Update on instructional faculty course rates, policies, and resources

FAS Faculty and Staff
Cc: FAS Steering, FAS Dean’s Office, President’s Office, Provost’s Office

[Summary: This message summarizes recent initiatives and policy changes applicable to instructional faculty in the FAS, including increases to course rate minimums, eligibility for PI status, and other resources and initiatives introduced in conjunction with the Working Group on Instructional Faculty.]

Dear colleagues:

I write today to share good news.  

As some of you know, over the past months, a group of FAS faculty and staff have been convening to examine ways that we might foster a greater sense of inclusion for instructional faculty in the FAS. While this group is specifically charged with considering matters of interest to instructional faculty in the humanities, several of their recommendations have wider applicability. I write today to share news of recent FAS-wide initiatives and policy changes introduced in conjunction with or at the recommendation of the Working Group on Instructional Faculty.
 

Increases to Course Rate Minimums

Last year, the FAS introduced increases to the minimum course rate for instructional faculty. I am now pleased to confirm that, going forward, the minimum course rate will be adjusted regularly in response to increases in the cost of living. In addition, retroactive to July 1, 2021, instructional faculty in the FAS who hold non-PhD terminal degrees, or have suitable experience and expertise in their disciplines, are now eligible for the same minimum course rate currently paid to those who do hold a PhD. As the appropriate credential to teach in some disciplines may not be a PhD, this policy change is an important step towards recognizing the diverse educational backgrounds of our instructional faculty.

I am grateful to Kathryn Lofton, FAS Dean of Humanities; Larry Gladney; FAS Dean of Diversity and Faculty Development; John Mangan, FAS Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Faculty Affairs; Mary Magri, Senior Director of Financial Operations; and Jennifer Medina, Manager of Finance and Administration for proposing these changes.
 

PI Status for Senior Lecturers II and Senior Lectors II

As I announced earlier this fall, FAS instructional faculty with the rank of Senior Lector II or Senior Lecturer II are now eligible to serve as Principal Investigators for a sponsored award without requiring approval of a provost or dean. This policy change recognizes Senior Lectors II and Senior Lecturers II as highly experienced, long serving faculty members well acquainted with university policies and procedures, who have achieved the highest ranks of their faculty classification. It is an acknowledgement that, while job duties of Senior Lectors II and Senior Lecturers II are primarily instructional, promotion to these ranks require faculty to actively participate in their fields, a component of which could include research and publication.   
 

Additional Resources and Opportunities for Instructional Faculty

The policy changes outlined above are two of a series of recent measures that we have taken to support instructional faculty in the FAS. Others include extending the FAS faculty lunch program to instructional faculty on full-time, multi-year appointments; providing laptops to instructional faculty on full-time-multi-year appointments; and introducing Scholars as Leaders; Scholars as Learners (SAL2) programming designed specifically for instructional faculty.

I am grateful to the Instructional Faculty Working Group and to all of those who have offered feedback on these matters.

Warmly,

Tamar

Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy
Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science