2011-2012 UFF-FAU Administrator Survey Results

September 8, 2012. President Saunders panned for “micromanaging” university, disrespect of faculty, lack of transparency and dubious approaches to budget crisis, Provost Claiborne faulted for poor communication with faculty, cutbacks in teaching, and “a swirling vortex of comically stupid [credentialing] decisions.”

Processing of the 2011-2012 UFF-FAU Faculty Survey on Administrator Performance is now complete. A total of 189 responses were received from faculty at all colleges and FAU campuses. An overall summary of faculty members’ written comments is provided below.

Word-for-word faculty responses on specific administrators have been published in a password-protected area of the website. Faculty will be provided with a password via email to access these.

Overview and summary of written comments.

President Mary J. Saunders received 144 comments, most of them critical of her actions. A strong critique involved the micromanaging of the university and a lack of respect for faculty. One faculty member comments: “She seems very distant from the faculty and speaks in generalities that are very difficult to decipher. She needs to make more of an effort connecting with and explaining herself to faculty, as well as listening more effectively.” Another routine critique was a lack of transparency regarding resources and the academic processes of the university. Faculty have also questioned the viability of the growth of university. As one faculty member writes, “The idea that we can grow our way out of the budget crisis is suspect. Adding students without investing in tenure-line faculty and infrastructure, as Dr. Saunders appears to be doing, degrades the quality of education for our students.” Even sympathetic comments still note she should “consider reducing the salaries and/or numbers of senior administrators on her team” since most faculty, as we will see in the other survey comments, have no idea of the purpose behind many of these new administrative lines.

Provost Brenda Claiborne received 121 comments. The problematic summer policy dominated many comments and led to a general negative opinion of the provost’s actions. As one faculty members observes, “I had formed no strong opinion until the summer fiasco. The one-size-fits-all plan is illogical and ineffective. This is the first time in my 35 years here that top-down plan has occurred. It makes no sense.” Similarly, another faculty member warns, “Do everything necessary to AVOID cutting classes in a university. It is as if a shoe shop stopped selling shoes.” This policy, according to many faculty, seems to stem from a lack of communication and interaction with faculty. One person notes, “The Provost seems like a very nice person. But she has done a terrible job of communicating with faculty and as a result, her decision-making seems arbitrary and heavy-handed. The debacle around course sizes is only the latest example.” Also, the handling of credentialing was another consistent critique. One person notes, “Having to explain to the provost the basics of a variety of disciplines and how they are run is embarrassing for both the one doing the explanation and the one having to receive it. The appearance of dictatorial actions and coercion has done nothing for the moral[e] of the University.” Another comment: “The accreditation process has already turned into a swirling vortex of comically stupid decisions.” Another comment: “I am also surprised at the level of rigidness in interpreting the SACs directives towards credentialing. When one pulls up the SACS description of credentialing, it is clear that the university is ignoring several paragraphs of discussion regarding appropriate credentials in order to enforce FAU’s mission, whatever that is.” Yet another: “Follow SACS guidelines in the manner that every SACS accredited institution does.” The comments continue. As you know, UFF-FAU has written a report on SACS and requested a meeting with the provost and those in charge of SACS. We are still pressing for a reply and meeting.

Associate Provost of Northern Campuses Eliah Watlington received around two dozen comments. In general, no one knows who he is and questions the relevancy of the position.

Associate Provost of Broward Campuses Anthony Abbate received nine comments mostly noting that he needs to be more assertive for faculty rights and “build a stronger sense of identity and community among Broward faculty and students.”

Interim Vice-President of Research Barry Rosson received 90 comments, all uniformly negative. Many people commented about the seemingly irrelevancy of the graduate college and the endless, meaningless paperwork it blossoms. One faculty member cautions: “Stop building a bureaucratic empire that does nothing but generate paperwork for those of us working in the graduate program.” Another faculty member suggests that Rosson “has made an unbelievable mess out of the Graduate College, screwing-up even the most basic tasks. The labyrinthine and Byzantine forms are an obvious example.” Another faculty encourages: “The Graduate College should be eliminated. It duplicates services. It is unfriendly to students and faculty.”

Interim Dean of Arts and Letters Heather Coltman received 84 mixed responses. The positive comments suggest that she is doing her best during a very bad financial crisis and a hostile state legislature. One faculty member writes, “She is doing a great job despite these ridiculous financial restrictions.” The negative comments suggest that Dean Coltman lacks the needed experience to function as a Dean and badly represents faculty interests. One faculty member writes, “Interim Dean Coltman is inexperienced, and during her time as dean has been entirely ineffective . . . She has poor judgment, does not understand the academic programs in the college, and has made a series of disastrous decisions.”

Dean of Undergraduate Studies Ed Pratt received 27 mixed comments. On the positive side faculty believe he “does the best he can in these unsettled times.” On the critical end, faculty believe he needs to show more initiative in “addressing the needs of effective undergraduate education.”

Dean of the College of Science Gary Perry received 16 comments. Many view him as one of FAU’s best deans. The main negative comments stated that he “should fight for the faculty and students” more.

Dean of Nursing Marlaine Smith received 8 comments. About half complimented her as an “outstanding, supportive, and generous” dean. Two comments suggested that Smith be more visible among faculty and better listen to them.

Dean Rosalyn Carter of the College for Design and Social Inquiry received 4 comments. They suggest that Carter act in a more professional manner and involve faculty more in decision-making processes.

Dean of Business Denis Coates received 7 comments. They generally suggest that Coates needs to work on better managing various departments and improving faculty governance. They also suggest that he needs to better his communication skills.

Interim Dean of Engineering Mohammad Ilyas received 6 largely positive comments. They suggest he is an excellent leader and would like to see him become permanent dean.

University Libraries Dean William Miller received 3 comments. They suggest that he needs to be more directly involved in decision-making processes.

Dean of Education Valerie Bristor received 23 comments. They generally suggest that she needs to better manage the departments and their chairs. Some comments suggest that she was better suited in the role of associate dean.

Principal Tammy Ferguson of the Henderson School received 7 comments. They were generally positive, but a few suggested that she better communicate with the faculty.

Dean Jeffrey Buller of the Honors College received 7 comments. They commented on his general absence on the Jupiter campus and the overall resulting demoralization of the college.

Quantitative Breakdown of Administrator Survey Data