Faculty Chairs SubCommittee Meeting, February 22, 2008

CHAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE TASK FORCE FOR REORGANIZATION
SUMMARY OF MEETING, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2008

Present: Jay Antle, Rhonda Barlow, Steve Carr, Penny Marshall-Chura, Donna Duffey, Keith Geekie, Dana Grove, Diana Ingham, Stuart Shafer, Anita Tebbe, Lindy Robinson, Jeff Frost

Dr. Grove began the meeting by describing what from his perspective a chair position would look like. For him, chairs would be unit representatives that meet directly with him, the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, on a regular basis. This forum could be viewed as an Academic or Faculty Senate or as a Chairs Council. Operational issues would be discussed in this forum in order to identify processes that could be improved and to suggest methods of improvement. This group would also focus on ways that faculty can have better input into institutional issues. The subcommittee was in agreement that this forum should not be a place for individual personnel matters to be addressed.

The remainder of the meeting was spent in healthy discussion surrounding the structure and function of the faculty chair position. The following questions were raised and discussed:
Should we eliminate the faculty chair concept altogether?
Should all faculty chairs across departments be defined the same?
Is there a way to describe/define the ‘faculty chair’ by each department?
Can we develop a model that defines leadership needs by individual departments, allowing each department to propose it’s own structure and function?

The following definition of a Faculty Chair was proposed:
Faculty Chair: A unit representative responsible for addressing operational issues with the executive vice president, and for assisting in engaging unit faculty in institutional initiatives. Chairs may have other unit tasks and be compensated accordingly.

Dialogue will continue at the next meeting in an effort to identify a range of responsibilities that represents a minimum framework for this position. Topics to be discussed include compensation issues and evaluation. Agreement exists regarding the need for formal sanctioning and recognition of career program facilitator positions, and ultimately the faculty chair position as specifically defined by each department.

Respectfully,
Penny Marshall-Chura, Recorder

Faculty Chairs Subcommittee Minutes

CHAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE TASK FORCE FOR REORGANIZATION
SUMMARY OF MEETING, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2008

Present: Jay Antle, Rhonda Barlow, Steve Carr, Penny Marshall-Chura, Donna Duffey, Keith Geekie, Dana Grove, Diana Ingham, Stuart Shafer, Anita Tebbe, Vin Clark, Gale Cummings, Lindy Robinson

Members of the sub-committee shared individual perspectives and hopes with regard to the work of the committee. Overriding theme is the desire of the committee to develop an effective model for faculty leadership, placing committed professionals in autonomous positions to directly impact education with appropriate compensation.

Committee Charge:
1. Discuss how the chair can add value to programs and learning outcomes.
2. Create the chair description/s (consider level of decision-making power, role of assistant
deans, what can faculty chairs legally do).
3. Determine guidelines for the chair process.
4. Recommend length of chair appointments.
5. Determine the appropriate number and departmental location of chair positions
6. Identify relevant criteria for evaluation of chair positions.
7. Develop compensation strategy/formula for chair positions.
8. Maintain an open strategy for addressing individual needs across departments.
9. Develop a second tier plan to address positions/jobs left vacant by reassignments.
10. Identify common similarities among career and transfer programs in terms of role
responsibilities.

Agenda Items for Next Meeting: Friday, February 15, 2008, Board Room 2:00-3:00.
1. Delineate why we envision the need for the chair position.
2. Share role responsibilities, job descriptions between/among career and transfer programs.
3. Develop a list of role responsibilities common to career and transfer programs.



CHAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE TASK FORCE FOR REORGANIZATION
SUMMARY OF MEETING, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2008

Present: Jay Antle, Rhonda Barlow, Steve Carr, Penny Marshall-Chura, Donna Duffey, Keith Geekie, Dana Grove, Diana Ingham, Stuart Shafer, Anita Tebbe, Gale Cummings, Lindy Robinson, Jeff Frost

Individual members of the committee identified perceived tasks/activities of a faculty chair, placing each under one of the following categories:
a. Curriculum
b. Outcomes assessment
c. Scheduling
d. Staffing
e. Adjunct support
f. Articulation agreements
g. Accreditation
h. Advisory committee
i. Outreach/service – local
j. Outreach/service – regional/national
k. Marketing- internal
l. Marketing – external
m. Fundraising
n. Interships/practicums/clinicals

Tables summarizing the assigned tasks and their level of importance as perceived by the committee can be viewed on attachments to the FA listserve.

Agenda Items for Next Meeting: Friday, February 22, 2008, Lytle Room, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
1. Identify desired skills of the faculty chairperson.
2. Add additional tasks to the list/s generated today.
3. Identify the importance of each task within each group.
4. Continue discussions and consensus building

Penny Marshall-Chura