Update from the Provost
June 7, 2018
Dear Colleagues,
Following Fr. Engh’s announcement last week of his transition plans, I wanted to reach out to express our firm continued commitment to you and the broader SCU community, as we work together to advance our shared mission. I would like to thank you for sharing your concerns with us and reassure you that we working diligently to address the pressing issues and concerns that have been voiced by members of the faculty.
This is an opportune time to update you on several significant steps we are taking to implement many of the much-needed improvements you have identified.
Career Paths, Appointment Processes & Job Security
I am pleased to announce that the University Coordinating Committee has approved the request of the Faculty Affairs Committee to establish a subcommittee to be comprised of adjunct faculty and lecturers. The subcommittee will draft policies and procedures, for the Faculty Affairs Committee to review and potentially recommend to the Provost, with the intent to provide greater stability and support for our adjunct faculty and lecturers. In that same spirit, I have asked that the Faculty Affairs Committee and Academic Affairs Committee, as well as the President and President-Elect of the Faculty Senate, review their membership guidelines with an eye toward providing more inclusive representation for all our faculty.
In addition to moving up the time frame for hiring processes involving academic-year adjunct lecturers (AYAL) beginning in academic year 2018-2019, we are making additional changes to streamline the processes for AYAL reappointments and renewals for renewable-term lecturers (RTL). These changes should introduce simpler and more timely processes for department chairs, as well as offer greater job security, stability, and continuity for lecturers under contract. I have approved the implementation of changes recommended by the Faculty Affairs Committee after confirming that these modified processes are all consistent with current language in the Faculty Handbook. After broad consultation with deans and department chairs, I will distribute, in Fall 2018, a revised set of target dates for appointments and reappointments of adjunct faculty.
Looking forward, we are committed to making even more significant improvements. The Faculty Affairs Committee is beginning to develop new career paths for lecturers and senior lecturers that will also include revised titles and definitions for adjunct faculty. Part of this effort has been focused on working with the Task Force on Lecturer Best Practices to propose two to three models of career paths for teaching faculty by October 2018. I hope you have all seen the Task Force’s outreach asking for nominations to participate in a Design Thinking Session on June 20th. I strongly encourage you to consider participating so that we will have the benefit of a broad range of faculty perspectives.
Housing
The University leadership remains firmly committed to alleviating some of the pressure our faculty are facing as a result of the high cost of housing in the Bay area. The Faculty Affairs Committee has reviewed and approved the proposed guidelines for our expanded rental assistance program and new down-payment purchase-assistance program. More information on faculty housing assistance is available here.
As a reminder, if you are interested in learning more about the down-payment purchase-assistance program, there are two upcoming information sessions on Monday, June 11th at 12:15 PM in Lucas 125 and Tuesday, June 19th at 3:00 PM in Donohoe Alumni Conference Room. RSVP links are included below:
If you have any questions regarding the housing assistance programs, please reach out to Laurene Skinner in the Provost’s Office.
Moving Forward, Together
Your insights and feedback will be invaluable as we continue to work together as one community to improve our University and your experience as integral members of the faculty.
Please do continue to share your thoughts. I encourage you to email me at Provost@scu.edu or contact Chris Changras (CChangras@scu.edu) to make an appointment to meet in person.
With warm regards,
Dennis C. Jacobs Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs