By KNona Liddell, Faculty Status Committee Chair, 2000-2001
The primary function of the Faculty Status Committee is to provide a channel by which WSU faculty members can formally appeal actions such as denial of tenure, deferral of promotion, or nonreappointment. Affected faculty can appeal on one or more of the following grounds: improper procedure, inadequate consideration, or violation of academic freedom. The FSC typically appoints a two- or three-person subcommittee to investigate each such appeal, prepares a report on its findings, and makes a recommendation to the president. The president may either let the original decision stand, or set it aside. Information obtained by FSC during an investigation is confidential.
From FSC's perspective the administrative changes that have occurred over the last year have not led to significant differences in the way faculty personnel decisions are handled at WSU. In recent years, the FSC has recommended that the original adverse decision (e.g., to deny tenure) be set aside in roughly half its cases. President Rawlins met with the FSC twice during his first year and stated that he would like his decisions to be as consistent as possible with those of President Smith. Only a handful of recommendations has been sent to him so far. FSC's caseload has remained unchanged: there were five investigations in 1999-2000, and there have been five in 2000-2001.
Given the very large investment in search and startup costs that the University makes in each new faculty member, it is vitally important that senior faculty, chairs, deans, and central administrators ensure that the processes they use to evaluate their junior colleagues are objective and fair. To that end, the Faculty Senate has recently adopted several changes to the Faculty Manual that may improve the quality of the feedback that junior faculty receive during their yearly tenure-progress reviews. (It is worth noting that the Faculty Manual requires that the progress toward tenure of each junior faculty member be evaluated every year, not merely in the third year of a tenure- track appointment. The purpose of this review is different from that of the annual review that determines salaries, and input should be sought from all tenured faculty in the unit.)
Several patterns have emerged in FSC's recent cases. Perhaps the most widespread problem is a failure to clearly communicate expectations for tenure and promotion - from the provost to the deans and chairs, to the senior faculty, to the junior faculty. Junior faculty should make sure that they understand the factors that will be considered in the evaluation process; careful preparation of the tenure packet is essential. Well- designed formal mentoring programs can help ensure that junior faculty get the advice they may need. Unfortunately, not all units have such programs. There is also a continuing need for newly appointed chairs and deans to become familiar with the requirements of the Faculty Manual. Any significant deviation from the Faculty Manual's procedures for tenure-progress review, formal third year review, nonreappointment, or tenure review may provide grounds for an appeal to FSC; historically, improper procedure has been the most common reason for FSC to recommend that a decision be set aside. Further, whenever there are modifications to the Faculty Manual, it is prudent to confirm that departmental and college criteria and procedures still conform to the Faculty Manual.
Junior faculty, and their mentors, need to be aware that nonreappointment can occur at any time, not just in the third year of a six-year tenure track appointment. Some recent appeals to FSC indicate that in fact some nonreappointment decisions are being made in the fourth or the fifth year. Further, a nonreappointment need not follow a "needs improvement" outcome in the third year.
The FSC has nine members, elected by the faculty and serving staggered three year terms. The members for 2001-2002 are: Richard Alldredge (Statistics, 2004); David Barbee (Veterinary Clinical Sciences, 2003); Sue Clark (Chemistry, 2004); Sandra Cooper (Mathematics, 2003); Jeanne Johnson (Speech and Hearing Sciences, 2002); John McNamara (Animal Sciences, 2004); Richard Okita (Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2002); Amy Wharton (Sociology, WSU Vancouver, 2002); and Lori Wiest (Music and Theatre Arts, 2003). Amy Wharton will chair the committee for 2001-2002. Those whose terms expired in 2001 are Gary Collins (Physics), William Davis (Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology) and KNona Liddell (Chemical Engineering). Besides investigating tenure, promotion, and nonreappointment appeals, the FSC is charged with conciliating and adjudicating disputes between members of the faculty and the administration, or within the faculty; making recommendations to the Faculty Affairs Committee and to the president about faculty affairs; and making periodic reports on its activities to the Faculty Senate and to the faculty as a whole.