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  • 1.  Mandatory training for faculty on diversity or bias?

    Posted 05-06-2008 12:26

    Hi all:

     

    Is there MANDATORY training for faculty at your institutions on the topic of sexual harassment?  How about the topic of respectful workplace, diversity, or bias issues?

     

    I am on a committee at my college on the topic of bias and someone suggested that we cannot make this training mandatory for faculty (but they could for other employees).  This makes no sense to me so I said I would investigate to see what other institutions do on this topic.

     

    Please provide any information you have on this topic.  I will be happy to write a summary to post to the list.

     

    Take care, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Lynn</st1:city></st1:place>

     

     

    Lynn Bowes-Sperry, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor of Management

    <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Western</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">New England</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>

    <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Springfield</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">MA</st1:state> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">01119</st1:postalcode></st1:place>

     

    Chair, Gender & Diversity in Organizations

    <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Management</st1:placename></st1:place>

     

    email -  lbowessp@wnec.edu

    phone - (860) 444-9239

    fax -      (860) 444-9239

     



  • 2.  Mandatory training for faculty on diversity or bias?

    Posted 05-06-2008 16:08
    Hi Lynn,
     
    At a previous institution, we were told that we would have mandatory sexual harassment, and this went over like a lead balloon with some of the people in my dept..  My understanding of the issue is that tenured faculty felt that the university couldn't make them do anything, because such training is not explicitly part of their agreement.  My own view (and ultimately, the view that got passed down to the unwilling faculty) was that increasing awareness about diversity and inclusion falls under the umbrella of collegiality, which was one of the things that faculty were required to demonstrate.  Depending on how your faculty code is worded, your institution may be able to require such training as "service to the university" or "helping the university fulfill its mission" (assuming your mission speaks to diversity and inclusion) or whatever non-teaching/non-research criterion is used.  I will say, that the issue I observed was as much about making something mandatory for faculty as it was about faculty feeling out of the loop on why the mandatory training was be initiated.  So, starting off with a statement telling faculty why it is important to the mission of the university will probably go a long way toward getting buy-in from people who think they're above mandated training.  Good luck with it!
     
    Best,
    Caren
    Caren Goldberg, Ph.D.
    Endowed Fellow
    Kogod School of Business
    American University
    4400 Massachusetts Ave
    Washington, DC 20016
    202-885-1874 

    -----Gender & Diversity in Organizations Division Listserv <GDO-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu> wrote: -----

    To: GDO-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
    From: Lynn Bowes-Sperry <lbowessp@WNEC.EDU>
    Sent by: Gender & Diversity in Organizations Division Listserv <GDO-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu>
    Date: 05/06/2008 12:26PM
    Subject: Mandatory training for faculty on diversity or bias?

    Hi all:

     

    Is there MANDATORY training for faculty at your institutions on the topic of sexual harassment?  How about the topic of respectful workplace, diversity, or bias issues?

     

    I am on a committee at my college on the topic of bias and someone suggested that we cannot make this training mandatory for faculty (but they could for other employees).  This makes no sense to me so I said I would investigate to see what other institutions do on this topic.

     

    Please provide any information you have on this topic.  I will be happy to write a summary to post to the list.

     

    Take care, Lynn

     

     

    Lynn Bowes-Sperry, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor of Management

    Western New England College

    Springfield MA 01119

     

    Chair, Gender & Diversity in Organizations

    Academy of Management

     

    email -  lbowessp@wnec.edu

    phone - (860) 444-9239

    fax -      (860) 444-9239

     




  • 3.  Mandatory training for faculty on diversity or bias?

    Posted 05-07-2008 19:25
    Dear Lynn and GDO Colleagues:
     
        I'm responding to your question about mandatory training on sexual harassment for faculty.  I believe that the issue of making training mandatory depends on whether or not your faculty are represented (by a union) and, if so, what the contract says with respect to work assignments.  I am one of those ugly people who makes it impossible for the University to mandate training or other types of activities by saying, "Is it in the work assignment?"
     
        At my institution, the faculty are represented by a union.  In the contract that we have (that I negotiated), there is a statement that says that faculty will be evaluated on the basis of the activities designated in their work assignment.  So the University could mandate all kinds of things, but absent a statement in the work assignment, the faculty member could not be evaluated on the basis of participation or non-participation in such mandated activities.
     
        While this approach might sound churlish, the protection provided by the contract ensures that the University can't suddenly mandate all sorts of things, including community involvement, required professional activities, mandatory training on whatever the University desires, and all sorts of other things without agreement from the faculty representative (the union).  So the solution is to ensure that participation in University-sponsored training on (fill in the blank) is inserted into work assignments.  Then the problem becomes ensuring that you can offer the training enough times with enough variation in day, time, and place to make it truly available to all faculty.  My University used to have a wonderful way of offering training over, for example, a 3-day period (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 9;00 am to noon).  The administration just couldn't understand WHY the faculty never availed themselves of University-provided training until I finally made the realize that EACH FACULTY MEMBER TAUGHT on at least one of those days, perhaps two, and sometimes all three.  Somehow it never seemed to occur to our administrators that faculty couldn't just re-schedule classes in order to participate in whatever it is that they thought was such a marvelous idea (this week).
     
        I hope that this response helps you to see the other perspective on the mandatory training issue.  --  Gayle

    Gayle Baugh
    Associate Professor of Management
    Department of Management & MIS
    University of West Florida
    11000 University Parkway
    Pensacola, Florida  32514-5752
    (850) 474-2206 (office)
    (850) 474-2314 (FAX)