Old Dogs, New Tricks:

Development Strategies for Veteran

Faculty
Al Spritzer, Moderator
East Tennessee State University

Linda Garceau, East Tennessee State University

Norm Solomon, Fairfield University
George Stevens, Kent State University

AACSB International
2003 Continuous Improvement Symposium
St. Louis, Missouri
September 15, 2003
Session Objectives

To Discuss
• The challenges associated with
maintenance of the academic and
professional qualifications of veteran
faculty members
• Development needs for veteran faculty
• Effective strategies and practices to
enhance the skills and productivity of
veteran faculty…and others
Some Key Issues re Veteran Faculty
• Are they active and productive?
• Do they meet schools expectations?
• Are they “academically or professionally
qualified?”
• Do they contribute to school mission
achievement?
• How can deans, chairs and others encourage
veteran faculty to perform up to
expectations?
Lessons Learned from the Panelists

• Linda Garceau
• Norm Solomon
• George Stevens
• Al Spritzer
 Old Dogs, New Tricks:
Development Strategies for
Veteran Faculty
Linda Garceau, Dean
College of Business and Technology
East Tennessee State University
 Rules to Live By
• Rule 1 • No Good Deed Goes
Unpunished.

• Rule 2 • When in doubt, refer

to Rule 1.
 Why does the problem occur?
• The natural tendency among us to want to
act as an advocate rather than an
adjudicator.

• The evolving mission of the business unit.

 Underlying Assumptions
• Every faculty wishes to be valued,
recognized and rewarded for their
contributions.
• Contributions by senior faculty in teaching,
research and service can be unequal.
 Defining the Fair Share
• What are reasonable teaching, research
and service expectations?
 Definition by faculty
 Testing
 Discussion
 Implementation
 Enabling faculty to do their
fair share
• Playing to faculty’s strong suits
• Redefining valued activities
• Putting old wine in new bottles
• Giving faculty the opportunity to surprise
you
• Changing the academic model
Old Dogs, New Tricks: Development
Strategies for Veteran Faculty

Norm Solomon, Dean

Charles F. Dolan School of Business
Fairfield University
September 15, 2003
 `The Hook!’

• `Faculty Life cycles—engagement,

disengagement, re-engagement—or can we get
`remarried’?
• Role of the Chair & Colleagues—powerful peers?
• Core values and core interests of faculty members
—What does the faculty member really want…
and how does this matter?
• Past roles?...Past successes?...Future desires?
 A `Tent of Treats’

• `Traditional treats’ –stipends, merit

• More imaginative `treats’ – recognition, new
responsibilities
• Having a range of treats…permit `sticking one’s nose
under the tent’ before deciding …
 Real Cases!

• `Bright, bored’ & `mid-life’…<is this all there

is?...>
• `Gimme More, Gimme More, Gimme More!’
<to do that is!>…
• `Lemme show ya!’ <all I need is a chance!>
• `The Missionary’ <the world will be a better place
for my efforts…>
• …and the incorrigible…
 Old Dogs, New Tricks:
Development Strategies for Veteran Faculty

George E. Stevens, Dean

College of Business Administration
Kent State University
Continuous Improvement Symposium
September 15, 2003
 Great Advice and Suggestions
• My colleagues have given you a reality
check
• Years of experience varies dramatically
across the panelists here
• Sharing ideas, experiences, and approaches
to challenges
• Other than budget, biggest challenge:
People decisions
 Decision to Make…
Can the person be salvaged?
• A few of mine can NOT be rescued/saved!
• No amount of investment will matter
(Don’t spend 98% of time on 2% of people)
• If you believe an individual can become
integral part of organization and productive
what approach to use?
 Communicate…
• Open Door policy (actual – not lip service)
• Manage by walking around
• Get out of your office and your circle of
administrators, favorites
• Talk to people at all levels (academics,
secretaries, maintenance, police, cleaning
crews)
• 80% Listen, 20% Talk –Result: Learn…
 Funding Productivity
• A few things I did at Kent State:
• -- Converted faculty position to faculty
development $80K
• -- Received dollars from alumni for faculty
development
• -- Got advisory board dollars for faculty
development
• --Committed additional current expense dollars to
each department
• Selectively send faculty to AACSB or other
meetings.
 Where There is Hope…
• Continuous Quality Improvement (at a personal
level
• Create a sense of disequilibrium by:
• Attendance at selected conferences and programs,
readings, other opportunities.
• Education – so that person is not as comfortable
with his/her/colleagues’ current state of affairs
(example, curriculum or assessment)
 Where There is Hope…
• Do not focus on what they can’t do…
• Focus on what they can do…
• Consider the portfolio of activities and
contributions the business school needs
• -- Teaching/Learning (DL, interactive…)
• -- Scholarship (Teaching/Learning possible)
• -- Service (university, professional,
college…
 Teaching/Learning
• A ‘lead person’ or faculty champion who work
with other faculty; lead change...
• Host brown bag lunches, forums, working papers,
conference participation, on SOTL, curriculum,
large lecture sessions, technology integration, etc.
• Innovations – Interactive Learning,
• Distance Learning opportunities
• Assessment/Assurance of Learning activities;
recognition
 Scholarship
• Scholarship of Teaching/Learning
• Scholarship of Discovery
• Scholarship of Integration
• Scholarship of Application
• Scholarship of Engagement/Outreach
 Service/Citizenship
• Differential Teaching Load to “protect” newer
faculty
• Service on Faculty Senate, Promotion & Tenure;
more demanding, critical committees
• Service to profession, leadership of and
contributions to regional and national conferences
• Advisor and Mentor roles to assist students
• Working with the business and local community
Old Dogs, New Tricks:
Concluding Thoughts

by

Allan D. Spritzer
Allen and Ruth Harris Chair of Excellence in Business
Professor of Management and Former Dean of Business

College of Business and Technology

East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, Tennessee
Spritzer@ETSU.edu
Revised 9-14-03
Spritzer, Old Dogs, New Tricks

Concluding Thoughts
• Faculty members are responsible for keeping
their knowledge current with the continuing
development of their disciplines.
• Developmental activities are important to
maintain the intellectual and methodological
skills and qualifications of faculty members.
• Veteran faculty members sometimes do not
adequately update and maintain their
intellectual, pedagogical and discipline-based
skills and qualifications.
Spritzer, Old Dogs, New Tricks

Concluding Thoughts – cont’d

• Deans and department chairs are responsible
for providing the processes and resources to
support faculty in their developmental
efforts.
• Deans and department chairs also have
responsibility for the motivation and
performance of faculty, consistent with the
school’s mission emphases and
programmatic objectives, as well as AACSB
accreditation standards and expectations.
Spritzer, Old Dogs, New Tricks

Concluding Thoughts – cont’d

• Special efforts should be made to provide all
faculty members, veterans and more recent
hires, with the opportunities and
encouragement to remain current in their
fields and to maintain their academic or
professional qualifications.
• All faculty, especially veterans, should be
recognized and rewarded for their
developmental accomplishments and for their
contributions to the school’s successes.
Spritzer, Old Dogs, New Tricks

• Old Dogs should be rewarded for their new

tricks.