In higher education, an age-old challenge persists – the relationship between faculty members and administration. The dichotomy between those who shape the learning experience in the classroom/lab/clinic and those responsible for governance often leads to misunderstandings, miscommunications, and mistrust. Some days it feels like a boxing match between two combatants and some days it is just a lingering distrust. Whatever the tone at your institution, building bridges and fostering a culture of trust between faculty and administration is not just desirable but required!
The Age Old Challenge
The faculty-administration relationship can be likened to a delicate dance that is often marred by a lack of transparency, conflicting priorities, and a perceived power imbalance. Faculty members, embedded in the trenches, may feel their voices are not heard. On the other hand, administrators might struggle to balance institutional goals with the demands and expertise of their teaching staff. Faculty typically think that administrators have all the decision-making power, when in reality, they may be micromanaged from above. I often describe the role of being a Dean as being the "ultimate middle manager". Your time, attention, and energy are being pulled in two directions simultaneously - up and down! You must take care of your bosses and your followers at all time.
Trust and Communication
To mend this rift and stop this fight, work to pave the way for a more harmonious collaboration, actionable steps are pivotal. Here are some ideas to build trust and communication between faculty and administration:
Regular Meetings: Establishing a platform for transparent discussions where faculty and administration share thoughts, concerns, and ideas can break down communication barriers and build mutual understanding. Use time at each faculty meeting to address concerns and share the true difficulties that administration has in executing change. I always ordered beer & wine for our faculty meetings so that it became a more comfortable conversation...like friends working on a problem and not a boss telling everyone what to do.
Shared Committees: Involve faculty members in key decision-making processes to ensure their perspectives are considered and valued. One of my best techniques for making the faculty feel included in the administration was to appoint the current faculty chair to the administrative team. The faculty chair attended all administrative meetings and could report back to the faculty what was discussed. There was nothing to hide!
Feedback Mechanisms: Implement structured feedback loops to gather faculty input on policies, programs, and initiatives, demonstrating a commitment to listening and incorporating diverse viewpoints. For example, when doing a track review in the curriculum, use your experts in each area to provide content and context for all decisions before they are made. You can imagine that if changes were made to the Optics track and you never engaged the optics professors...they would be terribly upset.
In conclusion, the journey bridging the gap between faculty and administration is not without its challenges. However, through consistent efforts to improve communication, foster trust, and celebrate successful partnerships, educational leaders can pave the way for a better future. As I've said many times in my career, one if the key roles of every academic leaders is to provide hope for a brighter future. Keep working on old challenges, look for wins along the way, and focus on the future!
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