Tomorrow, senators will take up SR 20-08, a resolution that would remove the cap on the number of TCPL faculty. The administration hopes the new policy will be passed right away. They say hiring needs demand it.
But in fact, there is no urgency. Senate can simply move to raise the TCPL cap as a stopgap. That would relieve hiring pressures and allow Senate to discuss what faculty composition would best serve Miami’s needs and values.
20-08 would make sweeping changes. It would not only alter faculty composition at Miami, but wipe out faculty’s role in deciding it. While 20-08 appears to disperse decisions to divisions, in reality power would rest with the Provost, who controls all lines. Faculty should be aware that shared governance procedures at divisional level are weak.
In addition, 20-08 takes up only one of the important recommendations made by the Faculty Composition Committee. Why does the new policy not address the Committee’s recommendation to address the problem of precarity at Miami? Why does it ignore its recommendation to try to hire temporary faculty only for temporary needs?
Senators do not have to pass resolutions as put forward by the administration. They have the power to replace or amend them. AAUP enthusiastically supports expanding continuing faculty at Miami—we want more TCPL, too!—but 20-08 is too flawed a route to that goal.
What faculty composition will best serve Miami’s educational mission? The question is essential to Miami’s identity and brand, and the power to decide it is Senate’s responsibility and its right. According to National AAUP’s Statement on the Government of Colleges and Universities, “The faculty has primary responsibility for areas such as curriculum, methods of instruction, research, [and] faculty status.”
Deciding who delivers our curriculum is central to faculty’s responsibility to educate students effectively. Senate should not abandon it lightly. Let’s continue to debate 20-08 and come up witha policy that serves our educational mission better.
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