The Faculty Senate and office of the senior vice president and provost have created a task force to provide greater support for nontenure-eligible (NTE) faculty.
The task force is charged with identifying and examining a range of issues related to NTE faculty appointments, including:
- Hiring and appointment processes
- Professional development
- Advancement
- Role of NTE faculty in department, college and institutional governance
The task force also will review rank-only appointments, including those for professional and scientific staff who have teaching roles.
"Nontenured faculty play a very important role in carrying out Iowa State's land-grant mission, particularly in educating and serving students," said senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert. "The task force will emphasize the value of those contributions and make recommendations to better support the careers of nontenure-eligible faculty."
Wickert noted that the task force builds on other recent initiatives to support NTE faculty, including an increased emphasis on multiyear contracts, enhanced professional development opportunities and a grant program to help defray the cost of attending conferences.
NTE at Iowa State
NTE faculty represent approximately 30 percent of Iowa State's faculty. While the majority hold positions as lecturers and clinicians, they also include research, visiting, collaborator or affiliate professors; and adjunct professors at the assistant, associate or full professor rank.
"The task force represents an opportunity to develop consistent policies and standards for NTE faculty across the university, including their role in faculty governance at the department, college and institutional levels," said Rob Wallace, Faculty Senate president and chair of the task force.
The task force will gather data during the summer, and conduct focus groups and public forums during fall semester. The final report and recommendations will be submitted by Dec. 15 to associate provost for faculty Dawn Bratsch-Prince.
Members of the task force are:
- Rob Wallace (chair), associate professor, ecology, evolution and organismal biology
- Jeanine Aune, senior lecturer, English
- Cinzia Cervato, Morrill Professor, geological and atmospheric sciences
- Mark Chidister, associate dean, College of Design
- Ann-Marie Fiore, professor, apparel, events and hospitality management
- Mark Looney, senior lecturer, world languages and cultures
- Cullen Padgett-Walsh, senior lecturer, philosophy and religious studies
- James Pritchard, adjunct associate professor, natural resource ecology and management, and landscape architecture
- Martha Selby, adjunct assistant professor, materials science and engineering
- Jacquelyn Rees Ulmer, professor and chair, supply chain and information systems
- Bianca Zaffarano, clinician, veterinary clinical services
Questions regarding the task force and its charge may be directed to Brenda Behling, director of academic personnel and policy in the provost's office, 294-8236.
