2014 Administrator Survey: Comments (11/2/2014)

admin
November 2nd, 2014
No Comments

Comments for Interim President Dennis Crudele:

The university would be better served if Interim President Crudele would:

be forgotten
advice new president more.
have stayed on as president
Help the new president.
Ask Dr. Perry to visit more often the various colleges outside the administration building.
stay around to mentor the new president
Brought calm to the university and hired Mohammad as our dean. New graduate dean is a good hire too. Gary was also a good move president made.
remain at FAU.
Crudele is obviously a placeholder.
remain as president.
He did a great job in difficult circumstances.
Should have made him the permanant president of FAU, very good, listens and cares, knows his stuff, dedicated to serve FAU
N/A
He is okay he needed toaudit dept.
Who knows
Continue as president.
Dennis Crudele was put in a difficult position and has done as well as could be expected.
stay
stay involved and active with FAU for a very long time
We were fortunate that Interim President Crudele stepped up in this position and kept FAU moving forward.
Happy he is staying on for the reminder of the year. Very down to earth, while making excellent leadership choices for provost and deans.
Wasn’t in place long enough to access.
Remain available for consultation.
Super job
be named FAU’s first saint!!
Why is Dennis Crudele on this survey as the president when he is no longer in that role? The UFF should have included John Kelly.
Dennis is an amazing administrator who made the right decisions at the right time. Replacing the provost and the graduate dean was the right thing to do…and, he selected the right people for the jobs. Now, the research area needs to be overhauled so faculty can have the support they deserve from faculty-centered leadership.

Additional comments about Interim President CRUDELE:

was ill suited for the job from the outset
He was great during a very difficult time.
Excellent job of leading during critical times.
He did a great job at a difficult time.
It is nice to have an advocate for the faculty as President for a change. He tried to do something about our very low faculty salaries, which is much appreciated.
He is a nice individual
He was a great guy and helped get FAU out of a bad place…
A big thank you to him for all that he did! Great job!!
Bravo!
I think appointing President Crudele in the wake of the problems of the last couple years was the wisest thing the BoT has done. His temperament, competence, and leadership style were exactly what we needed. I wish him a good retirement.
job well done
We appreciate Dennis stepping up in a turbulent time.
I was pleased with his presidency. He came in at a very trying time and, in my opinion, calmed the waters. Thank you!
Is a very pleasant person and I wish you the best.
He served FAU very well during his time as President.
Great guy, did a great job. Deserves the admiration that so many people have for him.
Crudele and Brogan were the strongest presidents–most helpful. The others have proven incompetent and even cruel, such as MJ.
keep him, I hope Kelly will rely on Crudele greatly, he was great, cares and is competent. Kelly seems to lack the “real” professorship role experience, I hope he can pull it off. Crudele was excellent. Thank god the two ladies are gone.
Interim President Crudele brought stability to the university community, while raising morale during a difficult period of transition. He seemed to respect faculty.
He’s gone, who cares. He was just part of the corrupt cabal we call an administration.
Given the track record of this university’s administration (& those who choose them), it is a shame that Dennis Crudele will not be staying. He has handled numerous difficult situations far better than we have any right to expect.
Dennis did better than I thought he would have. He listened to what others had to say and acted accordingly. It is a shame he is only around for one year as the university president.
Class, class act. Not at all pompous. An awesome guy.
President Crudele did a fantastic job as our interim president. He was good for morale and he keep the university focused on our purpose after the disastrous administration of Mary Jane Sanders. FAU you owes him a lot of gratitude.
Why are we evaluating him and not President Kelly?
Did a wonderful job under difficult circumstances.
Wonderful man, wonderful president.
When will new president be evaluated?
Dr Crudelle is really missed. He helped us regroup as a university community, and now we are able to work with the new president in a productive way.
Interim President Crudele righted and stabilized the sinking ship that was FAU’s reputation, a feat that deserves appreciation and respect. The university might have been better served by asking Crudele to serve until the end of the 2013-2014 academic year, which would have left time to perform a less seemingly rushed search for a new president. That remains to be seen, but appointing Crudele as interim president was the first success following a series of embarrassing failures.
There is no place to comment about John Kelly and I think that is a shame. He has made himself available at events and I like that very much. His ideas about improving our image are spot on. I hope he will continue what Dennis started and build a team that works together well and keeps a focus on faculty and student satisfaction.
continue to be available to advise and support the administration.

Comments for Interim Provost Gary Perry

The university would be better served if Interim Provost GARY PERRY would:

be named regular provost.
Don’t talk as much and repeat yourself. Keep your focus on faculty. Stay in the job beyond interim.
retain the job as provost
Not ask faculty to make telemarketing phone calls.
become the permanent Provost for FAU. We need someone in this position that understands FAU, its history, and the state of Florida.
Provost Perry could be an effective administrator at this level but has not had time to prove himself given the interim status. I have not chosen to favorably review him given his choice to appoint Dean Heather Coltman in the College of Arts and Letters for a three year term. As suggested above, Coltman is a two-watt bulb in a fifty-watt socket.
Allow a nationwide search for a new provost
Be appointed permanently to the position
Great, keep him as the permanent provost, great job this year
return Associate Provost Alperin to a faculty position in her home department.
She is a toxic, authoritarian administrator, which has become apparent to faculty members across the university. It is hard to believe that Provost Perry does not realize this.
meet with the faculty frequently.
He need to be sure that Vice-Presidents and Deans make fair decisions.
So something else
not surround himself with sycophants.
Realize the College of Arts and Letters has an ineffective and vindictive administrative team that is causing moral problems in the unit and take steps to install new college leaders.
Become permanent Provost! The best man, ethical and qualified.
Keep him on as our provost.
be made permanent Provost
Stay in the job for at least five years!
Not think that being “friends” with a Dean of a college should make the faculty in the college “happy”. He should have respected the opinions of the faculty before making an interim dean permanent. He should have had the interim dean state publicly and clearly what her goals were for the college and here should have been open discussion – this should have happened before making his “friend” a permanent dean and saying “we should be happy to have a Dean he is friends with” and that he would listen to faculty input, however he had “already decided” and “already had agreement with administration” Shocking!
Assume the responsibilities and position of Provost permanently.
Make him permanent.
stay on for a couple of years to stabilize academic affairs before a new provost is hired
make decisions independently of his senior advisor.
To keep him in this position.
Not impose all kinds of arbitrary policies on faculty without consultation/discussion (consultation/discussion should take place prior to the adoption of any policies affecting faculty, not after)
take another year as interim before being considered for a permanent stint as Provost.
Be kept as Provost for the next 3+ years.
become permanent provost
I am impressed so far.
Become more organized to avoid the last minute requests, mandatory “do it now” orders, and scramble to gather what is needed for a meeting. today. Faculty and Deans are offended when a person seems to feel their request must hijack the day.
Not tell a faculty assembly that he values their input, and then in the next sentence remind them that he is going to do what he wants, regardless. It is insulting.
evaluate himself fully before deciding to continue as provost, as it looks like he will. There were problems with his administration, albeit in a difficult period. He handled our various crises well. He should tone down his authoritative tone sometimes; it undermines his sincerity in faculty shared governance. Otherwise, I think he’s doing a pretty good job. He seems willing to listen. That’s a very good quality.
match his words with stronger actions, and stop undermining his own goals with bad appointments at the Dean level and thus knowingly sanctioning weak leadership.
audit the deans and the department chairs for the last 5 years. Faculty for various departments got nothing for faculty development and research. External search for deans and OF COURSE for chairs. Faculties are tired with the same mentality, no-productivity etc….. Gives initiatives to existing talented faculty.
He needs to be sure that Vice-Presidents and Deans make fair decisions.
The university Technical group needs a lot of training. FAU should respect the students. Audit the department chairs the last Five years. Eliminate the faculty misused. Appraise the existing talented faculty. Come to departmental meetings
stay on for a few years.
Stay in the position! Very collegial. Talks a bit much, but he is passionate about his work and FAU.
resign
Hire a new dean for college of engineering.
remove “Interim” from his title.
retired

Additional comments about Interim Provost PERRY:

He is a cool guy
Loyal to FAU. Honest. Sensible.
gary is a strong advocate for faculty, students and programs. he knows the university well and knows how to work with the system. sometimes he takes too long to make decisions, but that is probably because he is being cautious and thorough. let’s hope the new president keeps him on.
Dr. Perry is capable administrator. Yes, he had made some mistakes in the past, which resulted in hardship to academic programs in the college. On the other hand, if person does not make any mistakes, it is usually a good indication that the person does not do anything. Besides, sometimes (and most of times) decisions have to be made and you cannot please everyone equally…
Has made Several good hires including engineering dean and graduate dean. Need to replace interim Vice President of Research.
Gary Perry’s service as Interim Provost has contributed greatly to the significant challenge of restoring the University community’s faith in upper administration. The new president has much to gain by asking Perry to stay on as provost.
Seems to have taken on his role well. He needs to investigate morale and problems in the College if Ed., and begin to have conversations here with faculty concerning administrative policies, procedures, and leadership. It would be to his best interest to dig deeply into College is Ed., and specific departmental concerns that are not addressed by the sitting Dean.
Provost Perry clearly cares about FAU and can be an effective administrator. However, it does concern me that the entire higher administration focuses its investment only in the hard sciences. That kind of self-enclosed conversation has led Provost Perry to lack the argumentative tools that the faculty of the College of A&L can provide in terms of countering the ridiculous new metrics proposed by the Florida legislature.
Much better than his predecessor
worse than Pratt
Because he was Dean of the College of Science, he knows FAU and its history intimately and is sympathetic with the faculty.
Forcing faculty to call thousands of potential undergraduates..what a waste of time and money
Retain him as the permanent provost, very competent, so much better than Brenda, he knows what we need, keep him in forever
Provost Perry seems to uphold high academic standards.
His actions are of someone who simply want to keep his job, He had done nothing about the endemic corruption in the College of Arts and Letter (don’t know about the rest) and made a plainly corrupt dean a full one without a search, That is not the action of an administrator with integrity,
The faculty had high hopes for Dean Perry, but he has proved to be afraid to defend academic standards.
He is by far the best administrator that we have had for quite some time. It is much more collegial with the provost’s office and addressing central issues concerning the university.
jury is out. Many good words, few achievements of note
One of the first duties for Gary Perry when he took over as a Dean is to appoint or select Dean for college of engineering. He made a blunder by selecting Ilyas who has no record of accomplishments and no idea of leadership and respect. Need an immediate replacement for Dean of Engineering.
Appointing interim deans as permanent – good move. Changes in the graduate college are much appreciated. Don’t go overboard with hiring assistant and associate provosts!
He fosters the club mentality of FAU that is so wrong – a mentality that favors connections over merit and taking care of friends over the needs of the students and faculty. Unprofessional.
Highly qualified, excellent administrator.
I don’t know Dean Perry very well, but he seems like a fair person who a) has a good understanding of the importance of teaching and research, and b) doesn’t micromanage. I like that combination in a provost.
Make sure important matter handle timely.
His solid, strong roots in teaching are quite evident in his leadership now. It is pleasing to see this in the language that he uses when he writes and speaks.
Departmental anecdotes are of limited use for university policies regarding important issues such as tenure. A provost must recognize the need for consistency, not finger-in-the-dyke type thinking.
Nice person. Friendly and intelligent. A true teacher / scholar.
Great Interim Provost!
Question the need for so many staff in the Provost’s Office. Student success is important, for instance, but why do we have an assistant provost for these programs when many overlap across the university? Seems rather disorganized and top heavy regarding extra staff added recently.
I think he’s the one who got rid of Rosson from OSR, which is enough to get top ranks from me right there. My professional interactions with Gary are limited, but they are all good.
· Given the current situation, Dr. Perry has made a good faith effort to support the faculty and improve the quality of education at FAU.

Comments on Dean Heather Coltman, College of Arts & Letters

The university would be better served if Interim Dean Coltman would:

Step down and relinquish the hefty salary, which appears to be the only reason she is clinging to the position. Coltman seeks to distribute resources (including faculty lines) to her own preferred programs–such as Music–while depriving other departments of much-needed resources to serve students. Coltman should apportion resources according to need, rather than attempting to “settle scores” against those she perceives as competitors or personal enemies by bleeding major credit hour generators dry. Coltman should also appoint chairs who are demonstrably capable administrators, rather than those who are eager to do her bidding and kiss her tail. This is the overall sign of a weak, insecure, and conniving dean.
Our college dean is the administration’s answer to a “yes man,” and she fits the bill very well. Last year’s negative evaluation of her performance should have been enough to have her removed, but the only thing that saved her was that the president, provost and some other unbelievably incompetent administrators were forced to leave, and that the interim provost did not want to risk complete embarrassment by removing Heather Coltman, so he allowed her to remain, DESPITE A HORRIBLE EVALUATION. How many negative evaluations does it take before someone will listen (or should we audit her spending practices to find a way to get rid of her)to recognize that she is in no way suited to be the dean of a college. Faculty new this when she was appointed, and she has done nothing to change that attitude.
Leave her post and dismiss her Associate Deans
continue as Dean.
Be fired or resign so a competent person and take the position
Resign and take Linda Johnson with her.
Be fired, and I don’t mean be sent back to the faculty. There is way too much corruption and behind the scenes illegal deal making for her to be simply slapped on the hand, How often can we hear “you guys are the best” while the money goes into her and her friend’s pockets. A few life-long appointed Chairs are of special note. The budget should be thrown open in an honest way so all can see.
resigned
Make sure chairs are doing their jobs properly and not privilege selected faculty without merit. Dean should seek input from more than one faculty member on an issue. Dean should allow faculty in a department to determine and follow procedures with regard to governance and searches.
recognize she is not, and has not been a good dean. Simply put, she is the worst dean we have had…..
Get a better understanding of faculty & curriculum needs
stop taking fools like Barbara Ganson seriously.
Dean Coltman epitomizes what is fundamentally wrong with FAU, but thankfully her faculty overcome her deficiencies as an administrator. She got her job by default, stayed in the position long enough for the incoming provost to make her a permanent dean after the faculty called for an outside dean, and simply does whatever the provost and misguided associate provosts want her to do, whether it makes good academic sense or not. She merely does what is necessary to keep her in the good graces of the higher ups. As for being a representative of the faculty, she is a joke, always has been, we all know it, and we work around her.
be appointed beyond the current 3-year term
be recognized as the best dean this college has ever had. she establishes a congenial and supportive environment everywhere she goes, along with a sense of enthusiasm and forward momentum that is infectious. she has big vision, broad goals, and she needs to be supported by all in achieving them on behalf of the college
be asked to oversee strategic planning! she has a great sense of possibility and vision, and knows how to galvanize people to work together
keep dean coltman for a long time
Resign
better understand what it means to be a scholar in the humanities. The dean presumably grasps the “performance” side of the college, but has difficulty expressing genuine interest in her faculty’s scholarship.
resign.
“cut down on the number of assistant/associate Deans she has to delegate her responsibilities. With likely budget cuts on the horizon, Coleman should show that she is also committed to eliminating excess spending on the administrative level. Frankly, no prior Dean of the College had three assistant/associate Deans in their employment.
Also, the Dean is beginning to question the data that is used to rationalize some of high administration’s decision-making. I encourage Dean Coltman to view the data sets presented with more scrutiny. She should also advocate for less bureaucratic paperwork . It seems like the higher administration believes that the university can be run more effectively if everyone is asked to fill out an assessment or write a policy document every other month about their program, their faculty, their students, their policies. Dean Coltman needs take a stand on determining what documentation is actually effective and necessary–doing this will also allow her to cut down on the excessive amount of money spent on administrative support in the Dean’s office.”
Make unbiased and fair decisions for the benefit of the whole college and not just for a few; should consult and listen to the faculty and not just pretend that she does; and should not keep incompetent people as chairs of some departments.
Not be so obvious in her manipulations to favor her chosen faculty. Not interfere with faculty governance. Higher level of professionalism.
think more about defending the college and less about protecting her own administrative position.
Do a better job of providing leadership for the college’s development and direction.
Resign immediately.
I am very pleased with the progress of this dean. Of course there is always more to be wanting – money, time, etc.
Scrupulously avoid even a hint of favoritism.
Be less passive and stop her look-on-the-bright-side mentality in the face of serious budgetary (and other) issues.
Resign and acknowledge that she is out of her depth. When you need three supportive Deans around you like a shield, this is a bad sign that the main person in charge doesn’t know what she is doing.
raise standards and keep them high.
break SCMS into two departments.
Approach her job more objectively. If she can’t, she should step down for the ethical standard she’d be violating. There is already a strong sense of concern about how Dean Coltman makes decisions, and with good reason. She values hierarchy over true collegial and fair administration of the college. She is often juvenile in her attitude toward important matters. Dean Coltman is friendly, and can create a sense of lightness around her that is appreciated. But there are serious gaps in informed and fair resolution of college problems, and she often sides with chairs over the faculty.

Additional comments about Interim Dean Coltman:

Provost Perry’s choice to appoint Coltman for another three years is one that will serve the College of Arts and Letters poorly. Dean Coltman is not a competent administrator, and is thus incapable of adequately serving the students and support the faculty in the College. Rather, at best she appears to make it up as she goes along in a rather empty-headed, free-form style. This may succeed in music tutorials or the equivalent, and there it should stay. Worse, Coltman has appeared to internalize the failed philosophy and regimens of President Saunders and Provost Claiborne by prioritizing credit hour production and “customer satisfaction” (read: titillating students with fashionable course offerings while simultaneously reducing the bar on academic rigor). As the University has chosen to rid itself of the psychopath Saunders and her imported three ring administrative circus, so it should now seek a new path free of the poorly-conceived and arbitrarily-enforced managerial vision the Saunders regime epitomized.
Heather Coltman is a horrible selection as dean, and this small box does not allow the space to adequately justify her inability to lead….she needs to be removed….
She is biased, easily swayed, and does not act in the best interest of the College. Additionally, she does not follow procedure and is an outright liar.
Since becoming Interim Dean and Dean, Dr. Coltman has brought our College back to normalcy and restored the equity among departments and faculty.
Doing very well. Shows that an internal appointment can be a very good idea. Knows the college, knows the angles. Pays a lot of attention to governance and faculty input. Very fair.
Dean Coltman is the check off dean. If she holds a meeting about it, she can then check it off the list. Coltman’s top priority is survival as dean.
It is hard to imagine that we could actually get a worse Dean than those that we have already had, but this one is the epitome of favoritism, corruption and secret agendas. She makes up for these characteristics with actual stupidity about how to run a college, the nature of its disciplines and the work that faculty do. She is out of the office more than she is in, spending College money on foreign trips while claiming poverty. Her appointed associate deans may not be as corrupt, but know just as little. They pretend they can run programs and stimulate research, but like her, they have done none of that for themselves for so long that it would be better for them not to pretend to be academics. It is indeed a sorry state of affairs.
Alperin’s poodle, worse than Appleton.
Dr. Coltman is the best Dean that our College has had in the last 20 plus years.
She is a horrible dean
She is very available to faculty and she is involved personally in helping to communicate things to faculty in meetings when needed
It’s great that she shows up for so many of our events. It’s a nice change from former deans who didn’t seem to care.
The dean is a very friendly person and seems to have the best interest of the college at heart. The change in upper administration has meant that my experiences with her have been limited this year as it seems she doesn’t have to meet with us as a dept as regularly to hand down the instructions from on high.
She wishes to be liked, to do well by us , but lacks resources to do so. Instead Dean Coltman seeks to substitute the illusion that she really ,really cares. But gosh it’s obvious she does not. For a time she probably loved the life of a pianist Why be Dean?
The surveys are a joke because had the administration paid as much attention to these as we are bound to take seriously the SPOTS, she would have been fired long ago.
brilliant, fair, broadly consultive, a great fund-raiser
she takes time to make decisions and always checks in with the involved parties to get their input. even when making controversial or unpopular decisions, she states her case and sticks to it. she is strong and has grown a lot in this position. she shows every sign of becoming the best dean this college has ever had. FAU should hang on to her, because she will be courted by other insitutions.
this is the only dean in the university who brainstorms and heads up initiatives that involve the whole campus – the agora project is one example, and another is the human rights group she put together. she also started an initiative to encourage the arts to be involved with STEM disciplines. This is the kind of interdisicplinary approach that will benefit the univerisyt, because it creates strong academic centers supported by many players which then can be presented to donors for funding. She has already been successful in these efforts, and this kind of leadership is unique at FAU.
dean coltman is dedicated. she works late and over the weekend, and is always engaged in many initiatives and activities. she inspires faculty and students alike. she surrounds herself with strong advisors (associate and assistant deans, chairs and other senior faculty) and is never afraid to go to them for their advice. she deeply cares about students and shows them that she is supportive and enthusiastic about their goals. she announced recently that the advisory board (that she created – the first one ever for the college) has raised almost $200,000 for faculty and student research support. Her dedication to FAU and to our college is humbling. what I have learned the most from her is never to hesitate to admit when you are wrong, and never to hesitate when you don’t know something – she is humble and honest, and also so intelligent that she takes in new ideas and information and uses them to our advantage. i trust her. she is not doing this for any self-serving goals. she is here for the college.
Weak leader, weak advocate, does not project confidence or demonstrate support for faculty. For example, the fact that no effort is made to match competing offers for faculty speaks volumes for how much value we have to the College.
“Dean Coltman tends to act as the advocate of the higher administration rather than of her faculty. The administration might not see this as a negative, but the downside of this is that they are totally oblivious to effective arguments and data that they can use with the Florida legislature to articulate a more humane set of metrics by which to evaluate FAU’s performance.”
She should actually resign.
She appears to have good relations with donors.
She lies routinely to faculty, is highly political and cares more about her power and authority than the college as a whole.
Dean Coltman is constantly promoting the college and effectively making decisions that will contribute growth to the college. Furthermore, although she is the final decision maker, she makes certain to consult others before making decisions that may affect other units.
Dean Coltman is constantly reaching out to donors to assist with funding for student, faculty and college needs. As the final decision maker, she consults with other administrators before making some final decisions. Her goal is to create a collegiate atmosphere not only in the college but with other colleges. She is constantly reaching out to other colleges to create a network for the benefit of the college and faculty.
Dean Coltman is transparent. She likes to keep everyone in the college, staff and faculty, updated on University matters. Although, it may be hard to share all, she makes certain we aware of matters that will affect the college.
In addition to being a college Dean, Dean Coltman continues her academic career as a faculty member by continued performances and graduate teaching. This is important as she brings credibility to our college, in addition to, understanding faculty needs such as research.
Become more available.
Our Dean has no idea of what she is doing. It is painful to observe. Her incompetency and dishonesty has demoralized many faculty members. She seems to want to be well-liked rather than honest to faculty about her decisions. One of the worst decisions was to appoint her in a non-interim position.
good job! very open to input
Very energetic. Lots of passion for the job.
Dean Coltman is constantly making sure that faculty and staff are aware of happenings in the college. In addition, she continues to advocate for the college by reaching out to other college administrator and outside sources.
She seems honest and is trying hard to make things better.
She should consider ending her term, and return back to her art. We need new blood, a refreshing break from the tired cronyism that is our college.

Comments on Interim Dean Daniel Gropper, College of Business

The university would be better served if Interim Dean Gropper would:

Make a greater effort to meet all of his faculty and in all departments of the college of business. He made a promise when he was hired to do just that….but forgot a few departments along the way.
Continue to perform as he has in the past year.
Reward his best teachers.
Communicate more regularly with all faculty. Include TEACHING as part of his strategy to improve the college – all resources are going to summer research grants and teaching has taken a back seat. It should be given its fair share on the playing field to ALSO reward excellence.
“Continue to maintain standards to ensure long-term quality and perception of the college of business.”

Additional comments about your Dean Gropper:

“Dean Gropper is just learning his job.
His focus on big name contributors and big name schools seems a bit overly done.”
He’s working hard to learn the ropes. We’ll see.
“Dean Gropper inherited a mess from the former Dean. He is handling things as well as anyone could under the circumstances. He is brighter than anyone here, he is articulate and very well informed, a first rate academic.
He has also established important contacts in the local business community. He appears to be a very hard worker and a quick study.
He has an excellent grasp of Promotion and Tenure issues, which is extremely important, as well as the need to create incentives for faculty research.
I was very impressed that he tried to get to know everyone as quickly as possible early on through one hour meetings, one on one. He is always ready to stop and talk with faculty when he sees them in on campus.
Perhaps most importantly, he is honest with people. Many of our problems stem from the lack of this characteristic in the previous regime.
Right now he is working with the people he inherited, but he will soon have to begin to replace indecisive Associate Deans and ineffective department chairs.
My one suggestion is that he should carefully review merit and equity raises before they are approved. I understand an Associate Dean made a serious spreadsheet error in calculating market equity that was not corrected. I probably benefited from this error, but that does not mean it was a good thing. He also needs to formalize faculty workload policies for all departments. This may be contentious, but if is done department by department it doesn’t need to be too disruptive.
In summary, our new dean is a breath of fresh air, sorely needed in this environment. Brenda Claibourne did one good thing, she hired Dan Gropper.”
He is too new to be able to comment.

Comments on Dean Rosalyn Carter, College for Design and Social Inquiry Comments:

The university would be better served if Dean Carter would:

retire.
Dr. Carter submitted her resignation last year. She is ready to retire. Has lost confidence of faculty and staff. Time for a change.
step down.
Not step down.
has decent function.

Additional comments about your College Dean:

Dean Carter has shown over the years, way too many, that she is unfit for the function of dean. Her ways to manage the college are questionable, disrespectful and unacceptable.
22 years in the position ?????

Comments on Dean Mohammad Illyas, College of Engineering and Computer Science

The university would be better served if your College Dean would:

It would be helpful if the Dean would be more proactive and assertive. He seems to try to wait out some very serious issues, letting them fester and affect morale, rather than face them head on.
Allow a new nationwide search for a new dynamic dean
Resign.
“have terms for the associate deans
Audit the department chair the last 5 years
promote research
have stronger support from administration
Resigned immediately
Dean and associate dean are useless. They have like that for the last 15 years. No improvements in the college. No initiatives. The college tried to replace him with new one. But no luck. The university should look to other universities nearby to see how they are hiring accomplished leaders. No leaderships skills whatsoever. Associate Dean Zilouchian is another drain on the resources of the College of Engineering. Need new leadership
“Audit the department chairs,Terms for associate and assistant deans. the college IT group should be fired.The deans office should oversee the start up packages “
“he uses faculty governance processes to make decisions in a collegial manner.Audit the department chairs. Eliminate his technical group. Give initiatives to his existing faculty. put terms to associate and assistant deans.”
The Dean should step down from the leadership position. Made no contribution to the college development during the last more than 10 years of his tenure in the College administration. Has preached about transparency in the college governance but promoted nothing but only parochialism.

Additional comments about your College Dean:

He is the “do nothing” dean.
He is a nice individual
The deans (Ilyas and Zilochian) have done nothing to the college for the past 13 years or more. They are practically useless. Dean has no administrative skills whatsoever with no accomplishments to backup. The university needs to wake up and appoint able administrators who have superb academic record and accomplishments. These two deans have stopped doing any thing for the past 13 years and need to be replaced. Retention is a huge problem and the associate Dean Ziloucian is doing nothing expecting spending time attending Ph.D. defenses and talking that problem exists. Dean Ilays does not have any public speaking abilities, no charisma and no fund raising ability with extremely poor academic background. FAU college of Engineering has extremely talented faculty. All it needs accomplished leader who can take the college to next level.
Need to go to departmental meeting more often.
Uncharismatic, non-leader with no vision for the college. Just a seat filler with no ideas of how to lead.
He is a very good person, I really like him
“There is a growing feeling/evidence for religion-based bias as apparent from an ongoing favoritism towards faculty, staff and students. This preferential treatment includes both decisions and actions, for example, hiring/promoting/rewarding faculty of a certain religion, as well as firing/demoting some other staff and faculty. Promotion of new international collaborative programs appears to comprise the same bias. The result is a demoralized college atmosphere where fear and mistrust triumph.”
“The dean should know that: the college staff and especially department staff are not efficient and not professional. Department staff are leaving in the middle of the day almost every day. The college staff should respect the faculty as the faculty should respect the staff. “
It is time for an immediate change in the College leadership position.

Comments on Valerie Dean Bristor, College of Education

The university would be better served if your College Dean would:

Allow chairs extreme favoritism
The COE should be poised to take a leadership role in southeast Florida, the state, nationally and internationally. Instead, the strength of our Dean is to maintain the status quo and complete acreditation and internal reports required by superiors in the organization. She was the best Senior Associate Dean we ever had and took thid Deanship on an Interim basis that rolled into a permanent position. We need a change.
The COE should not be flying its flag too high, we have a dean who has no vision or backbone. We need someone who can be willing to think outside the box and have more visions and stand up to the bully chairs and other admin making all the decisions affecting students and facutly.
Pay attention to how each dept. is functioning
Get rid of all the salary differences. [Name deleted] is paid $180,000 per year for teaching just one class; some department chairs are paid more than this amount. People of the same rank should be paid the same!
Supervise department chairs who are not responsive to students and faculty.
be replaced. She has demonstrated no vision and, at bests serves merely a caretaking function. Her lack of initiative and refusal to deal with problem faculty and staff is unacceptable. She has not been active like others deans of colleges of education in attracting funding for naming rights for the COE or for endowed professaors postions.
Be replaced.
Understand and participate in scholarship and research – learn from other deans nationally how to promote and support research
The adjunct faculty salary is not competitive.
Ask for equal pay for all faculty members.
Connect with new county school board personnel. Be more of a presence in Palm Beach and Broward county.
“Continue as Dean of the College of Education.”

Additional comments about Dean Bristor:

Step down for a new dean with vision
Stop all these bully chairs and admin like Dr. Kirsh from controlling and treating students and faculty so poorly
Stop all this nepotism in the COE hiring some many spouses, partners, sisters, etc. of other COE employees, appointing positions, like assist. professor to people who never applied or went through a stringent interview process for such positions
Get more funding for faculty for research and travel
Be present more on all campuses, giving weeks in advance so people know when you will visit
Nominate your faculty for local, state, and national awards
Stop allowing for mediocrity and poor leadership by poor chairs who are only bullies
Listen and support faculty and have a backbone to the chairs and assess admin.
Hire only assit, associ, or full professors no more CTI’s or instructors it causes too many problems
Get more and better pay for faculty, do something about compression and inflation to low salaries of long-term faculty
Dean Bristor is not a faculty advocate, she has no backbone in supporting faculty, she allows the chairs to treat faculty poorly and she allows for mediocre chairs running departments, she runs unfair evaluations and even though she knows everyone complains about chairs, she keeps them in those positions as they are yes people and kiss ups, yet ineffective in their roles, the COE is a mess right now, we need better and real leadership.
Val is nice, she cares, she listens, a sweet soul.”
The pay for adjunct faculty should be increased. It is not competitive.
The dean should implement “mandatory” retirement for quite some senior faculties and administrators who are around 70 years old! Make room for younger people! Do not let these folks die in office. They are raping FAU’s funds for doing nothing! It is ridiculous to keep these old timers. Some have “love” affairs and possess lousy teaching, no research. They should be forced to retire, period!
Use data more in making decisions about new faculty hires.
This Dean is too comfortable in this position and renders biased decisions based on whatever is told to her without making her own investigation. Budgets for certain departments are not transparent no matter how many times they are asked for review. Transparency in processes and the processes themselves are unlikely and unfair. A new Dean would give this college a fresh outlook and is needed to prohibit unbiased and preferential treatment to those who may be undeserving. Salaries in this department are uneven at best and may indicate gender bias. Inequitable salaries should be investigated, along with budgets for the college and individual units, inclusive of all grants. In addition, other biases of ethnicity may be apparent in certain departments. Morale is not at all even moderate in this college.
She is supportive, compassionate, and promotes the creativity of faculty. She is a strong advocate for the College of Education.
“The best Dean ever by any university standard!”
She is efficient, fair and maintains a positive outlook in difficult times.
Outstanding, hardworking administrator.

Comments on Dean Jeffery Buller, Honors College

The university would be better served if your Dean Buller would:

stop writing books on leadership and start solving problems
resign on his own terms before he is pushed out and embrace consulting full time

Additional comments on Dean Buller:

not clear to me why he is still here after years of poor numbers and declining morale

Comments on Dean William Miller, University Libraries

The university would be better served if Dean William Miller would:

None

Additional comments on Dean Miller:

None

Comments on Dean Marlaine Smith, College of Nursing

The university would be better served if Dean Marlaine Smith would:

Avoid micromanaging in favor of open, shared leadership
Stop hiding behind a caring illusion and see pay attention to what is really going on.
I have no criticisms. Dean Smith is an outstanding leader and I am very satisfied with her decisions.Additional comments about Dean Marlaine Smith:

Additional comments about your College Dean:

Continuing to have an Assistant Dean who is a non-NP leading the largest graduate program (NP) weakens the entire graduate program.
Under the leadership and support of Dean Smith, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing has increased external funding that has been awarded to faculty that support both programs and research. The College was very successful with obtaining reacreditation from CCNE. The College has also seen an increase in diversity among the faculty.
Dean Smith’s door is always open. She is approachable and cares about the faculty.
She uses the governance processes to actually hide or avoid issues.
Dr. Smith is an ideal leader; she is compassionate and caring yet decisive and fair. She holds the faculty to high standards and motivates us to achieve. The faculty are confident of her support and secure that she will make the best decisions for the college. She seeks input from the faculty before making decisions and has an open door policy.

Comments on Interim Dean Russ Ivy, College of Science

The university would be better served if your College Dean would:

Continue as Dean–not interim.
Have the courage to replace ineffectual, department chairs.
Be assigned to the position permanently.
Increase communication with the departments through visiting the faculty meetings at least once/year.
If the interim dean will remain as a full-time dean of the College of Science.
Meet with faculty at least twice a semester
Dean Ivy is the best.

Additional comments about Interim Dean Ivy:

I have little direct interaction with him, and even that is rather superficial. If there are no problems, then no news is good news.
Our dean is in an interim role. Consequently, he has been learning a tough job that he may or may not keep.
Nope

Comments on Associate Provost Anthony Abbate

The university would be better served if Associate Provost Abbate would:

Grow the Davie campus aggressively, especially in the face of rising competition for FTEs from FIU and BC.
Provide more support. Visit and get to know the faculty and the issues they face – he seems to be largely absent.
Become a visible administrator. Keep in touch with Broward faculty.
Frequent meeting with faculty
show up! what is he doing?
Eliminate some unnecessary positions.

Additional comments about Associate Provost Abbate:

Don’t know anything about his leadership or management. Never heard of this person.

Comments on Associate Provost Eliah Watlington

The university would be better served if Associate Provost Watlington would:

She is a great leader and very respected.
Be present
Get more money and improved technology for faculty in the north, computers are all too old
Very personable once one meets her.
I am not sure what she does. It seems like she could do more to help form a strategic plan that incorporates the Honors College into a broader plan for the campus.
Completely incompetent, invisible, useless. She should be removed and the position closed – there is no need for her.
She also talks to everyone like they’re three year olds.
Warm and professional.
I frankly have no idea what she does.
Has upgraded classrooms and atrium to improved the learning environment through use of resources from suspended campus.
Worked hard to move forward on northern campuses in difficult budget time.

Additional comments about Associate Provost Watlington:

This AP is better in another position due to the inequitable treatment of employees. She is more engaged in politics than running an integral past if the campus. There is rarely any follow through and faculty is low on a list of priorities. It is time for a change. This is an important campus and it is more like a park than an active university. The campus is under utilized, while it should play more of a role in FAU’s overall campus life. This AP has not performed well in this respect and in the manner of supporting faculty and staff. U
She needs to go back to be an assistant, associate, and full professor, she must earn respect, she has never been a professor before and has no clue what faculty really have to do. She doesn’t even have tenure and kissed her way up to the top and a title of assist. professor never even going through a search for a professorship.
She is not present or visible in the colleges in Jupiter, most do not know her as she never comes to our meetings.
We need someone who is sincere and who has gone through the ranks
Dr. Watlington uses her own power and kiss-up ways to even get her own sister/partner a job at FAU, so much nepotism here.
Since Kristin Murtaugh left the Jupiter campus looks dingy, the lawns and grounds are a mess, all is rundown and uncared for. We need a better leader, someone like Dennis Crudele or Provost Perry at the Jupiter Campus.
Does she have a discretionary budget? How is it being spent? There is no plan for the campus that I can see, beyond an increasing role for science
Associate provosts should be tenured professors; associate deans should be tenured associate professors at least.
FAU has been doing very strange things to promote their own friends, people of the same color if you will.
Dr. Watlington takes the time to understand a problem before deciding how to solve it. We appreciate her calm approach. She is never caught in a situation where issues become our “do it now” tasks. She respects our time, and plans so that we may respond to any FAU request most effectively.

Comments for Dean Barry Rosson, Graduate College

The university would be better served if Dean ROSSON would:

quit
be more visible.
be in this position another 5 years
leave
is the FAU President.
He is a great leader and really nice individuals
Dean Rosson should step down.
straighten out the mess in the Graduate College — but that’s someone else’s job now, and I hope she is able to get things in order
Replaced him and that is good. New interim dean understands faculty and student issues. She listens. Why does this form not allow faculty to rate the new dean?
Dr. Rosson was removed from his position part way through the year. It is too early to determine if the replacements can undo the damage.
To permanently replace him.
Take faculty more into account.
stop building a bureaucratic empire that doesn’t do anything to make the university better.
just resign, which has already happened. And now Deborah Flloyd is in charge. Not sure if this is much of an improvement.
BE FIRED
Step down so that someone less concerned with paperwork/rules and more concerned about real issues, such as graduate research and education, can lead.
Resign.
I have never met Dean Rosson and have only glimpsed him on one or two occasions, even though I am a member of the University’s “Graduate faculty.” Perhaps I should make an appointment with one of his administrative assistants to have coffee and discuss my research program.
Stop creating cumbersome and unnecessary rules and procedures.
Be fired. His is the most incompetent, obnoxious, self-centered office on campus.
Needs to step down and leave FAU
Dean Rosson stepping down was a huge benefit to the university!
be the university president
Disappear, which wouldn’t change anything
Bravo!
supply information to academic units in a timely manner.
Rosson should replace Floyd! Floyd is not an ethical person/unqualified! She has a history of promoting self interest and fighting with other faculty members!!!
leave-has done nothing positive here and has made the environment hostile with his attitudes
It is about time that he was demoted.
Do nothing.
Dean Rosson is no longer in this position so why are we answering these questions?
He is no longer the dean so why are we being asked to evaluate him? New dean is already much more effective.
Consider the functionality of the paper trail he is requesting of our students and faculty
Was still Graduate Dean
Neew graduate Dean.
His successor needs to streamline cumbersome policies and procedures in the Grad College — degrees are bestowed by departments, and departments should assume more of the administrative functions.
He stepped down and Deb Floyd is serving as interim, but Floyd is an atrocious, highly self-centered individual. She should be gone from that position. She fights with many faculties. Perhaps she was removed from her former college as an administrator many years ago.
resign
Kind of a moot question…
He has been replaced
He has already resigned so I do not understand why the UFF has included him on this survey. The new graduate dean is much more responsive to faculty and students. Breath of fresh air. We are already feeling relief! Thanks!
Leave.

Additional comments about Dean ROSSON:

Keep new interim graduate dean in the job but replace the new interim Vice President. She works well with faculty. He does not.
A continued disaster has been averted by replacing Dr. Rosson. Dr. Rossini has built a pseudo empire while budgets were constrained. Bureaucracy and egoism were at the pinnacle of his management style. Please do not being him back to this post. Possibly, it’s time for him to find another position external from FAU. He hurt morale through a very difficult time.
The higher administration should just eliminate the entire Graduate College. The graduate programs worked more effectively without this administrative office. If huge budget cuts come down from Tallahassee then the higher administration should start by cutting the excess money devoted to administration itself and the Graduate College is the best place to start. In my experience, this division creates an unnecessary level of paperwork merely to rationalize its existence and make it relevant to the university. I don’t think the Graduate College contributes in any positive way to FAU’s learning environment and too often is an obstacle rather than a facilitator of necessary administrative tasks. Without a doubt, the money devoted to this College would be better spent elsewhere.
One of FAU’s worst administrators EVER!
He managed to ruin BOTH Graduate College and Division of Research!!!!
Great person and dynamic leader
He is not running the Graduate College any longer because he made such a mess of it.
Still no idea what this dean does.
He will be missed
Barry Roson never should have assumed the vice president and dean role combined. Doing so took away from the role of graduate dean. The new graduate dean is a good hire…very responsive and understands faculty and student issues well. Has a “can do” attitude.
Mr. Rosson has to be the absolute worst administrator at FAU, possibly in the whole country. Every interaction I’ve had with his office has been bad. Incompetent and unhelpful to the max. It’s speaks very badly for the University that he’s still here in any capacity. I have nothing good to say about him. If he never set foot on campus again, it would be too soon.
None. I hear he took away a large amount of salary from FAU. Then, other faculties and staff are slaves. Unfair and unethical. Our principle should be: from each according to his ability, to each according to his work. Some parasites should be gone.
Too bureaucratic.
He’s no longer graduate dean, is he?
He is one of the worst paper pushers ever, he should of stepped down with the old president and provost, he is the worst, so incompetent and useless.
What does he do except create paperwork? Does he know what a graduate program is?
Dean Rosson has proved to be an opportunist.
He is a non-entity
Rosson should not take that amount of salary if he replaced the unethical/unqualified Floyd!
he has done nothing positive since arriving here and has done a disservice to the university
Nice person but…
This guy was a nightmare.
na – Barry is gone
The most unqualified Dean ever.
Wish him well, but it was time for a change. Floyd is doing an excellent job.

Comments for Dean Edward Pratt, Undergraduate Studies Dean

The university would be better served if Dean PRATT would:

be less reticent, but his personality is what it is.
continue to develop the support systems for students, like the writing center and the math center. We need more of this kind of help for our struggling students.
continue to bring in great leaders like Donna Chamely-Wilk and Jenny Peluso to invigorate teaching and learning at FAU.
quit
Set firm project timelines for himself, do the work to get things done. Delegation is not the key.
Step down. There is a loss of confidence in him. Just look at the graduation rates, and the response (unstudied) to them.
Resume control over the undergraduate research grant program
The quality of the lower-level, general education curriculum, particularly the Math and Physics, is horrendous. The nice glossy posters about UG Research are pretty, but without the necessary training in the first and second years – UG research is pretty ineffective.
Communicate with faculty. I have not received any updates or emails from him during the 2013-2014 academic year that I can recall.
Remain in this position.
I do not exactly know what Dean Pratt does, aside from drawing what is likely a substantial salary and performing various bureaucratic functions. He appears to be a nice man.
Be fired.
In for too long, he needs to step down
GO away and save the University some money.
oversee more university operations…he has been an excellent administrator
Keep up the good work.
Be less “top down” – He should seek more input from faculty and visit faculty and even step into classrooms.
Hope we keep him.
Appoint a faculty member to work on the honors program full time or close to full time (on a 1-1 load).
No comments about these hiding administrators.
be replaced by someone more capable and professional.
Too many administrative staff in undergraduate programs.
Be released from this position. He works as a consultant? How is he to do his job when his time and energy is hijacked due to his personal quest of consulting?
consult with faculty when devising policy documents, and by that I mean that there are Undergraduate Directors in every department who are attuned to the advising needs of their undergraduate students. Dean Pratt should be consulting with these departmental experts in drafting policy documents so that the language reflects the pedagogical goals and educational mission of the university. Right now, it appears that policy is being driven by faulty metrics and new funding interests that are completely divorced from the educational needs of our students. I’m especially thinking of the new advising policy document that was circulated recently and uses punitive language to discourage students from enrolling in a minor or double major program.

Additional comments about Dean PRATT:

worse than Rosson
Nothing positive ever comes from dean Pratt except for endless and pointless paperwork which takes time from research and providing quality education.
I like Dean Pratt as a person, but really have no dealings with him.
The follow through on projects seem to become the responsibility of someone else.
Dean Pratt is looking weak and ineffective these days, in light of the crisis that’s been identified at FAU. One could argue it’s due to his mismanagement. I’m not sure, because I like him, but clearly something’s gone awry. Plus, the quality of students and work has gone down, in my estimation.
Great Dean!
The transition to online SPOTs could have been handled better.
Thoroughly supportive of faculty who work with him, and of students who need support.
he needs to be more dynamic. Great personality
Nice guy. Doesn’t have a big ego, just cares about doing a good job.
Dean Pratt has supported faculty.
Put someone line Susannah Brown in this position, a real student advocate who cares and is competent. This guy has been in too long and is ineffective, the flag is not flying high with this guy in this job
Who is he? Really?
Another administrative non-entity
Seems rather disorganized about some programming in areas of admissions and registrar functions. CLASS program is excellent. Undergraduate research program with mentoring is excellent and should be funded and replicated at the graduate level.
Dr. Pratt appears to be a very competent administrator. He assesses student and faculty’ needs.

Comments for Tammy Ferguson, Principal/Director of Florida Atlantic University Schools

The university would be better served if Principal/Director FERGUSON would:

treat faculty equitably,
be less domineering, and
promote communication among faculty.
Stop allowing parents and students to run the school. Hold students to higher standards of respect and responsibility. Support all teachers without biased.
Please keep the faculty informed and implement the policies that the administration has actually put in place. We seem to have random rules that are selectively enforced. Further, have productive meetings and professional development on PDD days, rather than designated meetings.

Additional comments about Principal/Director FERGUSON:

Dr. Ferguson does an excellent job leading the school to excellence and having high standards for students and teachers.
The greatest concern for Ferguson is her public persona or personal image. She is not concerned with the school’s culture or if teachers are informed of decisions and policies. Most teachers, except for an inner circle have been removed from the decision-making process. There is a “lead by intimidation” model in place.

Comments for Assistant Dean Joel Herbst

The university would be better served if Assistant Dean HERBST would:

have a better understanding of the work the teachers do and value teachers for that work. He has a condescending attitude.
Make it clear what somebody in his position is actually responsible for.
Engage in conversations with faculty. The school would also benefit if all of the children were a priority beyond his own or the science initiative. Also, hold Ferguson and administrative staff accountable to implement the policies that share his name and are in place. Get control of the school board, as it is nothing more than an extension of administration.

Additional comments about Assistant Dean HERBST:

Dean Herbst is a wonderful administrator. As a teacher at Henderson I see Dean Herbst on a weekly basis and feel appreciated by him. He works hard and goes the extra mile to encourage us and give positive feedback.
Aside from a few pet projects and standing around looking semi-lifelike at functions, his purpose is not clear.
There seems to be a fear element and distance associated with Herbst. He has made little effort to get to know members of his faculty and keep them informed of University and legislative issues.

2014 Administrator Survey: Comments (11/2/2014)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply