First, NCSU should acquire resources to enhance salaries and fringe-benefit packages to enable the University to attract, recruit, and retain faculty of the highest quality. Years of budget reversions and low or nonexistent raises have eroded significantly NCSU's position in terms of faculty support and compensation, so that the overwhelming majority of department heads in all disciplines now report difficulty in retaining faculty or in successfully hiring desirable new faculty.
Second, to enable faculty to enhance the quality of their teaching, research, extension, and other scholarly activities, NCSU should acquire resources to support professional development among the faculty. Such resources should be used to enhance facilities, support scholarly leaves, and supply funds for professional travel.
Third, NCSU should examine its use of part-time or non-tenure-track faculty to make sure that current practices are in accord with appropriate professional standards and in the best interest of students. Members of the tenure-track faculty should be involved in teaching at all levels of instruction.
Fourth, to ensure that University policies promote good professional practice and the fulfillment of institutional mission, NCSU should continually review its official policies and practices in regard to recruitment and hiring, orientation of faculty to the institutional mission, review of performance and salary decisions, criteria for promotion and tenure decisions, academic freedom, research leaves, use of part-time faculty, and other policies and practices affecting faculty. NCSU should also ensure that such policies and practices are widely understood and followed in all departments, schools, and colleges.
Fifth, so that faculty are able to exercise effectively their appropriate role in institutional governance, planning, and formulation of institutional policy, NCSU should support review of the current organization of faculty governance and the structures for faculty involvement in University decision making, as well as the way such internal University service is regarded by the system of professional advancement and by the provision of tangible rewards (salary). The strength of the University lies in the involvement of the faculty in strategic decision-making. Effective participation in activities related to faculty governance and institutional decision-making are a part of faculty responsibility and should be recognized and encouraged by the University reward system.
Sixth, NCSU should review standards for promotion and tenure so that all aspects of institutional mission (including teaching and service, extension, or outreach activities) are accorded their appropriate place alongside research in making critical decisions concerning professional advancement and salary.
The excellence of NCSU's faculty is measured by the faculty's ability to be creative and innovative in discovering and disseminating knowledge while holding to the highest standards of professional conduct and teaching effectiveness. The University must ensure that the environment for the scholarly and professional work of faculty supports excellence and is appropriate to the high aspirations it holds for the quality of that work. As NCSU seeks recognition as a preeminent research-intensive university in the land-grant tradition, it must acknowledge the essential role of the faculty in fulfilling the University's mission of teaching, research, and service.
