Dear Colleagues,

A short update on some actions being taken across the College of Arts and Sciences in the interest of best serving our students.

The following broad goals of these actions are:

  • Continuing to prioritize the recruitment of tenured/tenure-track faculty with the understanding that they have a dual mission to teach in areas of curricular demand, as well as to advance the scholarly mission of the campus
  • Those who do not have as significant a role in the University’s scholarly mission will fulfill their obligations in other ways
  • To best serve our students, we will employ full time faculty wherever practical and possible

As discussed with department chairs, all faculty are expected to teach and perform their vital functions in pursuit of the scholarly mission of the campus. In July 2017, the College issued a workload policy that department chairs are utilizing as we plan our instruction for 2018-19. As Stony Brook University is an R1 research institution, our faculty are expected to do research in addition to teaching. Faculty who are not individually scholarly active nor engaged in doctoral mentorship are required to teach higher loads in order to maintain 100% effort. This policy applies to all faculty in the College, and is revisited annually for each member. Thus, faculty in programs without doctoral degrees are expected to affiliate with or share appointments in doctoral programs so as to supervise students or teach a greater load. Likewise, faculty in doctoral-granting programs who have not supervised students for some time, are expected to increase their teaching load. It is the role of department chairs to work on a case-by-case level to examine these important functions as they prepare for the next academic year.

Also, there has been much discussion about adjunct instructors in the Program of Writing and Rhetoric (PWR). As we strive to make decisions in the best interest of students to ensure they have the highest quality educational experience, we are currently assessing the best resources to deliver instruction at all levels. Wherever practical, we seek to maximize teaching assignments for full time faculty, and that is why we’re working to provide more and more sections of the Writing Program to be delivered by full time faculty. We recently launched additional searches for full time lecturers to serve in the PWR, and applications will soon be accepted. All are welcome to apply for these positions. Additionally, we are considering redeploying full time lecturers, those with relevant and/or transferrable skills, to the PWR from other departments. Doing so will help us sustain employment for colleagues whose current departments are facing a decline in enrollments. It may also help us as we develop a “Writing in the Disciplines” program, while continuing to build the faculty of full time colleagues in the PWR. While other departments may continue to rely on adjunct instructors, especially when there is a shortage of full time instructors, we will continue building full time faculty in the College.

In addition, we continue to offer programs, majors and minors in numerous languages, and are asking faculty in the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature to redirect their efforts to language instruction. Many of these faculty previously taught in the language-based majors, and as such, this is consistent with the background and training of our tenured colleagues. It also is valuable for students in these programs to receive instruction from tenured and tenure-track faculty, which is one of the main reasons why students elect to attend a research university.

Lastly, we continue to examine our deployment of instructional resources across all units. Clearly we are experiencing great changes in student interest, not only nationally but locally at Stony Brook University, as the new general education (SBC) curriculum takes hold. When credit hours needed by students are in decline, or when curricular demands can be met with tenured/tenure-track faculty, we will review the use of contingent/contract faculty as appropriate. In alignment with our goal to have students taught by tenured and tenure-track faculty, we will also recruit such faculty when warranted by enrollment and scholarly need.

I hope this message clarifies some of the actions being taken across the College. For more information, please visit the Q&A page on the College website, as well as the PWR website. 

With warm regards,

Sacha