculty selected based on the expectation that they will succeed in being promoted through the ranks

• Faculty Statistics in research universities (PhD-granting) (according to CRA Taulbee Survey)» Total faculty sizes continue to grow at a rate of 3% during 2004-05

» 85% of faculty hires for 2004-05 were new PhDs

Faculty Losses

• Of 5,962 faculty at research universities , 213 faculty left in 2004-05, a loss of only 3.7%

• Faculty Losses:Died 8Retired 56Took Nonacademic Position 39Took Academic Position Elsewhere 61Changed to Part-Time 16Other 25Unknown 8

• Less than .04% transfer among universities

Faculty Diversity and Equity

• Most universities in the U.S. focus on increasing diversity of the faculty ranks» Current blend of faculty in research universities (also according to CRA Taulbee Survey)– 13% women– 20% Asian– 6% non-resident alien– 0.03% URM = African-American, Native American, Hispanic

» Equitable hiring and advancement of gender and ethnic minorities

• Requires institutional transformation and a change in culture

Challenges in Transforming Culture

• Eliminating sub rosa hiring (behind the scenes) and promoting practices of the old guard » (in the U.S. we call this the old boys network)

• Overcoming [perceived] issue of availability (lack thereof) in [narrow] disciplines

• Training Deans and Chairs to utilize best practices to achieve diversity and equity» Encourage departments to search more broadly» Compensate for gender differences in negotiation styles and self-promotion

Maintaining an institutional force that notices points of weakness and takes action

How to transform: what matters?

• Climate Change requires leadership» Chair and Dean must encourage effective practices in recruitment, advancement and retention

» For women and minorities, critical mass is important and difficult initially

• Workshop series for chairs and emerging leaders

• Equity advisors as faculty assistants to dean to seek out and ensure best practices are followed» participate in recruitment process, approve search committees, advertising plan & final recruitment

» implement faculty development programs» investigate inequities that leadership might miss» tailored to Computer Science is important

Recruitment Best Practices

• Devote significant investment in the hiring of new faculty who will succeed!

• Best way to hire the best faculty is to conduct a broadly targeted/defined search

• Career partner program» Partners of women faculty (in US) are more likely to be faculty members

• Requests for new faculty provisions must address & show commitment to diversity and equity

Faculty Retention

• Critical to the success of a department» It’s much more expensive to bring in a new faculty member than retain a good one

• Activities important for faculty retention» Faculty mentoring - especially junior faculty but everyone

» Providing a top research environment, and rewarding research activities

» Providing an environment in which good teaching and service can be accomplished without negatively impacting research

» Promoting faculty via awards, professorships, chairs

Faculty Mentoring

• From assistant professor through full professor

• Programs especially for junior faculty » New faculty orientation» One-on-one mentoring for all junior faculty

– Acclimate new faculty to department and university culture

– Provide feedback on papers and proposals– Help them get involved with professional service– Sometimes useful to have one person in the department as well as a faculty member outside the department

» “Strategic planning” review panels by senior faculty

» New faculty research symposium to introduce new faculty to established faculty

Environment

• Good research and teaching requires recruitment of excellent students» Both graduate and undergraduate students

• Equipment & space needs are critical for both, especially research

• Encourage and facilitate multi-disciplinary discussions» Collaborations lead to some of the best research

» Provide seed funding for initiating new collaborations

Promote Faculty

• Value and appreciate faculty » Announce awards to colleagues and students

• Nominate faculty for internal and external (international) awards and recognitions» National Academies, ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, AAAI Fellow, SIG awards, …

• Engage in development activities for endowments for professorships & chairs