Forum on morale

March 29, 2019

University Relations

In additions to the comments people have already made in the Grapevine about the issues from the Forum on Morale, I'd like to comment on something Provost Prakash said that was frankly insulting. When she was summarizing the difficulties staff face from faculty who refuse to do their part and thus slow down staff ability to do their jobs, she seemed under the impression that communication would fix the issues. I can guarantee faculty who aren't cooperative will not be more cooperative if they know why I'm asking for things. Furthermore, the emphasis that communication goes both ways, and that we as staff are at fault for not understanding that faculty are busy is absurd. This is not an issue of a conversation between equals. Faculty are protected for their bad actions and attitudes by a union and contracts. Staff are not. In a battle of wills between us and faculty, administrators like deans and the Provost's office will not side with us. That much was clear from her "communication is key from both sides" statements. How can we be expected to communicate from vastly different positions of power and leverage? We need actual tools to help us combat tenured, protected problem faculty or productivity will continue to suffer by their hands.