From rvisser@email.unc.edu Thu Apr 13 00:17:18 2006
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:15:31 -0400
From: Robin Visser <rvisser@email.unc.edu>
To: Andrew J Perrin <andrew_perrin@unc.edu>
Subject: Re: Request for Information from Candidates for Faculty Office



Andrew J Perrin wrote:

> 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?  While ideally the interests of both should align, 
> they often do not due to administrators' perceptions of operational 
> constraints.  Fostering better dialogue between faculty and 
> administrators is key to developing creative solutions and 
> reestablishing common goals. 
>
>
>
> 2.) How should we maintain academic integrity in the face of
> increasing financial pressures?  I served as faculty in an honors 
> college in a small liberal arts college prior to my appointment to 
> UNC, and can attest to the fact that no institution of higher learning 
> is immune from financial pressures.  Given the fact that academic 
> integrity is the very soul of the university, there is a greater need 
> than ever for academics to function as public intellectuals.  Faculty 
> need to organize more effectively (in groups such as AAUP), using our 
> collective intellectual and political resources to persuasive effect 
> on campus and in the public sphere.
>
> 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 complicated issue; I have been 
> involved in a number of hiring committees and faculty salary 
> committees where we attempted to address this question in an equitable 
> manner.   Those on fixed term appointments should be given salary, 
> leave time, and promotional incentives.  They should feel valued and 
> inequities should be leveled as much as possible.
>
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?
>
> I would censure such unacceptable behavior on the part of the 
> administration.  I would strongly advocate on behalf of faculty, 
> insisting that administrators include faculty in such a major decision. 
>
> 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?
>
> These are extremely pressing issues that are inextricably linked.  We 
> know that UNC-CH has serious problems with inequity and faculty 
> retention that need to be addressed immediately in order to maintain 
> and raise the academic quality of the institution.  Academic freedom, 
> in turn, creates an environment where excellent minds flourish, which 
> in turn increases work satisfaction.  I would address both issues 
> simultaneously as they are complimentary.     
>
>
>
> 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
>