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USM Forum -- Message Board -> AAUP-USM MESSAGE BOARD -> Post Tenure Review
Post Info TOPIC: Post Tenure Review
Reporter

Date:
Post Tenure Review
Permalink Closed

From the Faculty Senate Listserv:

Oct. 1, 2004

Dear Faculty Senators,

Last Friday (Sept. 24) I was told that an IHL-mandated post-tenure review
of faculty at Mississippi universities had taken place this past summer. Prior
to last Friday I was unaware of such a review. To my knowledge, no faculty
members at the University of Southern Mississippi were aware, prior to last
week, that such a review had taken place.

Early this week I visited with Dr. Grimes, USM Provost, concerning this
matter. He was unaware of such a review, but contacted me later in the day
after doing some investigating. Dr. Grimes shared the following information
with me. A post-tenure review was mandated by the IHL (probably this last
spring or summer). The directive for this review went from the IHL to the
President of each university. At USM, this process was then handled by the
Hattiesburg Provost, at that time Dr. Hudson. Dr. Hudson, working with the USM
deans, identified twenty tenured faculty at USM as being "unsatisfactory" in
regard to post-tenure review. This ranking was based, as far as I can
determine, on last year's annual performance review. The total number of
tenured faculty reviewed at USM was 308.

The number (20) of tenured faculty reported as being "unsatisfactory" at
USM far exceeded the totals at any of the other Mississippi universities.
These twenty individuals belong to four of our five colleges, as well as the library.

The majority of individuals given this rating were from the College of
Business.

Two very good questions are why more faculty were rated as unsatisfactory at USM
than at other schools, and why so many in the College of Business? My
conclusion is that the determination of what is unsatisfactory did not take
place in a uniform manner among the universities in Mississippi. Nor was it
done in a uniform manner within USM. I am very concerned about this matter, as
is the rest of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate and I am working to
get answers to the many questions this matter raises. I hope to have some of
these answers prior to the meeting of the Faculty Senate on October 8th. I will
give you a further update at that time.

Sincerely,

Dave Beckett
President,
Faculty Senate



__________________
Person of Interest

Date:
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quote:




Originally posted by: Reporter
Prior to last Friday I was unaware of such a review. To my knowledge, no faculty members at the University of Southern Mississippi were aware, prior to last week, that such a review had taken place. Early this week I visited with Dr. Grimes, USM Provost, concerning this matter. He was unaware of such a review


I find it very scary that faculty members may not have been aware of this review, or the faculty senate president, or even now- Provost Grimes. Could it be that this is yet another tenure shoe falling after the Stringer/Glamser fiasco? Martin Niemoller's famous quote seems worth repeating here:


"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."



__________________
Green Hornet

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: Person of Interest
"I find it very scary that faculty members may not have been aware of this review, or the faculty senate president, or even now- Provost Grimes. Could it be that this is yet another tenure shoe falling after the Stringer/Glamser fiasco?"
And a question:  Have those faculty been informed of thier status? Or is this just another SECRET our administration is keeping from us?:

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Person of Interest

Date:
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What about the highly touted PUC? Was that group not established for the purpose of facilitating communication with the faculty? Were they not informed even once, during their regular meetings, of the post- tenure review?  

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ram

Date:
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Thanks, Reporter.  It is good to know that the FacSen is still alive and well.


This should be an interesting addition to Liberty & Power, should Professor Cambell decide to comment. And Prof. Nuckolls? I wonder how he'll find faculty complicity in this? 


Maybe Seeker could explain it.



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Hopeful

Date:
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I hope the Faculty Senate reps on the PUC get this on the agenda. I read that the PUC meets this Wednesday. I hope the Printz and HA are both in attendance.

__________________
Who's Next?

Date:
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I wonder how many of those 20 "tenured" faculty members contributed to the AAUP legal defense fund last spring.

Now is the time to join AAUP.

__________________
New Adjunct

Date:
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I noted that the review was based in part on last year's performance review -- was that the one that used data from the FAR, which WASN'T supposed to be used this way? Can anybody say "class-action"??

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New Adjunct

Date:
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Oh, and did faculty at the other universities know about the review?

__________________
Heinz 57

Date:
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quote:

Originally posted by: Reporter
"Dr. Hudson, working with the USM deans, identified twenty tenured faculty at USM as being "unsatisfactory" in regard to post-tenure review."


Does anyone know to what extent, if at all, the department chairs were involved in this post-tenure review?



__________________
Tiny Tim

Date:
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May God help you each and every one.

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big ears

Date:
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Well some tenured faculty on the Coast and breathe a huge sigh of relief now since a couple of them weren't even evaluated at all. No 2003 annual evaluation at all. I can now say that this whispered rumor has become fact.

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AmLitChick

Date:
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http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=24082&subForumID=36767&action=reply&commentPage=0&topicID=843548&topicPage=17


I think (hope) the above link will go to this summer's discussion of merit evaluations.  Think there might be a connection between the two evaluation processes?



__________________
Scamdelish

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: big ears
"Well some tenured faculty on the Coast and breathe a huge sigh of relief now since a couple of them weren't even evaluated at all. No 2003 annual evaluation at all. I can now say that this whispered rumor has become fact."

No annual evaluation with or without merit raise if you know, Big Ears?



__________________
A Senator

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: Hopeful
"I hope the Faculty Senate reps on the PUC get this on the agenda. I read that the PUC meets this Wednesday. I hope the Printz and HA are both in attendance."


From the Faculty Senate listserv:

> Date: Sat, 02 Oct 2004 12:16:09 -0500
> To: Bobby Middlebrooks
> From: Ray Folse
> Subject: President's Council Agenda
> >
> Bobby,
> Below is copied a letter from Dave Beckett, President of Faculty Senate, >concerning Post-Tenure Review. Faculty have requested that I place "a) >Post-Tenure Review and b) the review procedure used" on our agenda for >discussion this Wednesday.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Ray


Looks as if another interesting PUC meeting is on tap for Wednesday.



__________________
big ears

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: Scamdelish
" No annual evaluation with or without merit raise if you know, Big Ears?"
I  don't think they got merit raises either. 

__________________
Scamdelish

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: big ears
"I  don't think they got merit raises either.  "
Interesting - don't know what to make of it yet but thanks.

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Nostradamus

Date:
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If the deans had been here less than a year when they were asked to identify unsatisfactory faculty, how could they know their faculty? Did they use the FAR? Did they use the departments' evaluations or the ones they (the deans) revised?


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Robert Campbell

Date:
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I've never heard of secret post-tenure review before.  Trust the IHL Board to come up with something like that.  (Assuming it was the Board that called for it to be done that way--was the post-tenure review at Ole Miss and Mississippi State secret?)


What are the consequences of being rated Unsatisfactory on a post-tenure review at USM?  Or are those still secret as well?


At Clemson, a faculty member who is rated Unsatisfactory gets a three-year plan to improve his or her productivity, and normally wouldn't be fired unless the three-year plan isn't adequately carried out.  (I do know of cases in which faculty members were forced out faster than that--but they could be counted on one hand.)


I'm on the road at a conference so haven't posted to Liberty and Power yet.  Will do so soon, though.  Maybe Thames thinks he doesn't have to "forget" to issue a contract when he can get a dean to rig the secret post-tenure reviews of faculty he doesn't like.)


Robert Campbell


 


 



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Robert Campbell

Date:
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One more thing--judging from the length and tone of his email about secret post-tenure reviews, maybe Dave Beckett has learned a lesson about cutting deals with Shelby Thames.


He might have a few regrets now about the Angie Dvorak "business resume" statement and the attempt to get Faculty Handbook revisions approved through the PC.


Cutting deals with someone as power-hungry and untrustworthy as Shelby Thames is a losing proposition.


Robert Campbell


 



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Robert Campbell

Date:
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Has anyone heard more about the secret post-tenure reviews?

For instance, about what is happening to USM faculty members whose performance was deemed unsatisfactory?

I want to write about this issue on Liberty and Power but would prefer to better informed before writing.

Robert Campbell

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oldtimer

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"At Clemson, a faculty member who is rated Unsatisfactory gets a three-year plan to improve his or her productivity, and normally wouldn't be fired unless the three-year plan isn't adequately carried out. "
When post-tenure review came up in Horace Fleming's USM Presidency, the Faculty Senate passed a version that is similar to the above.  An individual faculty member ranked at "Needs Improvement" in two of the three categories (Scholarship, Research, Service) for two consecutive years was to have a three-year plan for remediation established.  This plan would be designed by the individual's chair and dean, with an eye more toward 'improvement' than 'termination.'  Of course, that was when the Faculty Handbook didn't have "Economic Development" as part of the annual evaluation . . .

__________________
Shakin' in my boots

Date:
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Thames wants post-tenue review committee for state universities


__________________
Nit Picker

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quote:
Originally posted by: Shakin' in my boots
"Thames wants post-tenue review committee for state universities"

The numbers listed in this news release a differs slightly fro data I have seen.
There were 1646 faculty reviewed state wide. Of those, 308 were from USM. Of the 1646 faculty revied, 28 were "unsatisfactory" state wide. Of the 28 rated "unsatisfactory" 20 were from USM or 71%. Of the 20 at USM, 12 were in the college of Business and Economic Development.

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The Original NP

Date:
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Not to nitpick but the last Nit Picker post was not posted by the original Nit Picker.

__________________
Standard Bearer

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: Nit Picker
" The numbers listed in this news release a differs slightly fro data I have seen. There were 1646 faculty reviewed state wide. Of those, 308 were from USM. Of the 1646 faculty revied, 28 were "unsatisfactory" state wide. Of the 28 rated "unsatisfactory" 20 were from USM or 71%. Of the 20 at USM, 12 were in the college of Business and Economic Development. "
Is this because we hold a higher standard than the others, or because we are held to a higher standard than the others?

__________________
New Nit Picker

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: The Original NP
"Not to nitpick but the last Nit Picker post was not posted by the original Nit Picker."

Sorry, I didn't remember that name was taken. We are easy to keep separate because you can spell. I'll use another name next time I pick nits.



__________________
ONP

Date:
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!!!

__________________
I'll Review Yours, If You'll Review Mine

Date:
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Who actually did the review of the faculty?  the provost?  just one person's perception/judgment?  In some states, a committee of faculty, senior to the one being review, examine their record for a 5 year period and send a report to the chair and dean, and ultimately to the board.  If one is judged unsatisfactory, a formal plan for improvement is developed between the faculty member and his/her chair, and they are given 5 years to make the improvements.

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Academic Agnosia

Date:
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quote:
Originally posted by: I'll Review Yours, If You'll Review Mine
"Who actually did the review of the faculty?  the provost?  just one person's perception/judgment?  In some states, a committee of faculty, senior to the one being review, examine their record for a 5 year period and send a report to the chair and dean, and ultimately to the board.  If one is judged unsatisfactory, a formal plan for improvement is developed between the faculty member and his/her chair, and they are given 5 years to make the improvements."
You got that right, IRYIYRM. Who would ever believe that a university could exist where so few know so little about so much?

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