From lynnevf@email.unc.edu Tue Apr 11 22:15:26 2006 Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 22:12:33 -0400 From: Lynne Vernon-Feagans To: Andrew J Perrin , candidates@perrin.socsci.unc.edu Subject: Re: Request for Information from Candidates for Faculty Office ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew J Perrin" To: Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 9:37 PM Subject: Request for Information from Candidates for Faculty Office > To Whom it May Concern - > > I am writing to you as a candidate for Faculty Chair, Faculty Council, > or another important elected office. I realize this is a busy time, > but I and some other concerned faculty would like to learn more about > the candidates' ideas on several important issues before we vote. I > would very much appreciate it if you could provide responses to the > questions below. Feel free to add more ideas or information as you > like. I will forward your responses on to other interested faculty, > and I will also post them to an informal website for the purpose at > http://perrin.socsci.unc.edu/fg . > > Thank you in advance for your time. Since balloting begins this > Wednesday (April 12), I would prefer to receive your response by > then. If, however, you can't make that time, I'll be happy to post and > forward your ideas whenever you can get them to me. > > 1.) To what extent to you believe faculty interests differ from those > of administrators? > > Faculty interests can be very different from administrators but dialogue > between administrators and faculty can help to forge an alliance that can > bridge that gap. There needs to be a better forum for in depth > discussions between faculty and administrators at all levels. > > 2.) How should we maintain academic integrity in the face of > increasing financial pressures? This is a difficult issue but academic integrity clearly takes center stage. Hopefully, we have the political and intellectual power to argue for academic integrity. Financial considerations are really independent of integrity and need to be seen as such. I'd need specific examples to be more specific in my arguments. > > > > > 3.) What are your views on increasing inequalities within the faculty > based on, for example, tenure-track vs. fixed term appointments and > differing salary levels? This is a major issue at all universities. I have been on both sides of this issue as an initial fixed term faculty here at UNC, with a move guaranting me tenure and professor rank at Penn State. Now back at UNC I think I do have some insight into the issues involved in this. They are very complicated and I am not sure that some general policy can solve all the issues but it does seem that department and schools need to develo policies that make fixed term faculty feel they are valued members of the faculty and that they have opportunities for advancement if they decide to stay at UNC. > > > > > 4.) How would you respond on behalf of the faculty if you found out > that administrators had circumvented serious faculty consultation to > pursue major outside funding for a controversial new curriculum? This would seem unacceptable to me without consultation and approval of faculty. Hopefully, this could not happen when there is good cooperation between faculty and administrators. I would hope to make sure that dialogue happens before decisions are made that create distance between faculty and administrators. > > > > 5.) Would you prefer to see a faculty governance system that is > focused on prominent University issues (e.g., academic freedom and > educational policy) or one that is more focused on faculty's specific > needs (e.g., benefits and salary)? Or, alternatively, how would you > seek to balance the two? I don't see these issues as mutually exclusive. They are both critically important. There is nothing more important in academia than freedom to speak about your expertise and opinion, especially when it is research based. Yet, there are concrete issues like salaries that are critical in retaining our best faculty. It is also extremely important to reward faculty who are productive but who have not pursued other possible offers at other universities. The whole issue of equity is an important one that needs to be discussed at the faculty and administrative level. I do think UNC has more problems in this area than other universities and I would hope to help think through solutions that might promote faculty satisfaction. Thanks and here are some abbreviated ideas on these topics. Lynne > > > > > > Once again, thank you for your time. > > Very best wishes, > Andrew Perrin > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Andrew J Perrin - andrew_perrin@unc.edu - http://perrin.socsci.unc.edu > Assistant Professor of Sociology; Book Review Editor, _Social Forces_ > University of North Carolina - CB#3210, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3210 USA > New Book: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/178592.ctl > >