Call it University 101. It’s a short introduction to Stanford essentials: the business functions of the president’s office, the academic affairs that are the provost’s bailiwick, how the Faculty Senate and the professional schools work, what the Board of Trustees does.
The briefing is part of the new faculty orientation program, a September half-day event for the 130-plus faculty who are hired each year. “We hear from junior faculty, especially, that it’s helpful,” says Pat Jones, vice provost for faculty development and professor of biological sciences. “When you’re a graduate student, you’re into your own research, and you have no clue about university organization and function.” Jones enlists other administrators and faculty to present thumbnail sketches about teaching and technology resources, research protocols and graduate education. And the attendees have a chance to talk about their work, as well.
Jones also organizes the annual Chairs Institute in September, which is designed for new department heads and deans. “In many small departments, every senior faculty member gets to take his or her turn [as chair],” she says. “They don’t necessarily have a lot of management experience, and often haven’t been terribly involved in university governance.”
The institute, now in its fifth year, tackles the nitty-gritty of running a department, from how promotion files should be prepared to appropriate ways to implement affirmative action. “These are very busy people, and they play key roles in hiring, promotion, teaching and research at the department level,” Jones says. “So the goal is to make the day relevant, useful and not boring.”
Current and former chairs talk about how they set priorities for their departments and their role in handling questions about intellectual property ownership and the use of human research subjects. And Jones makes sure that everyone knows how to get to an internal website for chairs. “It’s a website of policy documents and lists of contact people that’s meant to be one-stop shopping,” she explains.
Come October, Jones will unveil another website, launched by the Bay Area Higher Education Recruiting Consortium, that will include a clearinghouse for academic couples. Spouses and domestic partners of those who land jobs with Bay Area institutions will be able to search for faculty, staff and administrative positions at campuses from Sonoma to Monterey to Modesto. Up next: Couples 101?
