Written Comments from UFF-FAU 2007-08 Faculty Survey of Administrators

COMMENTS ON PRESIDENT FRANK BROGAN

Responses completing the sentence beginning with

“Question # 6:   The university would be better served if the President would . . .”:

take ownership of issues (budget and others); provide direction from the top.

be more aggressive.  Brogan seems to try his best in the current fiscal crisis but should be more vocal in informing the University community as to how he is fighting for FAU with the state.

knock some sense into his Republican colleagues who seem to believe that education at all levels can operate on sunshine and smiles.  The high-tech workforce they claim to want can neither be conjured up by their words nor taught by them.  That workforce must be trained (requiring resources) and then paid well (reflecting attitudes about the workforce).  Otherwise, future Floridians will wind up just like them – as dumb as dirt!  Generally, most faculty, administrators and staff at FAU work hard, strive to become better, and care about what they do.  But that’s not enough:  they must vote the morons out of office!

provide academic leadership; appoint better people.

reorganize the administrative offices of FAU and modernize the University.  He needs to look for academic insights from the faculty senate (not just the Provost).

fire the Provost; ensure that more full time faculty are employed than administrators.  Administrators outnumber faculty! … Why are we not evaluating the Graduate College Dean?  He deserves an “F” for his first year.  He does not listen, creates work for others, and is not necessary.  Abolish the Graduate College!

hire a new provost who practiced shared governance with faculty and who approached change from a collegial perspective rather than an authoritarian one.  Tragically, the new dean of graduate studies is using the same top-down, backdoor style as the Provost.  The President will lose faculty support if he allows the current provost to continue.

be more open and transparent in decision making.

be more engaged with the faculty – walk around, visit, invite “ordinary people” (faculty!) to the many gatherings that only upper administrators attend.

listen more and talk less.

dedicate his time to providing the faculty with a strong academic environment, and raise faculty salaries.

place greater emphasis on improving the educational environment at FAU.  He has been successful in raising money to bring a stadium to FAU.  Why not use these effective tools to improve the academic environment at FAU (raising faculty salaries, creating endowed chair positions from philanthropic connections, improving academic standards, etc.)?  If Brogan is unable to do this, or is unwilling, then he should step aside.

focus his efforts on research and academics.

pay more attention to faculty concerns about the academic administration.

listen – and take an interest in the academic side of the University.

support the faculty.  Even in speaking publicly he fails to recognize faculty achievements on campus and instead follows the political – attributing successes to politically expedient individuals.  There is no indication that he is aware of faculty issues.

actively fundraise and lobby for FAU.

push for higher standards for admission to the University.

stop being so political; earn a terminal degree; cut down on the verbiage; listen and allow others to speak in meetings.

support turning FAU into a research university with more than just words.  President Brogan is okay.  But he needs to get more resources for research and scholarship.  He also needs to acknowledge the College of Arts and Letters and its achievements in his State of the University address.

take an interest in individual departments and ensure money for teaching resources such as up-to-date AV equipment.

care more about academic quality than public popularity.

take a proactive rather than a reactive (and avoidance) approach to the budget crisis.  The Davenport incident was demoralizing and embarrassing.  It demonstrated disdain for Florida’s sunshine legislation and the University community.

never allow someone to resign and “pay them off”; be protective of the University and keep us off the front page concerning agreements made only between two highly paid persons.

stop paying people he fires huge amounts of money.

be sensitive to the consequences and outcomes of his decisions regarding high-profile compensation.

pay back Davenport with his own money.

learn from his mistakes.  President Brogan’s leadership gets worse with each passing year.  He does dumb things like giving Davenport a cool half million and then lying to cover it up.  And still, he shmoozes the trustees who won’t even give him a slap on the wrist.  Then he pays foreign teachers just $5000, claiming lamely that FAU needed the rest of the grant money to administer the relevant program.  Then, a student is spat upon by an FAU employee and Brogan does nothing, even after students petition him.  The sad part is that he gets away with all of this because he has become a local celebrity.  He needs to be held accountable for once.  The lies over Davenport alone would have gotten anyone else fired.

be more sensitive to how his decisions to literally throw away hundreds of thousands of dollars would “play to the faculty.”

cut higher salaries instead of classes (with the budget cut).

promote academics not football.

focus on academics not football!

spend $62 million on faculty.

convert the mansion into additional housing for poor students.  Think of the poor.

remember the chain of command.

go back to being the politician he is.

go back to being a junior high principal.  The political clout that made up for his  lack of university experience has brought us nothing, and after five years he still hasn’t learned anything about what a university is.

get a job that he is suited for, maybe as a principal or superintendent.  He is a politician.  He should have a doctorate and have been a tenured professor to be a role model.  He has disappointed in his ethics and handling of issues brought up in the Palm Beach Post – he seems unethical and he is a liar.  He should not lie and cheat; he should stop the corruption and greed.  He should do a better job.  FAU should not always fly its flag so high:  it is mediocre at best, especially putting people like Brogan, McPherson and Watlington in positions that they were never qualified for – this has brought our standards down and has made us mediocre.  He should improve parking for faculty (on the Jupiter campus).  He should get more travel and professional funding for faculty.  There is too much emphasis on sports now at FAU.

run for governor, teach elementary school, retire.

step down, dissolve his position and use the money for across-the-board faculty raises.  He should also eliminate all vice presidents except one, do away with top-heavy administrative positions which are sinking the University in a sea of unproductive debt, while delivering only deficits and nothing else.

be replaced.  Five years are long enough to demonstrate his ability.  Perhaps a new president will be better.

be someone else.

be fired.

leave.  He could better serve in an office or state office, not a university.

quit.

step down.

resign.  He has no credibility.  His actions last term regarding an attack on a student were shameful and embarrassed FAU.  Waiting until December to refer to an October attack by an FAU staff member shows that Brogan does not see beyond his own reflection.

resign or be fired.  FAU will never move forward with this unqualified, political hack.

resign.

resign.

resign.

resign.

resign.

resign.

resign.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

President Brogan is an outstanding leader for FAU.  His presence energizes growth and development of the institution.

FAU is becoming a better and better school!

A fun guy who is good for FAU.

I think he’s weathered criticisms well, but I’d like to see him bolster the academic standing of Arts and Letters more.

He seems to be doing okay.  Too much emphasis is on the cuts in the budget.  The University should reduce administrators’ salaries by 10% and go on an eleven-month pay scale.

Perhaps with improved resources President Brogan might do more for students and faculty.  Yet wasn’t he brought to FAU as the resource person?

Hard to call.  Brogan loves FAU.  So why are we struggling so despite this?

I don’t know what to recommend for President Brogan.  He seems like a decent, hard-working person, yet FAU is in worse shape today than when he arrived.  I think people were hoping for a windfall because of his political connections and it never materialized.  I realize that the state’s financial situation is bad, but it seems that our “piece of the pie” is smaller than it used to be.

He did a good job with the stadium but what about the academics?  More needs to be done for academics if “building world-class academic programs and research capacity” is a true goal of the strategic plan.  Kudos to the various educational collaborations, but please continue to nurture and support them once they are established.

He needs to pay closer attention to academics – to the health of the colleges, departments, and faculty.  It is great to focus on students but do not kill the faculty in the process.  He must demonstrate greater respect for faculty, particularly in public!  It’s little wonder that students are losing respect for faculty – when the President trashes faculty in front of students and external guests to the University.

FAU has always been “second class” among state universities, even in “good” economic periods.  Now the economy is bad.  There is no plan except a freeze.  Many faculty members work hard every day and have better ideas to develop FAU at much more competitive levels.  The President should listen to their voices.

Self-serving in general.

The impression here is of a political appointee serving out his time in Coventry until he re-enters politics.

He needs to learn the job, seems disinterested.  One doesn’t need to have a Ph.D. to succeed.  He needs to invite faculty to his office every day for “coffee with the President.”

Does one have to elaborate?  He is enrolled at Lynn for a Ph.D.  ‘Nough said.

He should be fired after the recent scandals.  At a time, and in an atmosphere, where funding is being cut dramatically, his mis-steps have cost the University.

The Davenport matter, and the damn football stadium, tell you everything you need to know about this fellow.  I gave him a chance when others called him a political hack and worse, and for my trouble I awoke to find the $600,000 hush money in the news rather than functioning technology in my classroom; a grandiose plan for a stadium rather than sanitary bathrooms; and Barry Kaye, full of unkept promises, masquerading as a professor.  Frank Brogan has smiled his way to the complete humiliation of academia.

COMMENTS ON PROVOST JOHN PRITCHETT

Responses completing the sentence beginning with

“Question # 8:   The university would be better served if the Provost would . . .”:

continue on the administrative paths that he now follows.  A great Provost – approachable, friendly … and just a nice guy!  He’s also tough, but fair, when he has to be and has academics as his fist priority.

continue.

get out to meet with faculty.

be more in touch with faculty members.

visit faculty and discuss policies.

speak directly to the faculty, by college every month or six weeks.

be more consultative with faculty and not see policy as top down, through deans to chairs to faculty.  He has real potential but tends to be a loner or at least too removed from regular faculty, who should have more of a voice in academic policy.

communicate more clearly with faculty.  Our college (COE) has some very poor leadership, including the dean and several of the chairs.  It’s difficult for faculty to be effective with this lack of direction.

oversee bad management practices at the chair and dean level.  Faculty have no recourse for issues with their chair or dean, no confidence in the chain of command when bad leadership is rewarded.

visit our college more often without administrators; keep working on prerequisites when students enroll in classes  (i.e., stopping those who lack prerequisites); have deans submit a financial report to the faculty every year in September.

pay more attention to what goes on within the colleges.

know more of what is going on with the university.  The level of morale is low among the faculty.

come to one departmental meeting.  I like him.  He is easy to talk to and understands academia.

be more visible.  I have not seen him in over a year.  The only contact I have with him is in the form of e-mails from his office.

rethink the goals of the University and how administrative actions may actually undermine those goals.  This may require change in the provost’s office.

promote academic excellence and the teaching programs.

keep higher standards of scholarly activity.

be a stronger academic leader.

have a stronger academic presence.  This place needs a Provost who demonstrates at every possible opportunity his support for faculty involvement in curriculum, standards, academic atmosphere, etc.  He should get out of the Administration Building and out among the faculty more for input unfiltered by deans and administrators.  He should raise the sights of this faculty.

follow through with his promise to work for the faculty providing a better academic atmosphere and raising salaries.

institute changes in current policy to move FAU forward – improving academic rigor, quality of education, faculty retention, etc.

raise the standards at FAU.  Weak faculty, staff, and students are making this institution remain weak.

be a leader in formulating and advancing an overall academic personality for the University, rather than taking refuge in bureaucratic minutiae when an issue arises.

put the interests of FAU above his own petty dislikes.

establish superprofessorships for exceptionally contributing faculty.

raise the academic standards for admission to the University.

respect the voice of the faculty on hiring decisions.

hire more women and minority administrators, particularly deans.

stop playing favorites among faculty and colleges; begin to believe in faculty governance – not be skeptical about it.  I have lost trust in the Provost this year.  He comes off as being disingenuous – more worried about the appearance of faculty input than about its substance.

view the Arts and Letters College as the foundation of the University.  He should never refer to us as a service college (as he did at the last faculty assembly).  He should not send memos regarding student absences without first addressing the lack of adequate advising of student athletes (i.e., student athletes should not be put in courses with Friday discussion sections during their season – a commonsense restriction).

be more aware of FAU’s differences across campuses in terms of resources and support.

provide clear expectations; control his emotional reactions.

increase his sense of integrity, and exhibit courage.

be more honest with faculty.  For example, he tells the University Faculty Senate that summer employment will be fine and then lets deans threaten to hire adjuncts over faculty for a second summer course.

not simply fall in step with the powers in control before he came.

move on from FAU.  He doesn’t care much about education; he is not visible at all campuses; he has low standards and keeps FAU a mediocre university.  He should care more about quality, get more research and travel funding for the faculty – more money is also needed for professional development and for office supplies and needs.  There is too much emphasis on sports now at FAU.  Professors are leaving FAU and the Florida University System in droves.  Why would anyone want to stay here, where low pay, low quality, and mediocrity reign?

be removed by a vote of the faculty.  He came with strong faculty support but was not able to uphold academic priorities in southeast Florida.

retire or leave.  Budget cuts are being taken on the backs of faculty and he is doing a poor job protecting academics.  Hiring his Auburn buddies in high paying V.P. and Dean jobs is unprofessional and an abuse of his powers.  He talks a good game, but has been a huge disappointment.  Faculty should vote no-confidence and get rid of this ineffective man!

leave.  The hiring of a colleague at a high salary to oversee a completely dysfunctional division is unacceptable in the current economic climate, especially when that colleague does nothing to improve the inadequate and incompetent Division of Sponsored Research anyway.  The Provost is completely out of touch with the faculty, making proclamations and demands for more time commitments from the faculty (such as graduation ceremonies) when he is also slashing budgets, freezing hires and otherwise making us manage on less resources.  He should resign.

leave.

resign or be fired.  FAU will never achieve a national reputation with this provost.

resign.  He is hurting the University and the educational process.

resign.

resign.

retire.  The Provost has buried the University in a centralized bureaucracy.  Responsibility is passed down the administrative hierarchy.  He has no long-term vision for FAU.

retire.  The Provost is too far removed from the life of faculty and operates as if he knows best and does not need faculty input.  He obtains superficial input and does not function in a transparent manner. He snubs his nose at shared governance.

retire.  He is not an academic; he is a self-involved power-hungry bureaucrat.  That we can not do better is indeed frightening.  Please.

retire.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Nothing to add – he’s the best!

A fine administrator.

I’ve only met him twice.  He seems to be a fantastic provost.

Wow!  Hiring an incompetent buddy from Auburn and paying him $250,000 a year in this budget climate?  Very disappointing.

He sides with administrators against faculty – enough said!

There is an ivory tower mentality that the letter of processes is to be respected while ignoring the spirit.

He does not care about the viewpoints of faculty.

He seems overly enamored of some deans, even after 360º evaluations that are not completely favorable.  He is out of touch with what faculty and staff are experiencing and feeling about their deans and directors.

There is a need to hold the deans accountable!  Two years ago in the 360º Dean’s evaluation it was said that financial matters would be more transparent – but the Dean has hidden funds that she uses to advance her own agenda.  For example, selected Nursing faculty are still having travel support when there is a state-wide freeze.  The Dean’s Office gets more new furniture (note that the building is only two years old and opened with all new furniture).  The Nursing Building should be open to all university classes – there are days when space is completely empty.

The Division of Research, Contracts and Grants (post-award) needs to carry out all duties as required in a professional manner, up to the highest standards.  This division was created to support FAU faculty and staff, not vice versa.

I had hoped to hear more from him.  He is not much of a presence.

Hard to tell – little interaction.

I do not know him.

I do not know his duties or performance.

I have no clue what this person does.

I have no clue about what he does.

COMMENTS ON VICE PRESIDENT GERRI MCPHERSON

(TREASURE COAST CAMPUS)

Responses completing the sentence beginning with

“Question # 8:   The university would be better served if the Vice President would . . .”:

be more visible to students and faculty.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Gerri McPherson, Eliah Watlington, and Frank Brogan need to get doctorates and have been professors before holding tenure-track professorial lines.  They are poor role models because they have never walked the walk of the faculty.

COMMENTS ON VICE PRESIDENT KRISTEN MURTAUGH

(MACARTHUR CAMPUS)

Responses completing the sentence beginning with

“Question # 8:   The university would be better served if the Vice President would . . .”:

interact more with the faculty and staff, hold regular meetings with campus community members for important decisions.  Not sure how much weight this survey carries.  Seems that the administration doesn’t care what the faculty and staff think.

be more visible and focused on academics and working with faculty.

be more visible on campus.

retire.  Save money by not replacing her.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

She does a good job.

Dr. Murtaugh needs to be more visible.  We have few interactions with her.  Ms. McPherson is more interactive with faculty.

She needs to retire – too mediocre and status quo – we need some new blood.  Parking for faculty is a major problem – you have to walk one mile to your office; there is too much emphasis on sports and crafty events; she needs to be more scholarly.

COMMENTS ON VICE PRESIDENT JOYANNE STEPHENS

(BROWARD CAMPUSES)

Responses completing the sentence beginning with

“Question # 8:   The university would be better served if the Vice President would . . .”:

continue her work.

consult with faculty; be more available.

find additional funds for the Davie campus.

be a stronger advocate for keeping resources in and on the Broward campuses.  I never hear anything from this officer.  I have no idea what if any accomplishments she has made.  She is too submissive to the whims of her main campus administrators.  She should be more vocal and communicative in regard to plans for the Broward campuses.

be seen.

make faculty aware of what her office is doing to assist during these tight fiscal times – aside from printing glossy color brochures that are actually mailed to home addresses rather than simply distributed in mail boxes – what a waste, in a time when we are all urged to tighten our belts!

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

She is around from time to time.  She is pleasant to work with.

Hardworking; helpful.

High energy level.  More follow through is needed.

If there are not resources to expend, always just cuts and more cuts, how can we judge how she expends them?  I guess we can still say, “The lights are still on,” but who knows how long that will last?

I wish she were not retired!

She has no presence.

I honestly do not know who she is.

I never heard of this person.

I don’t even know who this person is.  Does that tell you anything?  I think most of us expect Broward to be ultimately eliminated.

COMMENTS ON DEAN ANNE BOYKIN (NURSING)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Dean would . . .”:

spend more time with faculty and the day-to-day operations of all campuses.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Dean Boykin has an open door policy and is always willing to provide support and guidance.

Shows favoritism – some faculty in the college are being given travel support, even with the University freeze.  She is unwilling to maintain academic standards or support faculty.  She has made promises with the clear intent of furthering herself and then does not honor the promises she made.  She is more concerned about her building than the people in it.  It is interesting that we can’t have T.A. support for large classes but there is new mulch in the garden and new furniture in the Dean ‘s office!

COMMENTS ON DEAN JEFFREY BULLER (HONORS COLLEGE)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Dean would . . .”:

increase transparency.

proactively deal with personnel.

be more cognizant of the needs of the faculty and serve as a mediator between the disciplines.  He has become detached from the faculty.

move on to another position elsewhere.  He has limited understanding of honors education, is unable or unwilling to address the needs of faculty outside of the humanities, has no talent for fund raising, is a poor advocate for the Honors College.  The dean and associate dean jobs should be combined to save money.

resign.

COMMENTS ON DEAN ROSALYN CARTER (CAUPA)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Dean would . . .”:

listen to departmental wishes, listen to faculty.

get more resources.

exercise stronger leadership, especially in these fiscally challenging times.  (Although this is not to suggest that she do so without taking faculty input into consideration.  In fact, when she has to make distasteful decisions, it would be beneficial to inform faculty why their recommendations could not be implemented.)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

She never comes by our office.

COMMENTS ON DEAN DENNIS COATES (BUSINESS)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Dean would . . .”:

be more visible to faculty on a regular basis.  There is also an impression among students that he is inaccessible.

press for faster access by the College to Barry Kaye endowment money that can be used for academic purposes.

actually work instead of coming in late, leaving early and playing solitaire all day.

leave.  Has no stature.  Consistently violates the collective bargaining agreement.

resign.

resign.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

He is the best dean I’ve had.

Total corruption and nepotism in the College of Business!  Third world!

COMMENTS ON DEAN MICHAEL FRIEDLAND (BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Dean would . . .”:

put his foot down with “whiny” (spelling?) faculty, they slow us down and are unprofessional.

run the College less like the dictator of a small country.  The Dean has never run any academic unit and should never have been appointed.

resign.

be removed.

be fired.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Excellent leader, mentor.

This dean does not take responsibility for anything, ignores problems, promotes a hostile work environment, and selects junior faculty without security to head committees appointed by him – refusing to permit election of committees as demanded by our by-laws.

Some faculty are treated as second-class citizens.

COMMENTS ON DEAN GARY PERRY (SCIENCE)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Dean would . . .”:

continue.

continue the policies and administrative procedures that he is now following.  A wonderful dean – the best administrator that I’ve ever served under.  He has revitalized the College after the Wiesenfeld-Dean debacle.

be here for a long time.  It is difficult to have some one else better than him.

improve the quality of the faculty, staff and students to the best of his ability.

come to one departmental meeting during the year.

interact more often with the faculty.

communicate better; follow through with initiatives the College starts.  There seems to be no multi-year plan or strategy on the College’s development.  It’s all “wait and see” – nothing gets done in the end.

get the resources he needs, including faculty salaries.

have a budget to actually work with (there’s no money).

be more influential.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

So far he is doing his best under the current circumstances.

I appreciated his meeting with the instructors last fall.

COMMENTS ON DEAN KARL STEVENS (ENGINEERING)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Dean would . . .”:

provide vision, strive to achieve quality in teaching, and create an environment for promoting research.  He does not consult and consider the viewpoints of faculty.  Too much time is wasted in green-building concept promotion.

retire.  His office is way oversized and absorbs resources that could be better used for T.A.’s, etc.

resign.

resign.

step down.

COMMENTS ON DIRECTOR WILLIAM MILLER (LIBRARY)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Director would . . .”:

focus on the primary mission of the Library and University, especially during this time of decreasing budgets.  The Director does consult with faculty and staff, but does he listen?

at least listen to the comments, ideas, suggestions of his faculty and staff.  He does consult faculty before making some important decisions, but usually knows what he’s going to do anyway.  He consults faculty just to make it seem like he’s soliciting our input even though he already knows what the outcome will be.

listen to and act upon staff complaints about a certain abusive associate director.  It is a tragic waste of human resources when staff become apathetic and demoralized because they feel their concerns are not heard or valued.

not rely on a certain associate director.  Assignments are a joke – few get duties that are up to their skill and potential.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The administration has done well in dealing with difficult library donors, but should spend less time and resources to that end if it does not help broaden areas of the Library or students.  I am very concerned about the Library’s web presence with its awkward web page and navigability.   I also see that the director and administration needs to improve collaboration between departments and the Library because it affects work flow, development of ideas, and overall morale.

COMMENTS ON DIRECTOR GLENN THOMAS (HENDERSON SCHOOL)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Director would . . .”:

be more present and involved at Henderson.

not be spread so thin.

COMMENTS ON PRINCIPAL MARLA BRADY (HENDERSON SCHOOL)

Responses completing the statement beginning with

“Question # 9: The university would be better served if the Principal would . . .”:

delegate responsibility consistently and communicate more with faculty.

be less biased, and follow through with set goals.  Issues still remain with favoritism among faculty.

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