In This Issue Current Issue Archives

April, 2006

Academic Leader - April, 2006 - Full Issue PDF
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Financial Leadership from a Medieval Point of View
By J. A. Sheppard, PhD
Universities can be subtle keepers of tradition. For instance, one of the first university endowments was created from feelings of being “unjustly vexed” and “enormously damnified.” It was in 1260 that John Balliol apparently caused these ill feelings by somehow offending the lord of an English castle. To make amends, John presented himself at the Durham Abbey, was publicly scourged by the bishop, and pledged perpetual maintenance for poor scholars. The upshot of John’s penance was Balliol College, Oxford. My colleague in institutional advancement liked the idea of public whipping for some donors. He suspected that it might be a useful way to boost the annual fund but doubts whether exacting money in such a way can be called charitable giving.

Look to Midcareer Faculty for Learning Communities
Studies on faculty careers show that faculty research publication productivity plateaus or drops at midcareer. However, this one measure of faculty productivity should not be mistaken as stagnation, says Shari Ellertson, an assessment consultant at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, who conducted research on faculty “vitality,” or the intensity of engagement with their work.

Collegiality as Selection Criterion in the Search Process
By Bob Cipriano, EdD, and Peter Madonia, EdD
Personnel procedural manuals identify the qualities that characterize the environment in which good decisions about new hires and those who advance to tenure rank are generally achieved—things such as collaborative work, positive attitudes, flexibility, positive interpersonal relationships within the university community, and the demonstration of appropriate levels of responsibility with respect to one’s work in the university. These documents make clear the culture of the university community when it comes to the business of personnel decisions concerning faculty members related to merit pay increases, promotion, reappointment, and tenure. In judging any individual for reappointment, merit pay increase, tenure, and/or promotion, these important factors weigh heavily on the future success of the individual and also have the potential to greatly impact the work of the department.

Striving for Integrity in Research, Teaching, and Service
By Charlotte Brasic Royeen, PhD
What is integrity in research, teaching, and service, and how do we promote it? This is an important and emerging topic at many institutions right now, and one with which most chairs and deans are grappling. We see the attempt to regulate human behavior in terms of integrity with institutional research and practice policies addressing conflict of interest, conflict of commitment, etc. The pertinent concepts and terminology, let alone federal, legal, and ethical requirements and/or recommendations from various agencies, organizations, and disciplines, can be quite daunting.

Dealing with Disruptive Students
Most professors will have to deal with classroom disruptions at some point, from the relatively minor—students who show up for class late or who talk excessively—to the more serious—disrespectful, uncivil, or threatening student behavior. It’s the role of the department chair to create a culture that helps prevent and deal with disruptive behavior effectively.

Quick Quotes
William Jennings, chair of the Department of Finance, Real Estate, and Insurance at California State University–Northridge

Parting Shot: Should Government Protect “Intellectual Diversity” at Colleges?
By Thomas R. McDaniel, PhD
Well, here we go again. In a narrow vote, the South Dakota Senate rejected a bill that was designed to ensure “intellectual diversity in the free exchange of an array of ideas” on college campuses in the state. We in the academy should certainly embrace support from our state legislators that endorses such a concept. But (and here is the clinker), why is such legislation necessary? Is it designed to support the precious tenets of academic freedom? Is it to make sure that in the American society—which is increasingly diverse in every respect imaginable—respect for religious and cultural diversity that characterizes our society is protected? Hardly.