Andrew - Greetings! I will try my best to summarize my thoughts. Thanks
for asking.

1.) What issues, concerns, and areas do you hope to address through your
service on faculty government?
My major concerns are:
- keeping UNC growth under control so that it remains a somewhat
intimate community
- enhancing the intellectual climate, especially for graduate and
professional students
- preserving the autonomy of UNC at Chapel Hill relative to the General
Administration
- keeping the campus as a place for safe and open discourse on all
issues no matter how controversial
- maintaining staff/employee loyalty and enhancing UNC as an employer
- improved benefits and health insurance for faculty members and staff
- initiating a tuition benefit for faculty and staff
- planning for the campus future - especially relative to Carolina
North. Making sure that sustainability principles are employed and an
attractive mass transit link is developed to connect the 2 campuses.

2.) To what extent to you believe faculty interests differ from those of
administrators?
As a department chair and faculty member, I am a teacher, researcher,
clinician and an administrator. My view is that administrators are here
to facilitate the work of the faculty. If administrators stray from that
vantage point, then it is up to Faculty Governance to articulate an
alternative view. Mostly, I find that common-ground can be achieved here
if we talk with each other and listen to differing views. I strongly
believe that Faculty voices must set the agenda for change in the
University. 

3.) How should we maintain academic integrity in the face of increasing
financial pressures?
We should try to place resources into people before buildings and roads,
as much as possible. I would like to think that at the heart of the
academy are educators and students and they should be protected from
financial pressures, if possible. I recognize that we need labs,
buildings and facilities .... but these are secondary to the mission of
creating and sharing knowledge. We must be careful that the university
not become just another business, not just another corporation. Our
mission demands that we  speak freely and study a wide array of concerns
with integrity.

4.) What are your views on increasing inequalities within the faculty
based on, for example, tenure-track vs. fixed term appointments and
differing salary levels? 

I would like to minimize the gaps between fixed term and tenure-track
faculty. In some parts of Health Affairs, there is nearly salary parity
between these two types of appointments and I would advocate leveling
differences as much as possible. In terms of Faculty Governance, these 2
groups must be considered as equal. 

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 cannot imagine not including both sets of issues as concerns for
Faculty Governance. I believe we as a Faculty have the capacity to deal
with both University issues and faculty needs, as they are often
inter-related.

6.) Are you a member of the American Association of University
  Professors (AAUP)? No, I am not.


7.) Any additional comments? Please write me at: ron_strauss@unc.edu
with any further questions. Thanks, Ron