MITCHELL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

FACULTY SENATE CAUCUS REPORT

OCTOBER 20, 1999

Some MCOB faculty concerns expressed over the last two months are summarized as follows:

1.FACULTY INVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNANCE

Dress code and office hour revisions to the MCOB Policy Manual were announced in September. Those revisions did not appear to have benefitted from meaningful faculty input. The College was placed on continuing review by AACSB partly because a lack of faculty involvement in governance. Following departmental meetings and a meeting of the tenured MCOB faculty, Dean Moore referred the issues of dress code and office hours to a faculty ad hoc committee.

The MCOB Ad Hoc Committee recommended:

Office Hours: All full-time faculty members are required to schedule a minimum of 8 office hours per week. The scheduled office hours as well as the notice that “appointments may be arranged at other times” are to be posted at the beginning of each academic term.

Dress Code: It is recommended that the Mitchell College of Business faculty wear “business casual” attire appropriate to their activities while in the MCOB Building.

The policy announced on 10-14-99 by Dean Carl C. Moore was:

Office Hours: All full time faculty are required to schedule a minimum of nine office hours per week during each academic term. Office hours are to be scheduled at least three days per week. The scheduled office hours as well as the notice that “appointments may be arranged at other times” are to be posted at the beginning of each term.

Dress Code: The appropriate attire for the Mitchell College of Business faculty and staff during regular University hours is considered to be “business casual” or business” (sic) attire.

It is interesting to note that neither “faculty appearance” nor “faculty availability” were mentioned by students as areas of concern in the MCOB Outcome Assessment Committee reports “1998-1999 Senior Survey” and “1998-1999 MBA Survey” presented at the October 8^th, 1999 MCOB Faculty Retreat. It appears that a substantial amount of internal MCOB discord has been caused for no apparent reason.

Further, MCOB Executive Committee meetings are held without notice to the faculty, without a published agenda, and minutes are never distributed to the faculty.

2.RESPECT FOR THE FACULTY

At least six individuals have expressed concern regarding Dean Carl Moore’s response to faculty objections to the original dress code and office hour announcements. It was “If they don’t like it they can leave. I get applications from prospective faculty every day.” Past experience in recruiting indicates that it is not easy to find good faculty. We find good candidates but the pool of applicants is very thin. In addition several good faculty members are looking at employment opportunities as a result of Dean Moore’s comments. They say the job market looks good for those seeking employment in several areas of business. One MCOB faculty member summarized Dean Moore’s attitude as “He (Dean Moore) doesn’t care who leaves and doesn’t care who stays.”

Several untenured faculty have stated that they are afraid to state their opinions. Some untenured faculty have stated that it is up to the tenured faculty to address faculty concerns. Several tenured faculty have also stated that they do not feel free to state their opinions on subjects that may be controversial.

It is not clear whether the attitudes expressed by Dean Moore represent the position of University higher administration. The MCOB Faculty Senate Caucus recommends that the USA Faculty Senate Executive Committee examine University policy regarding its attitudes towards the faculty.

3.OPEN SEARCH FOR SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS.

There is concern that the search for the Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs be open. In particular, it is important that the files of all applicants be available for faculty review. Faculty review should not be limited to those remaining after committee screening. There is also concern that several past faculty searches have not conformed to University policy.

4.FOCUS OF THE UNIVERSITY. Several faculty have expressed concern about a lack of direction and focus in the University. The perception is that the emphasis seems to be on form rather than substance. In particular, research seems to be discounted as important to the University. On the other hand, the University wants to be considered comparable to Alabama and Auburn for legislative funding.

5.TENURE OF ADMINISTRATORS. One MCOB faculty member feels that the tenure of administrators should be reduced. This individual says that while no one advocates an “administrator of the day” approach, the University’s practice of leaving deans and higher level administrators (with the notable exception of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs) in place for over a decade probably results in a tendency for administrators to focus on perpetuating their own tenure after their creativity and energy have ebbed.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael A. McGinnis

MCOB Faculty Caucus Chair