NMU Board of Trustees

Faculty Work Subcommittee

August 19, 2011

Members Present:

Mr. Richard Popp, Chair (via phone)

Dr. H. Sook Wilkinson (via phone)

Mr. Jon LaSalle

Dr. L. Garnet Lewis (via phone)

Mr. Brian Cloyd, ex officio (via phone)

Dr. Les Wong, ex officio

Guest:  Dr. Paul Lang, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

The meeting was called to order at 1:32 p.m.

Faculty Appointments and Rank

Dr. Paul Lang addressed the subcommittee regarding his perspectives on faculty appointments and rank within NMU’s two faculty unions:  AAUP and NMUFA.  NMUFA faculty members are primarily located in the Jacobetti Center representing our skills programs (less than baccalaureate degree programs).  

Contractual language and department bylaws stipulate the qualifications (credentials, experience, teaching responsibilities and other contractual responsibilities) for each appointment.  Rank is achieved by performing at levels or standards from one rank to the next.  These standards are also outlined in contractual language and department bylaws. 

Dr. Lang also discussed the differences between applied programs that require specific work experiences as determined by the department bylaws and theoretical programs that may be less concerned about the experience the faculty member had prior to coming to NMU. 

Dr. Lang said that over the past few years, we have made great strides in the area of scholarship.  We are in the process of revising all department bylaws to reflect stronger scholarship standards for promotion and tenure.  Dr. Lang also informed the Subcommittee on the progress made to date on the Program Review Action Project.  Each department will be reviewed from a quality perspective in terms of the work they are producing, teaching evaluations, the health of the department, retention rates, etc.

Mr. Popp thanked Dr. Lang for his expertise.

The next meeting of the Faculty Work Subcommittee is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on September 12, 2011. 

The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.