Teaching assignments and workload including workload equivalencies and related procedures
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Faculty Designations
Determinations of initial appointment, rank, and the conferral of tenure are made after consideration of experience and training, as well as scholarly activity in Diaspora Studies as determined by the candidate’s professional study area or continuing professional preparation. Initial appointment is also based on other specific criteria as set forth in the University Policy Register (pages 3342-6, 3349) and in the Collective Bargaining Agreements. The designations for some special category faculty are described below:
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Visiting Distinguished Professor
This non-tenured position may be offered to a senior scholar who has attained national and/or international prominence in his or her chosen field. The candidate should have a strong publication record and/or record of professional accomplishments reflecting significant contribution to his/her field. This post ordinarily carries a full-time assignment of productivity, centered around one seminar per semester, and the production of a monograph to be published by the DPAS, expected at the end of his/her one-year tenure at the university. This appointment is competitive and depends on FAC recommendation as well as well the Chairperson’s sign-off.
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Adjunct Professor
The title “Adjunct” refers to a Professor who is not full-time in an academic unit of the University or, because of other professional commitments, would not and cannot normally contemplate a full-time academic appointment. Tenured and regular full-time faculty prerequisites and voting privileges are not applicable.
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Research Fellow
This is a non-tenured, year-to-year appointment within the Department of Pan-African Studies for a beginning to mid-career scholar whose primary activity is research. His or her research should offer significant contributions to the stated research purpose and goals of the department in particular and to the Pan-African Studies discipline in general. This appointment is competitive and depends on FAC recommendations as well as Chairperson’s sign-off. Other special institutes or programs may be initiated by the Department for a professional scholar whose primary duty is research. He or she is also expected to deliver lectures.
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Visiting Artist-in-Residence
This position is reserved for outstanding individuals in the fine and performing arts. No tenure accompanies this appointment.
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Temporary Appointments/Part Time
Temporary appointments are for a term of one semester or one year, except in extraordinary cases, such as strong student response and exceptional productivity, when reappointment can be considered. In some instances the Department may wish to designate as “temporary” those appointees who are potentially permanent faculty pending the attainment of an advanced degree or equivalent achievements in their fields.
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Graduate Faculty Status
Associate Graduate Faculty Status may be requested for full-time faculty who have, through scholarly publications, research accomplishments, papers read at conferences, etc., demonstrated their advanced scholarship. Graduate faculty status is necessary for the Department in order to serve graduate students pursuing their academic objectives throughout the University community, as well as to develop the Department’s academic and programmatic objectives.
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Emeritus
Emeritus status is conferred, following appropriate review and recommendation, upon faculty members and administrators at the time of their official retirement from full-time employment.
Emeriti faculty shall be regarded as honored and distinguished members of the Department. As such, they shall be entitled to represent the Department or greater University community, upon appointment by the President, at academic and other ceremonies of the University or at other universities and organizations, to participate in social and ceremonial functions and to use University facilities. They may also serve on departmental, collegial and university committees and councils.
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University Professor
The special rank of University Professor is established to confer particular distinction upon a university faculty member at the rank of professor in recognition of distinguished achievement in his or her scholarly or creative field. A person may be brought to the faculty with this rank and with special privileges, including tenure.
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Faculty Workload and Equivalents
Generally, faculty members not holding administrative positions are not granted workload equivalents which reduce teaching assignments by more than six credit hours per academic year. However, extenuating demands beyond the formulation given below will determine whether a faculty member will be granted an equivalency for special services outside the classroom. Examples include the Assistant to the Chair, Departmental Division Directors and other program or institutional directors, unless elsewhere stated differently.
Faculty may be assigned special assignments for the department if assigned classes does not make. This may be variable (up to 3) and requires consultation with Chair and/or Dean. Pre-tenure faculty research may receive credit hours release for their first three years. Post-tenure faculty may request productivity release; however, this requires annual review and consultation with FAC and Chair. Not more than 6 credit hours per semester may be requested.
In addition to assigned classroom hours, each full-time faculty member is expected to hold at minimum 5 office hours per week, which may include student consultation and advising, Department service, university service, community service, scholarly research and writing.
Anyone desiring workload equivalencies to perform assignments stipulated in grants or contracts, to complete research projects and/or publications, to perform functions on or off campus, in other departments or for the university must submit a request in writing to the Chair and have the expressed approval of the Chairperson. The Chairperson shall also be consulted prior to submission of grant proposals and/or acceptance of assignments requiring release time.
Table 1. Workload Equivalents Table
Assignment
Load Equivalent
Frequency
Duties
Assistant Chair
Up to 6
Year
coordinate, develops and maintains records of majors; advising, scheduling, and course
modifications and substitutions recommended; monitor the minor programs, coordinate the
undergraduate program, reviews request from faculty, and monitors output and productivity of the various units in the Department; support the
Chairperson in the collection of data for required reports and proposals for grants; acting Chair in Chairperson’s absence
Director, CPAC
Up to 12
Year
Pl Plans , coordinates and directs activities, which provide students and the Pan-African community at large with opportunities to develop projects, performances and exhibits promoting cultural and arts awareness; identifies artists and other public figures to be invited to Departmental events, guest lectures, the annual Pan-African Festival; negotiates fees for such artists and public figures, handles all arrangements for their appearance on campus, provides promotional materials and publishes a calendar of events; works in cooperation with the Curator of the Gallery for exhibitions and with the IAAA Director for the scheduling of speakers on scholarly topics; manage the CPAC budget, report at regular Unit meetings, and submits annual reports
Director, ACT
Up to 12
Year
Cr Creates and develops the ACT theatre program, including the training of students in theatre productions; development of theatre workshops, community outreach, and events to develop new audiences; provides opportunities for creative outlets for the local and communities; oversees the general management of the theatre, including schedules, and rehearsals; manage production budgets, report at regular Unit meetings, submits annual reports.
Director, CSA
Up to 12
Year
Oversees programs related to communication skills and arts; selects and supervises all faculty members who teach in the Department’s College Writing Program and those who work in the Department’s Help Center/Computer lab; works in consultation with the faculty, the Director advises DPAS/Writing Program faculty on the direction and content of the DPAS/College Writing classes; may oversee student publications, assists with the editing of Department materials; oversees the DPAS
scholarships for majors and minors as well as the Kim Todd-White Scholarship; reports at regular Unit meetings, and submits annual reports.
Director, IAAA
Up to 9
Year
Maintains the necessary research infrastructure to advance the research mission of the
Department; serve as liaison with other
educational bodies both at Kent State and
beyond; may oversee publication of The
African American Monograph Series,
KITABU, and the IAAA newsletter; oversees
management of the Henry Dumas Memorial
Library; coordinates the Biennial Africa and
the Global Atlantic World Conference;
manages the IAAA budget, report at regular
Unit meetings, and submits annual reports.
Curator, Gallery
Up to 6
Year
Pl Manages the Uumbaji Gallery, its exhibits and its permanent collections and a minimum of four exhibits per academic year or the equivalent; selects the artists and assists with internal and/or external funding opportunities for exhibition costs and coordinates with other units with regards to publicity and a calendar for exhibits; managed the gallery budget, report at regular Unit meetings, and submit annual reports.
Large enrollment >150
Up to 1-3
semester
Teaching a large section is equivalent to an additional 1-3 credit hours.
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Workload Reports
Before the conclusion of each academic year, each continuing tenured Faculty member is to prepare and submit an annual workload summary report. This report is to identify and update the Faculty member’s scholarly, teaching and service contributions during that academic year. These reports will become an ongoing record of each Faculty member’s professional activities providing information related to grant activities, collaborative scholarship and teaching activities. The annual workload summary report submitted electronically to the Chair by the Faculty member shall be in the form of an annual updated curriculum vitae and the course syllabi for each course or section of course taught by the Faculty member during that academic year. The purpose of this report is to document the workload, including utilization of the specified workload equivalencies, for that academic year.
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Summer Teaching
The Chair welcomes requests for summer teaching assignments from all full-time Faculty members, qualified graduate students, and members of the part-time teaching pool. Summer teaching cannot be guaranteed to any individuals in the above list and most summer teaching assignments are for a partial load. The size, content, and staffing of summer courses are dictated by budgetary constraints and curricular needs. The Department will endeavor to distribute summer teaching opportunities equitably among members of the bargaining unit without regard to academic rank. Faculty members may elect not to accept a summer assignment. See also CBA Article IX, Section 4.
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Faculty Code of Professional Ethics (University Policy Register 3342-6-17)
Responsibility to the students, to the university and to the profession is described in this section of the University Policy Register and need not be reproduced here. Academic freedom, also described in the Register, is necessary to the mission of the university professor and entails professional freedom as a correlate. These responsibilities and privileges apply to the Department of Pan-African Studies, as they apply to all professors in other departments, programs and divisions of the University.
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Conflict of Interest
University employment is a trust conferred by public authority for a public purpose. Such status forbids the employee from placing himself or herself in a position in which private interests conflict with public duty. Such status, trust and issues of public duty are described in the statutes of the regarding maintaining the confidentiality of information and the receipt of compensation from sources other than the University, and “Offenses against Justice and Public Administration,” relating to private interest in a public contract. For further information these documents should be consulted.
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Departmental Criteria for Faculty and Professional Staff Recruitment and Employment
All faculty and staff are recruited in accordance with the Affirmative Action policy stated in the University Policy Register, 3342-06-02 through 3342-06-04.
Before transmitting recommendations concerning appointments, non-reappointments within limited or probationary appointments, dismissals or promotions, the Department Chairperson should consult with the FAC. Within the recommendation, the Department Chairperson will review all parties’ responses to the proposals. All participants should present supporting reasons for their responses and opinions regarding candidates and recommendations.
Standard procedures require that the Chairperson document all recommendations fully.
The following are the criteria for assessing the credentials of potential faculty and staff:
1. Full- or part-time faculty should have some college teaching experience and an advance or terminal degree or the equivalent in experience and scholarly productivity.
2. Full- or part-time IAAA, CPAC or ACT staff need not fulfill any specific educational requirement beyond the baccalaureate degree, if the appointment does not include teaching. If teaching is required, the candidate for the position must have a terminal degree. However, he or she should have demonstrated interest and at least three years’ experience in working with the lives and affairs of African American and/or African peoples or in relevant professional equivalent fields requiring skills necessary to the post in question.
3. Graduate Assistants should have an academic area and or interest related to Pan-African Studies, have demonstrated academic potential and motivation, and demonstrated interest and skill in communicating salient topics in the discipline. They should also be able to serve in various capacities. Teaching, research, student recruitment, tutoring and conference coordination are all critical skills that may be required of Graduate Assistants. It is also possible for Graduate Assistants to have a split appointment involving more than one of these skills.