Incentive plan: no college of arts/letters - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jul 2, 2004

Incentive plan: no college of arts/letters

Date: Jul 2, 2004

Go read my comments on the Incentive Pay thread, in answer to this question.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: drwannabe
"Why are there no representatives from the College of Arts and Letters in the financial incentive plan?"

I’ve seen this all my professional life. When I was a graduate teaching assistant in the arts, my friends in business or the sciences were paid 4-5 times what I was paid. Once, when a rumor circulated that the business GTAs were dissatisfied, they were given a one-time bonus. That bonus was more than I was paid for a year of teaching.

Every school at which I’ve taught has had a marked disparity in salaries and incentives between disciplines. If I’m making $40,000 and someone else is making $75,000, what would happen if we did get across-the-board 4% raises? COAL types just get further behind year by year.

Now, I’m not motivated by money-- and I try hard not be motivated by jealousy-- what is so demoralizing here is that this administration finds so many other ways of indicating its lack of regard for what I do. I went through the last FAR report several times, trying to find a place to indicate the overload I was teaching. And what about recruiting? It was even difficult to find a place to indicate the “knowledge for knowledge’s sake” type of research and publishing produced by everyone in my field.

COAL people will never live up to the model of “productivity” of this administration. Imagine we were in charge. What is the cultural significance of beige paint?

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Tinctoris
"What is the cultural significance of beige paint?"

An anthropologist/sociologist is most qualified to comment on matters of culture. I'll bet Frank Glamser would know. But alas, he is gone.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Tinctoris
" I’ve seen this all my professional life. When I was a graduate teaching assistant in the arts, my friends in business or the sciences were paid 4-5 times what I was paid. Once, when a rumor circulated that the business GTAs were dissatisfied, they were given a one-time bonus. That bonus was more than I was paid for a year of teaching. (snipped)

In 2003 when I was last at USM, the going yearly "salary" for English Graduate TAs was around $7000-7500, I believe. The comparable "salary" for Polymer TAs/RAs was around $23,000-$24,000. The rate of pay for TAs/RAs in the sciences in mainly governed by the going rate paid by the National Science Foundation (i.e. when NSF raises its "price" you can charge for grad students on grants, all schools basically have to match it in order to keep the other grad students who are not paid on grant $$ happy). This was my impression, at least. Others in the sciences correct me if I'm wrong.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"In 2003 when I was last at USM, the going yearly "salary" for English Graduate TAs was around $7000-7500, I believe. The comparable "salary" for Polymer TAs/RAs was around $23,000-$24,000. The rate of pay for TAs/RAs in the sciences in mainly governed by the going rate paid by the National Science Foundation (i.e. when NSF raises its "price" you can charge for grad students on grants, all schools basically have to match it in order to keep the other grad students who are not paid on grant $$ happy). This was my impression, at least. Others in the sciences correct me if I'm wrong."

Well, NSF graduate assistantships do pay that rate, but the 'typical' COST grad assistant makes around $10-12K.

Another aspect to 'MIDAS' is that faculty obtaining 'release-time' salary are providing a great financial incentive FOR the university.

If you're 'released' from teaching one class, the 'going rate' for a Ph.D. to replace you in a 3-hour lecture course is still only $1,500!

This is a lot less than 1/4 of a 9-month salary for even an assistant professor.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

Here's a link to the HA piece;

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20040702/southernmissnews/767042.html

Dana Thames, Ken Malone, both of the Kazelskises, Gaudet, Carr, Annulis, Exline, ..... USM is officially the most corrupt school ever.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: onlooker
"Here's a link to the HA piece; http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20040702/southernmissnews/767042.html Dana Thames, Ken Malone, both of the Kazelskises, Gaudet, Carr, Annulis, Exline, ..... USM is officially the most corrupt school ever."

I want to know what grant Ken Malone was a PI on that got him released from "teaching" time when he is not even listed as a "faculty member" anywhere?????

This stinks to the very highest heaven.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: onlooker
"Here's a link to the HA piece; http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20040702/southernmissnews/767042.html Dana Thames, Ken Malone, both of the Kazelskises, Gaudet, Carr, Annulis, Exline, ..... USM is officially the most corrupt school ever."

This article says it all and advises it all. Corruption, corruption, corruption. Investigate, investigate, investigate.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

The HA article said there were faculty AND staff recipients of MIDAS checks. All the names listed are faculty... wait a minute, since Ken Malone isn't really "faculty," perhaps he is the one who falls into the "staff" category. Still, it is a bit misleading to the average reader who may come away with the impression that the MIDAS program funds supplements to both faculty and staff. The average staff employee doesn't have a snowball's chance in h--- of getting a MIDAS check. However, Ken Malone, with his job snowball, is an exception.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Googler
"The average staff employee doesn't have a snowball's chance in h--- of getting a MIDAS check."

I should have added that the current COAL doesn't have a snowball's chance either, but that would change if the ED department (including Cyndi Gaudet and workforce training) is moved from CBED to COAL.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Googler
"The HA article said there were faculty AND staff recipients of MIDAS checks. All the names listed are faculty... wait a minute, since Ken Malone isn't really "faculty," perhaps he is the one who falls into the "staff" category. Still, it is a bit misleading to the average reader who may come away with the impression that the MIDAS program funds supplements to both faculty and staff. The average staff employee doesn't have a snowball's chance in h--- of getting a MIDAS check. However, Ken Malone, with his job snowball, is an exception."

Malone's MIDAS check wasn't for grant work. It was a bonus of $400 for each person he's fired since coming on board at USM.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"Go read my comments on the Incentive Pay thread, in answer to this question."

Most of that thread was just a bitter screed that didn't answer my question at all. That thread is merely tangential to my specific subject, so it was really a waste of my time.

Are Arts and Letters eligible for the incentive plan? If so, was anyone in Arts and Letters even considered?

Date: Jul 2, 2004

arts and letters was eligible. not a lot of grant money in COAL, however.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

There are errors the the HA list of faculty. For example, Joe Whitehead and Chris Winstead are both in CoST.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

Joe Whitehead is head of the Physics Dept.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: drwannabe
" Most of that thread was just a bitter screed that didn't answer my question at all. That thread is merely tangential to my specific subject, so it was really a waste of my time. Are Arts and Letters eligible for the incentive plan? If so, was anyone in Arts and Letters even considered? "

If you look on the second page of that thread, you will see my post about COAL and the possibility of grant money available to them. It doesn't answer your specific question directly (which is "Yes, COAL is eligible") but it speaks to the larger issue of why this kind of reward system is inherently unfair to liberal arts and fine arts researchers (at least in its current format). It does nothing to encourage collaboration between researchers and it does not reward grants that don't buyout teaching time.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

A repost from the Incentive Pay thread:

Otherside, a little lesson in the grant world: there will never (and I mean NEVER) be the kind of grant $$ available to historians and poets as there is to polymer scientists. That's just a fact of our society and our government. Take Stringer's NEH grant for example. He got funded for something like $1 million over the life of his project (maybe 20 years or so?). There is no one else in the English Dept (make that the entire COAL!) that can say that their individual grant $$ total even came close to that amount over 20 years. And it's not for their lack of trying, but it's about the level of federal funding for the liberal arts-focused agencies (NEH, NEA, etc.) vs. the science-based agencies (NSF, and esp. NIH).

Now is this SFT's fault that there is less money allocated in the federal budget for liberal arts vs. science? Of course not. Could he make the playing field more level by offering more $$ incentives for liberal arts researchers (perhaps find ways for them to collaborate with PIs in fields where there are more research dollars like the sciences or education)? Sure he could. But he's not about to do that, because that's not what his project is all about. It's about making himself and his friends richer and taking the easy way out. Trust me, when you finally see the list of MIDAS winners, the majority will be in COST--it just makes sense within the framework of the larger research funding world.

So, that's my problem with this program. I'm glad that people who are productive are being rewarded, but let's do something for those other disciplines where it's harder to get $$. I've mentioned this on the old FS board before, but if SFT really wanted to help the other colleges grow in terms of research $$, he would hire grantwriters for each college. It worked for the PSC dept. when I was there (believe me, the salary they paid me was a great investment in terms of the returns in grant $$ that I helped to bring in--and they still have a grantwriter on staff, so I'm assuming it's still a win-win situation for them). If SFT is really serious about bringing grant $$ to all at USM, then he will do something like this to help to make it happen.

Also, to your point about seed money...trust me, not much seed money is going to COAL--in order to get seed money, you have to show that your project has the potential of bringing in more grant $$. Again, like I said before, less grant $$ available for COAL=less seed money for COAL researchers.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Emma
"Joe Whitehead is head of the Physics Dept."

Uh, he used to be -- for AY 2003-04, he has been Assistant Dean of COST. So, how did he obtain 'release-time' salary for an administrative position?

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: under the radar
"Uh, he used to be -- for AY 2003-04, he has been Assistant Dean of COST. So, how did he obtain 'release-time' salary for an administrative position?"

Another really good question!!!! I think the MIDAS concept is a good one, but the way it's being administrated is horribly wrong.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: under the radar
"Uh, he used to be -- for AY 2003-04, he has been Assistant Dean of COST. So, how did he obtain 'release-time' salary for an administrative position?"

Anything's possible at USM.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Emma
"Joe Whitehead is head of the Physics Dept."

Was head. He is now associate dean and Chris Winstead is now intrim chair.

Date: Jul 2, 2004

RE: RE: RE: Incentive plan: no college of arts/let

Date: Jul 2, 2004

RE: RE: Incentive plan: no college of arts/letters