Excellence Through Diversity
Report of the Council on Faculty Diversity and Inclusion 2008
Recommendations
As outlined in the first section of this report, Boston University has embarked upon a new strategic plan entitled “Forging Our Future by Choosing to be Great.” A key element of the strategic plan is to “support and enhance a world-class faculty.” Several recent reports have highlighted the importance of faculty diversity and inclusion in increasing excellence. The data concerning current demographics, hiring and retention, leadership, compensation, and the climate at Boston University presented in the previous sections of this report indicate that there is room for improvement in some key areas. Improvement in these areas is needed in order to attract and retain excellent faculty members and to create a climate that makes it possible for all members of our community to thrive and excel.
The recommendations that follow are based on our analysis of the data, our review of the best practices of our peers, and our sense of those areas that would have the greatest impact on attracting and retaining excellent faculty members through an environment that supports and attracts a diverse faculty. The recommendations are organized into six areas: 1. Oversight and Support Structures, 2. Data Collection and Dissemination, 3. Faculty Recruitment and Retention, 4. Compensation, 5. Leadership and Governance, and 6. Family Policy.
Oversight and Support StructuresRecommendation 1: Associate Provost(s) for Faculty Development and Diversity (APFDD)
As outlined in the previous sections, there are several areas in which Boston University must improve in order to achieve our goal of “supporting and enhancing a world-class faculty.” In order to coordinate our efforts in these areas, the Council recommends that the University conduct a national search for a senior faculty member of the highest academic distinction for the position of Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity (APFDD)1 . The APFDD would work closely with the Provosts of the Charles River and Medical Campuses and with the President to put in place programs, and policies and procedures that will enhance the professional development of all faculty and will increase diversity in the service of excellence.
In addition to being a senior faculty member of distinction, the APFDD should have a proven track record with diversity and development initiatives that have resulted in institutional transformation, excellent analytic abilities, senior level academic management experience, excellent communication skills, and be a consensus builder who inspires and can work with all constituencies.
The APFDD would be housed in the Office of the Provost and be accessible to all. The APFDD would participate in meetings of the Council of Deans, the Administrative Group, the University Leadership Group, and other groups as needed by invitation, where s/he would advocate, promote, facilitate, and advise on matters related to faculty development and diversity. The APFDD would work to create a culture in the University where responsibility for diversity is assumed at all levels of the institution.
Faculty Recruitment, Promotion and Tenure: The APFDD would be integrated into the processes of faculty recruitment, promotion and tenure. S/he would work with the Deans and search committee chairs to put in place practices that will ensure that we hire the most meritorious faculty and would meet with tenure and promotion (T/P) committees to discuss issues that may arise in consideration of cases. The APFDD would consult in the salary review process as needed, to help ensure that faculty are paid according to merit and market.
Faculty Development: The APFDD would develop and oversee programs to foster the professional development of faculty at all levels, including faculty in leadership positions, such as chairs, and would serve as a resource to all faculty. The APFDD would work with the Deans to facilitate and enhance the formal mentoring programs under development.
Faculty Satisfaction and Retention: The APFDD would work with the Provosts’ offices on initiatives to increase faculty satisfaction with the University. S/he would work to increase the sense among faculty that they are valued and appropriately rewarded, so that fewer seek outside offers. S/he would be responsible for surveying the faculty concerning their satisfaction at regular intervals and implementing exit interviews to better understand why faculty leave the institution. S/he would analyze these data to suggest changes that help retain our best faculty.
Data Collection: The APFDD would be responsible for standardizing and consolidating data about faculty demographics, satisfaction, and support, so that s/he can contribute data-driven analyses to discussions of strategic priorities. S/he would develop and oversee mechanisms for making current data and long-term trends regarding these issues available to the faculty on an annual basis.
Recommendation 2: Establish an Ombuds Office (possibly one on each campus)
The Council recommends that the University hire a full-time professional Ombuds with substantial academic experience, to serve faculty, staff, and students. The Ombuds would supplement rather than replace existing services for faculty, students, and staff. Ombuds do not advocate or negotiate directly on behalf of those who consult them. The Ombuds would allow the confidential and supportive voicing of opinions, and may help individuals understand their options in difficult situations.
The number and variety of issues brought to the Ombud would be useful data regarding the University climate and potential areas for improvement and should be reported periodically to faculty and administration.
The Council recommends that the University consider hiring one Ombuds for each campus or consider a model that makes use of faculty embedded within schools and colleges who provide similar services on a part-time basis.
Data Collection and DisseminationRecommendation 3: Climate Surveys and Other Metrics
The Council recommends that the University engage in ongoing self-assessment in the area of faculty satisfaction and that it systematically collect the types of data outlined in the first sections of this report. In particular, the Council recommends that the COACHE survey of junior faculty and the Boston University Climate Survey be repeated at regular intervals and that the current data from these surveys be used as a benchmark against which we can measure our progress. In addition, the Council recommends that the data that has recently been collected from the Boston University Climate Survey (including the open-ended comments) be further analyzed to better understand the climate in individual schools and colleges and to understand differences among NTT faculty at different ranks.
The Council recommends that a standard set of metrics regarding the demographics of our faculty, their compensation (broken down by gender, rank and school), promotion and tenure rates, and retention be developed and tracked uniformly for both campuses and that these data continue to be made accessible to the University community.
Faculty Recruitment and RetentionRecommendation 4: Faculty Recruitment
The Council recommends that Deans, department chairs, and Search Committee Chairs be educated on the best practices in faculty recruitment, with a particular emphasis on defining faculty searches broadly, searching broadly, and the importance of diverse search committees. The Council also recommends that those responsible for searches be educated in the best practices in proactive recruiting that will allow us to enhance diversity in the service of excellence.
Recommendation 5: Faculty Retention
The Council recommends that the University put in place programs that will increase the retention of our best faculty. These include programs that will improve the climate for faculty at Boston University; developing and supporting mentoring programs that will benefit all faculty; providing junior faculty with increased knowledge about the tenure and promotion process and early feedback about their prospects for tenure; and increasing faculty satisfaction with compensation and resources for research and scholarship. The Council recommends that we put in place exit interviews that may provide valuable information on why faculty leave the University.2
Faculty CompensationRecommendation 6: Salary Reviews in Order of Priority
As outlined in the section on compensation, the University has made a commitment to providing faculty compensation that is merit-based, market-driven, and without consideration of gender or race. The University has been reviewing faculty salaries and making adjustments to ensure these principles to the extent possible. Although the Council was not able to take merit into account in its review of faculty salaries, the analysis did show that females are underrepresented in the top salary quartile, even after statistical adjustment for department and seniority. The Council recommends that the University undertake a series of salary reviews to ensure that salaries are in line with its principles of being merit-based, market-driven, and without respect to gender and race. In particular, the Council suggests that the University review the salaries of all female full Professors. The Council recommends that the University also review the salaries of minority faculty, since the number of faculty was too small for the Council to carry out the same types of analyses as it did for female faculty. The Council recommends that the salaries of faculty with more than 20 years of service at Boston University also be reviewed, since salary compression (decreased salary with increased number of years of service) is seen at Boston University, as it is at universities nationwide.
Recommendation 7: Senior Hires and Administrative Stipends
As outlined above, in the past decade significantly more males than females have been hired with tenure. Such hiring confers a large salary advantage for those at the Professor level compared to the salaries of those promoted to Professor from within the institution. The Council noted that the University has recently put in place an added level of scrutiny for faculty who are hired at this level (there must be an open, advertised search for all hires and all senior hires must now be approved by the University Promotion and Tenure Committee) and that in the past two years 7 males and 5 females have been hired with tenure. The Council also recommends that additional compensation for administrative duties (e.g., serving as department chair) should ordinarily be provided as a temporary stipend, not an increase in base salary, consistent with the principle of salary being awarded on the basis of merit.
Recommendation 8: Procedure for Merit and Salary Reviews
The Council recommends that the University create University-wide standards for the conduct of merit and salary reviews which include the principles that faculty be informed of the procedures for merit evaluations before their implementation, that they be informed individually of the outcome of their review, and that they should have the opportunity to comment and provide written recorded input about their review. The Council also recommends that the University consider evaluating productivity in publishing on a rolling 3-year basis, rather than just the previous 12 months, particularly in those fields in which publications consist of multi-year projects, such as books. The Council recommends that the University also monitor non-salary faculty compensation, such as stipends for administrative duties, and research and travel allowances, and that it develop mechanisms for salary adjustments that recognize market value but do not require faculty to seek an outside offer.
Leadership and GovernanceRecommendation 9: Accountability, Evaluation and Models for Leadership
The Climate Survey revealed gender-based differences in the perception of opportunities for females and members of minority groups, and in faculty members’ sense of “voice” in decision-making. The Council recommends that the University ensures faculty inclusion in processes of governance and that it fosters a culture in which participation in leadership positions is determined by administrative and academic merits alone.
In particular, the Council recommends that the University work to ensure accountability, transparency, and visibility in decision-making to the greatest degree possible. This includes ensuring that faculty be consulted, in a meaningful way, with respect to decisions about the appointment and re-appointment of leaders and that leaders be evaluated with respect to their performance in achieving excellence through faculty development and diversity. The Council recommends that the faculty be engaged in discussion in their units concerning the best models for leadership for their unit (e.g., rotating chairs every 3 years vs. chairs who serve for a longer period of time), and in leadership selection and succession planning for their unit.
Family Policy RecommendationsRecommendation 10: Develop a Paid Childcare Leave Policy and Provide Colleges with Monies to Fund it
The existing maternity leave policy at Boston University, which is limited to paid leave for birth or adoption by female faculty members, is much more narrow than that offered by many of our peers and in the view of the Council places us at a competitive disadvantage in hiring excellent faculty. The Council systematically reviewed the family leave policies of our peer institutions and proposes that we revise the current maternity leave policy and broaden it to include other forms of paid caregiver leave. Such a policy should be viewed as an enhancement of current benefits offered to faculty in order to make Boston University more competitive in attracting excellent faculty (of both genders), in much the same vein as offering sabbaticals to faculty is necessary to maintain our competitive advantage vis-à-vis our peers.
In particular, the Council proposes that the University adopt a Paid Childcare Leave Policy for faculty that provides relief for a faculty member (male or female) from some or all University duties while undertaking a transition to new responsibilities as the primary caregiver of a child by birth, adoption, foster care or custody. Female faculty would have the option of taking Paid Maternity Leave consisting of 12 weeks of paid leave for childbirth and relief from all faculty duties or Paid Childcare Leave (PCL). The Council recommends that there be two options for Paid Childcare Leave: 1) Modified status consisting of 1 semester of relief from all teaching, committee and other service, but continued responsibility for advising students, or 2) Half-modified status consisting of 2 semesters of relief from half of all teaching, committee and other service, but continued responsibility for advising students. Male faculty would have the option of taking Paid Childcare Leave with either modified or half-modified status. In order to be eligible for Paid Childcare Leave, faculty would need to have a multi-year appointment and intend to return to Boston University following their leave. The Council recommends that the Paid Childcare Leave costs be funded from the Central Administration to guarantee that colleges have the funds to replace faculty on leave so as to ensure the integrity of our academic programs.
Recommendation 11: Life-Work Balance
Results of the Faculty Survey showed that many faculty experience stress related to childcare, and that female faculty, in particular, may consider leaving the University due to difficulty in dealing with childcare. Adequate childcare is thus essential to retaining our best faculty.
The Council suggests that the University better inform faculty of existing services and that it look into increasing childcare options. It also recommends that the University look into ways of improving resources for faculty who have caretaker responsibilities or manage the care of others such as aging parents, spouses or other family members. In addition, given the stress that many faculty (particularly junior faculty) experience associated with obtaining housing in Boston, the Council suggests that the University consider modifying the current Faculty-in-Residence Program to accommodate more faculty, to encourage more turnover, and to provide an attractive housing option for junior faculty and for new faculty. Finally, the Council suggests that the University encourage all units to recognize non-traditional family roles, to be sensitive to personal responsibilities of faculty when scheduling, and to employ gender-neutral language for policies relating to families and life outside the University.
