UNC Board of Trustees Distinguishes IAH for Role in Faculty Retention and Recruitment

In the March 2009 UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees report, " Carolina: Best Place to Teach, Learn and Discover Report," Trustees John Ellison and J.J. Raynor, who is UNC student body president, recognize the Institute for the Arts and Humanities for its role in supporting faculty retention and recruitment.

“The IAH programs play an important development opportunity for our promising faculty,” the authors write. “Acceptance in these programs is highly regarded, and those who have attended feel a renewed sense of pride in the University.”

The Institute, one of the two university institutions lauded for supporting faculty retention and recruitment efforts, garnered praise for its focus on personal development, leadership development and faculty renewal through our signature programs: the Academic Leadership program (ALP), the Faculty Fellows program and the Chairs Leadership program (CLP).

IAH Director John McGowan views the Institute as a leader in Carolina’s efforts to retain and recruit top faculty to UNC.

“The Ellison and Raynor report shows how crucial faculty recruitment and retention is for UNC,” he says. “The Institute has a key role to play in helping the University address that issue.”

According to the report, the University expects approximately 347 out of 1,288 non-Medical School tenured and tenure-track faculty to retire between now and 2018. Those numbers mean that the University could hire upwards of 736 new faculty in the next eight years.

“To hire the best faculty,” the authors write, “our salaries, benefits packages, and our non-compensation enticements will have to be better than they are today.”

Those “non-compensation enticements,” the tangible and intangible support for faculty, is where the Institute plays a key role in supporting faculty retention and recruitment efforts.

The ALP both develops and supports faculty leaders by honing their leadership skills and building a lasting professional network both on and beyond campus. The Faculty Fellows program, which has led some IAH Fellows to refer to the Institute as an “intellectual spa,” provides an on-campus semester leave for faculty to pursue projects and reinvigorate. The CLP facilitates a peer network of first-time and reappointed chairs in the College of Arts and Sciences, providing a forum for chairs to discuss best practices and unique challenges facing their position.

With its emphasis on collaboration and conversation, the Institute is poised to lead the University as a model for engaging and rewarding promising and proven faculty leaders, researchers and teachers—goals clearly outlined by the Board of Trustees to help Carolina retain and recruit the best and brightest faculty.

“UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members operate in a decentralized system,” the report states. “Cooperation is apparent and academic cross fertilization is often employed. However, each dean, academic area, and their chairs have significant independence. This is an asset, but the University must help the faculty feel part of a unique institution and prepare them for their scholarly, personal development, and leadership roles.”