Senate Source

June 2005

 

Appointment/Promotion APMs Modified to Reflect UC's Commitment to Diversity and Equal Opportunity

 

UC academic personnel policies governing faculty appointment and promotion have been modified to include recognition of the University’s commitment to diversity and equal opportunity. In addition, policies governing appointment and evaluation of department chairs, deans and provosts have been modified to reflect the responsibility of academic administrators for affirmative action programs.

 

President Dynes issued the revisions to APM sections 210, 240 and 245 on March 7, 2005 and they will be in effect beginning July 1, 2005. A version with changes underlined can be found on the Academic Senate website at: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/committees/ucaad/reports.html

 

The revisions originated with the University Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity (UCAAD), which was asked by the Academic Council in 2003 to undertake a review of the APM sections governing merit and promotion, and to recommend changes that would properly credit and reward faculty for their contributions to educational outreach.

 

The resulting proposal was developed in collaboration with the University Committee on Academic Personnel (UCAP), and Executive Director of Academic Advancement Sheila O’Rourke. It underwent a number of modifications in formal senate review, and was ultimately approved by the Academic Council at its June 2004 meeting.

 

Language was added to the APM to explicitly recognize diversity activities as part of the measure of excellence in the University—and to recognize, value, and evaluate appropriately, faculty, department chairs, deans and provosts whose efforts contribute to diversity and equal opportunity. In APM 210, which outlines the criteria for appointment, promotion and appraisal of faculty, new language asks reviewing committees to consider the candidate's contributions to a broad range of possible diversity efforts in teaching, research, and service. New APM 245 language asks each department chair to report annually on his or her affirmative action plan, and APM 240 asks deans and provosts to make a similar commitment to maintain a divisional affirmative action program.

 

“The revisions will give campus CAPs and department chairs an additional tool to recognize and reward faculty diversity efforts, which will help the university meet its larger diversity commitment,” said UCAAD Chair and UCSD Ethnic Studies Professor Ross Frank. “They will also have the effect of setting up a system that better promotes and rewards faculty involvement in outreach and academic preparation efforts such as mentoring, which is more important than ever given the massive cuts to the outreach budget.”

 

In 2004, a Strategic Review Panel organized by then-President Atkinson to assess the effectiveness of the University’s outreach programs, recommended that educational outreach be incorporated into the teaching and research mission of the University through more direct faculty involvement. The Panel asked the Academic Senate to consider the proper role of faculty in this effort as well as the means by which faculty could be properly recognized and rewarded for their participation in educational outreach.

 

“The UC system is currently engaged in a discussion about diversity and excellence in every facet of its mission,” said Professor Frank. “UCAAD has consistently expressed its belief that diversity—defined specifically as groups underrepresented at the various levels of UC, from undergraduate to administrators—functions as a vital component in the continued excellence of the university.”

 

The recent changes to the APM do not require specific behavior for merit and promotion. Rather, they open up possibilities for rewarding actions that advance the larger value the UC system places on achieving a scholarly environment that will address the barriers faced by women and underrepresented minority faculty in higher education.

 

For example, teaching and service commitments such as developing instructional techniques that address the needs of a diverse student body and serving on committees to address campus diversity, contribute to equity and access at the University of California. The new policy language directly supports the University’s commitment to serve all citizens of the State of California by recognizing and encouraging these activities in merit and promotion reviews.

 

Professor Frank says it will be crucial to integrate the APM changes into the departmental and CAP cultures so that they have a lasting positive effect on personnel review actions. UCAAD is seeking ways to improve and streamline the process for disseminating the policies and informing the faculty and campus committees when significant changes to the APM occur.

 

“In the case of the latest revisions to APM 210, 240 and 245, I believe campus provosts, divisional senate offices, and local CAP and CAAD committees can all play a role in briefing faculty on the new policies. We all have a stake in making the academic personnel process and all the evaluation criteria as transparent and effective as possible.”

 

For additional information about University of California policies and procedures governing affirmative action and faculty employment see the “Affirmative Action Guidelines for the Recruitment and Retention of Faculty.” 

-Michael LaBriola