Category: 2013-2014

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered

Faculty Diversity Discussions

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: Edythe Abdullah, Special Advisor to President, President’s Office

With the recent discussions and comments in the last few months regarding faculty diversity, are there any changes being made? Is there a group/committee charged with the task of addressing these concerns?

 

Written response from Edythe Abdullah, Special Advisor to the UNF President:

Thanks for the open invitation to attend Faculty Association meetings, as well as the chance to address the association.

 

I am happy to amplify my answer to the question posed at the meeting of March 4, 2014.

 

The Association asks, “With the recent discussions and comments in the last few months regarding faculty diversity, are there any changes being made? Is there a group/committee charged with the task of addressing these concerns?”

 

Over the last nine months, a number of initiatives have been implemented to determine the faculty diversity mix at the university and what steps could be made to enhance that mix. Additionally, data have been collected to establish a baseline for the faculty, staff and student diversity mix in the hopes that institutionally, we can have a rich conversation about our strengths and weaknesses in this area. The goal has always been strengthening the student learning experience rooted in the reality that the pipeline for diverse faculty, staff and students is limited, and yet we value the essential benefits that accrue to our students when they are prepared to live and work in a diverse global society. Hence, two goals might be appropriate for the institution: 1) increase our diversity mix across all communities (staff, faculty and students); and, 2) ensure that all hires are committed and prepared to work in a diverse and inclusive institution.

 

Upon learning that 41 academic positions would be advertised within a month of my arrival, I reached out for assistance, counsel, and support from Commission on Diversity and Inclusion members, the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and the President’s Office. We identified five organizations that support the production of underrepresented PhD prepared educators. We quickly reached out to those organizations and advertised the UNF positions. Additionally, we (faculty and Cheryl Gonzalez) attended the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and McKnight conferences for minority PhDs, as many institutions do to recruit viable candidates for our positions. We made contacts, corresponded and built relationships that we believe represented the university exceptionally well.

 

Some job advertisement were revised to include language about the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, jobs were posted on websites that minority, specifically under-represented minority candidates would view and a video was produced for deans, departments chairs, and search committees on “Hiring With Diversity In Mind.”

 

During this period extensive research and collaborations we initiated. National experts on faculty diversity and inclusion were contacted, as well as various universities with national reputations for programs and services to support the preparation and retention of minority PhDs. Models were collected from Penn State, Montana State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, University of Wisconsin at Madison and others. Moreover, conversations have been held with international experts like Dr. Sue Rankin, Dr. Joann Moody and Dr. Damon Williams seeking guidance and consultation regarding the faculty diversity national crisis. In fact, Dr. Damon Williams presented to VPs, deans and chairs on Inclusive Excellence in February of this year.  Articles, websites and blogs have been reviewed.

 

While no new policies or procedures have been institutionalized, we philosophically agree that we must be more intentional about diversity and inclusion, as other universities are nationwide. Further, accreditation associations are requiring diversity plans for some programs. Therefore, I am working with the President’s Commission on Diversity and Inclusion (CODI), Academic Affairs, the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity and the General Counsel’s office to develop draft recommendation for the recruitment and retention of highly qualified under represented faculty and staff. These recommendations will be shared and vetted widely.

 

If you or any faculty member would like to provide input before my draft is completed in April please reach out to me at e.abdullah@unf.edu.  In the meantime, please complete the UNF Climate Survey on Race and Ethnicity as that too will impact recommendations and future activities.

 

Finally, I hope to build a website that will allow you access data about your department (by majors) college, and the university as a whole. The webpage will not be completed until the summer of 2014.

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered

Numbers and Percentages of Minority Individuals

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: Cheryl Gonzalez, Director, Equal Opportunity and Diversity

What have the numbers and percentages of minority individuals in UNF’s upper administration (deans and above) year-by-year [been] over the last ten years?

 

Written response from Rick Powell, Ph.D., Director of Institutional Research, Data Administrator Office of Institutional Research and Assessment:

Asked of Cheryl Gonzalez:

 

What have the numbers and percentages of minority individuals in UNF’s upper administration (deans and above) year-by-year [been] over the last ten years?

 

In response to this question, Ms. Cheryl Gonzalez (Director of Equal Opportunity Programs and Diversity) and Dr. Rick Powell (Director of Institutional Research) provided the following data:

 

 

Headcounts of Administrators by Race for Fall 2004-2013

RACE

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013
Am. Indian

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Asian            

2

2

2

3
Asian/PI

2

2

2

2

4

3

        
Black

7

5

10

14

15

15

15

12

12

12
Hispanic

8

8

10

10

10

11

11

11

12

11
Multiple            

1

3

3

3
NR Alien

1

1

2

1

1

1

  

1

1

  
White

111

118

124

137

133

138

134

133

136

145
TOTAL

130

135

149

165

164

169

164

163

167

175

 

Percentage of Administrators by Race for Fall 2004-2013

RACE

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013
Am. Indian

0.77%

0.74%

0.67%

0.61%

0.61%

0.59%

0.61%

0.61%

0.60%

0.57%
Asian

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

1.22%

1.23%

1.20%

1.71%
Asian/PI

1.54%

1.48%

1.34%

1.21%

2.44%

1.78%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%
Black

5.38%

3.70%

6.71%

8.48%

9.15%

8.88%

9.15%

7.36%

7.19%

6.86%
Hispanic

6.15%

5.93%

6.71%

6.06%

6.10%

6.51%

6.71%

6.75%

7.19%

6.29%
Multiple

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.61%

1.84%

1.80%

1.71%
NR Alien

0.77%

0.74%

1.34%

0.61%

0.61%

0.59%

0.00%

0.61%

0.60%

0.00%
White

85.38%

87.41%

83.22%

83.03%

81.10%

81.66%

81.71%

81.60%

81.44%

82.86%
TOTAL

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

 

Please note that the multiple-race reporting option started in Fall 2010.

 

They have provided this data, along with counts for administrators by (Faculty vs. A&P), Administrative Title, and Gender for these years in an Excel spreadsheet that can be found here:

 Headcounts of Administrators by Pay Plan, Administrative Title, Race, and Gender: Fall 2004-2013

2013-2014

Principle of “Fairness”

Questioner: Gordon Rakita

Posted to: John Delaney, UNF President

  1. In a recent explanation for a personnel decision, the Provost cited the principle of “fairness” to the faculty member as one rational for that decision.  Will the administration initiate a review of faculty salaries with the purpose of addressing the terrible unfairness suffered by those colleagues whose salaries are compressed and inverted?
  2. I understand that the interim provost has initiated a search for a permanent associate provost. Shouldn’t this search be left to the new permanent provost once that person takes office?
  3. If we are doing the IDEA survey for the Interim Provost and [some] Dean[s], why wasn’t the Interim Associate Provost similarly evaluated?

Archived:
Given the timeline for relevant responses and the availability of personnel, this question was archived without response.

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered

COAS Courses

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: Earle Traynham, Interim Provost Academic Affairs

Given the recent shortfall in the projected FTEs combined with the proposed recalculations of the allotment faculty lines that may result in the moving some lines from COAS to the professional schools, how will these factors impact the faculty and the departments that participate honors program? Using the honors courses offered in Fall 2013 as a sample, approximately 60% of the courses were taught by COAS faculty, is this factored into the FTE calculations? Honors courses require significantly small class sizes and may affect the FTE calculations. This may prevent departments from participating in the honors program in the future.

 

Written response from Dr. Earle Traynham, Interim Provost & Vice President Academic Affairs:

Before responding directly to the questioner regarding the potential impact of faculty line reallocations on COAS support of honors, allow me to provide a brief explanation of the basis for reallocation of faculty positions among the colleges.

Recently, a decision was made to reallocate a few (4) faculty lines from the College of Arts and Sciences and one from the College of Education and Human Services in response to sustained enrollment decreases in those two colleges, and to shift these positions to the Brooks College of Health and the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction.

This decision followed a thorough and careful analysis of enrollment trends and full-time faculty utilization in each of the colleges over the past five years. The analysis compared colleges only to themselves over this five-year period. This point is very important, since it ensures that those factors that influence differences in average classroom sizes among the colleges are taken as given. In other words, each college was compared only to itself in terms of Student FTE per Instructional FTE. To illustrate, since the average ratio of Student FTE per Instructional FTE in the Coggin College of Business equaled 26.1 during 2008-2013, then CCB was expected to meet that standard. Since the ratio averaged 20.0 in COAS during 2008-2013, it was expected to meet that standard. And, so on for each of the five colleges.

Since most Honors courses are taught by faculty in COAS, and Honors courses typically have lower-than-average enrollments, which fact is built into the overall average ratio for COAS. COAS is not penalized for offering Honors courses.

If COAS offers more Honors courses, its ratio might decrease, and the number of faculty required per student FTE would increase. The opposite is also true. If COAS offers fewer Honors courses, its average enrollment per class might increase, its ratio would then increase, and the number of faculty required per student FTE would decrease.

If COAS is uncertain or uncomfortable as to how offering Honors courses might impact its appropriate faculty allocation, it is relatively easy to strip all student FTE and faculty associated with Honors courses out of the equations. This option will be discussed with the Dean of COAS.

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered

Dean of COEHS Step Down

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: Earle Traynham, Interim Provost Academic Affairs

In announcing his intention to step down as Dean of the College of Education and Human Services (see emailed announcement below), Larry Daniel stated that once leaving the Office of the Dean he would both assume a faculty role AND “continue to serve as Executive Director of the Center for Urban Education and Policy.” As the Director of the Center for Urban Education and Policy has a prominent role in promoting the College’s vision for educational reform, for representing the College to the greater public, and for bringing external funds to the College, it seems only logical that the new Dean of the college would have significant input into the person chosen to fulfill that role (e.g., to work with faculty and a search committee to select a person to assume that role). It also seems logical—for the reasons noted above—that the new Dean would have direct supervisory authority over the “Director” and her/his responsibilities. Yet by appointing himself “Executive Director” into the indefinite future, Dean Daniel seems to be circumventing normal lines of authority and using a power that is not his to use in order to ensure himself a future administrative role within the College. It also seems that Dean Daniel is assuming a representative role that ignores the contexts behind the change in leadership within COEHS. If, on the other hand, the Provost or the President approved this future role for Dr. Daniel, faculty would like to know the rationale for the decision, why they were not consulted in the decision, and whether or not the new Dean will have the authority to supervise the person fulfilling the role of Director (and thus have significant input into the messages emanating from the “Center”)?

Dear COEHS Faculty and Staff:
It is my pleasure to serve as Dean of the College of Education and Human Services. The upcoming academic year will be my tenth year as Dean, and, with my approaching the completion of a decade of service, this milestone has given me reason to reflect on the many things that we as a College have been able to accomplish over the past years as well as the bright future that we have ahead of us. I have also been thinking about my own career and the experiences I have had over my 30+ years as an educator. The 13 years I have spent at UNF have been the most enriching of my career, and I hope to be a part of the UNF community for many years to come. However, there is an optimal time for every experience, and I am at a point in my own career in which a change of pace is in order. Therefore, I am announcing my decision to resign as Dean of the College of Education and Human Services at the end of the current fiscal year (June 30, 2014).

I look forward at that time to joining the Department of Leadership, School Counseling, and Sport Management in a full time capacity. I will also continue to serve as Executive Director of the Center for Urban Education and Policy. In the meantime, we have a busy year ahead of us with many challenges and opportunities awaiting. I will be corresponding with you in a few days regarding some important items to be accomplished this year. Thank you for all that you do, individually and collectively, to ensure outstanding service to our students and the community. As always, if you have ideas as to how we might be more effective as a College, please drop me a note or schedule a time to meet with me.

Best regards,
Larry Larry G. Daniel, Ph. D.,
Dean and Professor College of Education and Human Services
University of North Florida
1 University of North Florida Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32224-7699
Voice: (904) 620-2520; FAX: (904) 620-2522 Email: ldaniel@unf.edu

 

Written response from Dr. Earle Traynham, Interim Provost & Vice President Academic Affairs:

In my discussions with Dean Daniel regarding his resignation as Dean of the College of Education and Human Services, he requested, and I agreed, that he be permitted to continue in his role as Director of the Center for Urban Education and Policy. He had been serving as Interim Director.

The rationale for this decision is quite simply that Dean Daniel was the current director, and in my opinion had been performing this role satisfactorily, and there was no obvious reason to make a change prior to the selection of a new dean. Once a new dean is in place, Dr. Daniel will, of course, report to the dean in his capacity as center director. Also, once a new dean is in place, the dean will have full authority to determine the leadership of the Center for Urban Education and Policy.

It is not true that Dean Daniel “appointed himself” as Executive Director into the indefinite future, nor, in my opinion, did he circumvent normal lines of authority and use” power that is not his.” At present, the Center does not have by-laws that prescribe any particular process for the selection of its Director. Center directors, along with all appointed leadership positions in COEHS, will serve at the pleasure of the dean, just as they do in all of our colleges.

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered

Artworks on Campus

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: Debra Murphy, Associate Professor & Chair, Arts and Design

What happened to the large, yellow duck that was floating near the library and business building? Will we be seeing this artwork again?

 

Written response from Dr. Debra Murphy:

“I get the important, intellectual question. The duck has had a very interesting few months of adventures. As you know, it was in the pond by Coggin and the library. Apparently, a group of students decided to ride it like a bronco, and there was some minor damage. (Inaudible) But there was writing on the duck, and it was kind of a triumphal boast, and the poet couldn’t resist adding that word that rhymes with “duck.” And so, it had to be repaired and repainted. It has been at the zoo for the last month; rumors have it that Sergeant Quackers received a few proposals from the aviary. He’s back on campus now, and I’m happy to report that he’ll be returned to the pond tomorrow.”

2013-2014

Upper Division Transfer Students

Questioner: Gordon Rakita

Posted to: John Delaney, UNF President

The Faculty Association President received a question for President Delaney regarding upper division transfer students: UNF is accepting a lot of transfer students to fill in for low FTIC enrollments. Regardless of the grades they earn, a large number of these transfer students are, in the common experience of many UNF faculty, often much unprepared for the academic challenges of UNF classes. Would the President speak to how the University can ameliorate the problem of upper division transfer students who are not prepared for the challenge of UNF classes? How do such students fit in to his vision for UNF?

Archived:
Given the timeline for relevant responses and the availability of personnel, this question was archived without response.

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered, From Floor

Faculty Members Salaries

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: John Delaney, UNF President

#1 – As a follow-up to last month’s question, could the administration please provide the faculty with the following public information: The total salaries (including any salary funds drawn from the Foundation) for 2011-12, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014 for the following individuals: Tom Serwatka, Shari Shuman, Pam Chally, Barb Hetrick, Mark Tumeo, Ajay Samant, Larry Daniel, Jay Coleman, Len Roberson, Jeff Michelman, John Kantner, Mark Workman.

 

#2 – Two recent pieces of information cause me to ask: Is UNF “over-administered”?

  1. First, in Florida Trend’s June 2013 issue, it was noted that the number of administrators at UNF increased by 15.7% from 2007 to 2011. (In 2007, there were 235 administrators and in 2011 there were 272 administrators). As a side note, in fall 2007 there were 16,406 students and in fall 2011 there were 16,368 students.
  2. Second, we recently learned that Tom Serwatka received a $60,000 raise. I think a thorough analysis of this issue is warranted. Has the Budget Advisory Committee looked into this? Is there another group of non-administrators on campus that should be examining this issue?

 

Responses from President Rakita: “I’ll answer that, and I’ll answer it from the floor. The answer to the first part – Has the Budget Advisory Committee looked into this issue?
No, to my knowledge the Budget Advisory Committee has not looked into it.
Should they, or should some group of non-administrators look into it?
I would ask that the Budget Advisory Committee await the response from the President’s office about the salaries that was asked in Question 2, and then, given that response, make a recommendation to me about any action the Faculty Association may want to take on the issue.”

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered

Recent Salary Increase

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: John Delaney, UNF President

How do you justify the recent $60K salary increase for Tom Serwatka?

 

Written response from UNF President, John Delaney:

January 24, 2014

 

 

Dear President Rakita,

 

Let me take this opportunity to answer the questions submitted at the January 9, Faculty Association Meeting.

 

Question #1

Faculty Association meetings are held on the same first Thursday of every month at the same time and in the same location. Should the faculty interpret this lack of attendance and participation as a signal that you don’t believe these meetings to be of importance? You have been missed 19 of the past 24 meetings and have not attended one this year. If you continue this attendance record, it might be helpful to establish another way to communicate with your faculty about initiatives and plans so we know where we are headed.

First I want to state that I think Faculty Association meetings are important for a host of reasons. I hope this is tangibly demonstrated by the actions we took to encourage greater attendance and participation between colleagues – the creation of the new venue and the funding of the luncheons.  I couldn’t be happier than to see the change in attendance and the increased cross-disciplinary communication-channels.

 

But historically, I have not viewed these meetings as optimal to present initiatives or plans. I have only a few minutes to talk, and I always viewed the meetings as the faculty’s and not mine. The questioner may have another view.
Secondly, I constantly look for ways to interact with faculty. The faculty union hosts a “Coffee with the President” twice per semester. That is an open meeting. That format is particularly good for having conversations. Last year, I also began inviting somewhat random groups of faculty for lunch every month or so. Every few years, I also cycle through meetings with departments and/or colleges and plan on starting that again next year.

Additionally, the fall convocation is specifically designed to discuss initiatives and plans.
All that being said I will certainly focus on attending Faculty Association meetings as my calendar permits. Regrettably, this past fall I had an unusual amount of travel on the schedule. I was out of town almost weekly, nearly all UNF related. Additionally, I took ill several times and was hospitalized twice for fluky reasons. (All is well now.) And as most, if not all, of you know, the Board of Governors has been working on a funding formula that favors the larger schools, and we have spent a great deal of time confronting that.
Of course, January through May is always difficult with the Legislature in session. Nonetheless, I only miss the Faculty Association meeting if there is a scheduling conflict.
I will close by saying that I also meet with any group of or individual faculty member on request. I meet regularly with the President of the Faculty Association and the leadership of the faculty union.
I also meet with the deans and with the chairs every 6 weeks or so, a rare occurrence for most college presidents. Unless I have an unmovable conflict, I never turn down a faculty request to visit a classroom.

In most public settings, I stress that I have an open door policy, and historically I have been able to meet within 48 hours of a faculty request. Finally, I respond to emails typically the same day.
If anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to let me know.

 

Question #2 for President Delaney:

How do you justify the recent $60K salary increase for Tom Serwatka?

First, we do not publicly discuss personnel decisions, including compensation. Secondly, the dollar figure contained in the question is extremely inaccurate.

 

 

Respectfully,
John

 

2013-2014, Anonymous, Answered

Moving Departments with Consultation

Questioner: Anonymous

Posted to: Earle Traynham, Interim Provost Academic Affairs

1. Can a department at UNF be moved from physical location to another without being consulted? We ask because rumor has it that such plans are in the works which would be very costly and adversely affect a department on campus (and the plans have not been discussed at all with the department, let alone them being consulted).

 

2. For years there has been talk of creating a college of science, or some such college. Are there serious plans to do so, as it seems a logical thing for UNF to consider?

 

Written response from Earle Traynham, Interim Provost & Vice President Academic Affairs:

Gordon,

 

At the last Faculty Association meeting, I was asked the following question:
Can a department at UNF be moved from one physical location to another without being consulted?
We ask because rumor has it that such plans are in the works which would be very costly and adversely affect a department on campus (and the plans have not been discussed at all with the department, let alone them being consulted).

 

Since I have no personal knowledge of this potential situation and have not heard this rumor, I consulted each of the college deans.  Three of the deans (BCH, CCB, and COEHS) were unaware of this rumor.  Dean Hetrick and Dean Tumeo said that they knew of no “plans in the works” to move a department, and certainly would not do so without involving/consulting with the department in the planning process.  They speculated that this question may be linked to some very preliminary conversations about potential ways that space in buildings 3 and 4 could be used, once these buildings have been renovated.  Funds for this renovation have not yet been appropriated by the legislature.  As this process moves forward, planning will take place, and deans as well as affected departments will have input in the planning process.  At this point, I have no idea if any departments will be moved.

 

Thank you.

Earle