The overarching goal of this group is to advance the university’s tripartite mission by providing greater clarity and consistency regarding all faculty roles and expectations.
Charge
- Develop university-wide guidelines that clearly articulate how each faculty title contributes to one or more of the institution's missions of teaching, research, and service.
- Ensure that tenure-track and tenured faculty expectations appropriately encompass all three mission areas.
- Clarify distinctions among faculty titles while recognizing that some overlap in responsibilities is both appropriate and desirable.
- Differentiate expectations that should be established at the university level from those that should be the responsibility of colleges or departments.
- Distinguish among required, recommended, and optional expectations associated with faculty titles.
- Identify and recommend any necessary revisions to the Faculty Handbook, academic operating policies, and related documents to codify these expectations.
The Working Group is asked to recommend a university-wide framework that clarifies faculty roles, expectations, and advancement. The framework should identify the expectations that must be consistent across the university, the decisions that may be made by colleges and departments, and the policy changes needed to sustain those distinctions. Ideally, the product of this working group will:
- Clarify instructor promotion pathways.
- Clarify expectations for non-tenure-track faculty.
- Define teaching, research, and service in a way that applies consistently across faculty titles.
The most immediate need is the establishment of a promotion pathway for Instructor II to Instructor III. The working group should recommend standards and evidence requirements early enough to allow affected faculty and reviewers to prepare for promotion cycles leading to the promotion effective July 1, 2028. If the broader framework cannot be completed on that timeline, the working group should recommend an interim promotion process.
Tentative Timeline
- August 21 Robert Holland Faculty Senate (RHFS) Meeting – Dr. Shaw announced formation of Faculty Roles and Responsibilities Working Group
- September 9 – Working group convened for first meeting
- September/October – Faculty listening sessions and expert consultations
- October/November – Working group deliberations
- December – Working group compiles information for consideration by general faculty
- January 15 RHFS Meeting – Faculty Affairs committee presents information and requests feedback
- Late January/early February – Town halls and revisions given general faculty feedback
- February 12 RHFS Meeting – Charter and Bylaws committee presents changes to Faculty Handbook
- March 5 RHFS Meeting – Continue deliberations
- April 9 RHFS Meeting – Second review and vote to send to general faculty
- By May 15 – Vote of the general faculty
Feedback
If you are interested in providing feedback to the working group, please do one or more of the following:
- Email the chair of the working group at frrwg@senate.msstate.edu.
- Register to attend a listening session.
- Contact your Faculty Senate representative.