Today’s academic leaders are faced with a host of strategic challenges, from enrollment declines and financial stability to public sentiment and meaningful DEI progress. Keeping faculty engaged is key to success in these areas, making the faculty affairs office a critical piece of the puzzle.
As a profession, faculty affairs is quickly growing—but there is no shortage of hurdles for faculty affairs excellence. Offices can be under-resourced while remits expand, leadership transitions can cause priorities to change frequently, and budget cuts can make progress seem impossible. Meanwhile, codified best practices across the industry and professional communities for faculty affairs don’t exist, and these gaps may lead to staff reinventing the wheel on their campus. How can these faculty affairs teams learn from peers to showcase the value of their department, get buy-in across the institution, and be successful in their roles?
Defining Faculty Affairs in Higher Education
In an effort to better support the work of faculty affairs professionals, we set out to determine how to best define this pivotal role, acknowledging that roles and responsibilities may vary across institutions. After research interviews with more than 20 faculty affairs leaders, we assert that faculty affairs—an indispensable campus office—serves the unique needs of faculty to promote the success of the faculty themselves, students, and the institution as a whole. In addition, faculty affairs oversees the administrative and support functions related to faculty hiring, development, evaluation, promotion, tenure, and overall well-being. By creating and maintaining the policies and programs that enable faculty to excel as researchers, educators, and leaders, this office plays a vital role in advancing institutions’ strategic goals.
In our recent How to Support Success in Faculty Affairs webinar, we were joined by two faculty affairs leaders to dive further into this topic. At Michigan State, Dr. Teresa Mastin, the Vice Provost and Associate Vice President for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, discussed how she and her team promote the team’s vision. “As we proactively support and advocate for faculty and academic staff, we embody the Land-Grant mission philosophy—education for all—that produces a ripple effect that benefits the public at large,” said Mastin. She also noted that her office “functions as stewards promoting positive academic culture and support for faculty and academic staff success from recruitment through retirement.”
Dr. Christopher L.W. Elliott, the Assistant Dean of Academic & Faculty Affairs at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, also shared how his institution defines the field. “I think this is an exciting time for faculty affairs professionals because we’re in a moment where we’re defining what the field looks like and how we can come together in interesting ways as colleagues,” he noted. “The way that we define our work is really to secure world-class faculty in the right roles for their talents, to charge them with clarity, support them appropriately, evaluate them fairly, and aim them toward success.”
Promoting Faculty Affairs Across the Institution
What steps can faculty affairs offices take to showcase their value across the institution? “The best way to do that, for us, is just through relationships—walking the halls and being very present and knowing what’s going on with our faculty,” shared Dr. Elliott. “Without that feedback channel, we are unsuccessful—period.” He also noted the importance of acting on this feedback in order to maintain trust. “When our faculty see that we listen, that we’re looking at adjusting policies based on that feedback and taking those concerns seriously, that is probably one of the most pressing evidences of our success and the value that we provide.”
Dr. Mastin echoed these sentiments. “If I had to say one word, it’s really all about the relationship,” she noted. “Every month, I have a meeting with the Dean of each college and each major unit, as well as the Director in my office that’s responsible for that.” She also pointed out the importance of forming these connections in order to better approach any issues that arise. “If you are going to help the culture—help shape the culture, be responsible for the culture—then you’ve got to actually have an active process to make that happen,” she said. “It’s all about developing relationships so that when something comes up, whether that’s something happy or something sad, you’ve got that relationship—now you already have that foundation.”
The Faculty Affairs Institutional Readiness Model
Interfolio joined forces with Tyton Partners to interview faculty affairs professionals from public and private institutions across the country. The research conducted throughout this deep dive into the world of faculty affairs helped to inform a new model for success. This new Faculty Affairs Institutional Readiness (FAIR) model, broken down into five distinct components, highlights specific drivers for departmental success—and, in turn, institutional success. These best practices can help faculty affairs professionals advocate for change, motivate their team, and elevate the role of faculty affairs on campus in achieving the institution’s strategic priorities.
Scope and Policy
The faculty affairs office plays a vital role in maintaining, applying, and upholding institutional policies and compliance mechanisms. Consistency and transparency help ensure fair, equitable decisions related to faculty, which can help reduce friction between faculty and administration. Regular, ongoing communication between faculty, faculty affairs, and leadership is essential—on many campuses, faculty affairs becomes a main driver of this campus communication.
Personnel
Investments in faculty affairs personnel should enable sustainability, continuity, and effective policy and change management—both within faculty affairs and across the institution as a whole. Institutions should ensure there is adequate technological and procedural infrastructure that sets the office up for success, regardless of turnover. The faculty affairs office is frequently tapped for large-scale initiatives on campus, requiring investments in the appropriate resources to unlock sufficient change capacity. Looking ahead, professional development opportunities for faculty affairs staff can help equip them to drive long-term success for all stakeholders.
Financial Sustainability
When thinking about faculty affairs on your campus, it’s important to consider financial sustainability, which can look drastically different from one institution to the next—especially when considering factors like institution size and type. Financial sustainability considers dedicated FTE within the office, faculty affairs budget, the ability to do longer-term budget forecasts, and factors around grant funding for faculty research. With faculty affairs’ broadening remit, buy-in from executive leadership is key to support its full scope. The aspects of financial sustainability can help provoke discussion around what support is needed to accomplish the ever-evolving functions of faculty affairs.
Technology
Investments in technology should empower both faculty and staff to access data that helps them streamline a variety of administrative functions, such as annual reviews and promotion and tenure processes. Institutions should strive to implement a robust tech stack that offers interoperability with other campus systems, creating a more efficient, user-friendly environment for faculty and staff alike. This technology becomes increasingly effective when it provides data-driven insights on faculty sentiment, workload, retention, and student success, as well as inputs that support equitable practices across essential faculty affairs processes.
Faculty Development
Our research suggests that faculty support is the primary responsibility of faculty affairs; therefore, investments in faculty development should be prioritized. By investing in faculty’s professional development needs—including research and scholarship, teaching and learning, and service and leadership—institutions consequently invest in faculty, student, and institutional success. These investments can range from mentorship and career coaching to dedicated adjunct support and awards, which can help improve both faculty retention and student feedback.
During our webinar, we asked our audience where they felt their campus had the biggest opportunity for improvement. One-third (33%) of respondents shared that faculty development was the component with the most opportunity for improvement, with the second-highest result being technology (22%).
Why Institutions Should Invest in Faculty Affairs
A well-equipped and adequately funded faculty affairs office facilitates change management and can support the success of policy, technology, and strategic initiatives. In addition, this institutional office provides essential support to faculty through professional development as well as clear and consistent processes, allowing faculty to do their best work.
When your faculty affairs office has the resources it needs to succeed, the institution succeeds as well. Watch our recent webinar to see how your office compares to best-in-class departments and learn best practices in promoting sustainability and impact within faculty affairs. You’ll hear from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, Michigan State University, and Tyton Partners as we dive into the new FAIR model.
Want to take a deeper dive into the FAIR model? Take our self-assessment, which is designed to spark reflection, convey best practices, and inspire innovation among faculty affairs leaders. This tool helps assessors identify priorities, areas for improvement, and other needs that can strengthen faculty affairs at institutions of all sizes.