Faculty senate approves modified titles for staff

The Faculty Senate has narrowly approved honorary modified professor titles for academic staff researchers, but rejected a similar title for instructional staff.

At its meeting Feb. 5, the senate adopted, 61-58, a proposal from the University Committee to establish the zero-dollar working titles of “associate research professor” and “research professor.”

Associate scientists would be eligible for the associate research professor title, while senior scientists and distinguished scientists could qualify for the research professor title. They would be limited in most cases to employees whose positions are funded at least 50 percent with revenue from outside the university, according to the measure.

Tom Sharkey, chair of the University Committee, says he is pleased the senate approved the honorary research professor titles.

“My study of the use of these titles at UW–Madison peer institutions indicted that ‘research professor’ is commonly used in such cases,” says Sharkey, professor of botany and director of Biotron.

“There are a number of professors here at UW–Madison who were once research professors at other institutions, including me. The ability to excel at research in such positions can help establish a significant scholarly reputation, making such positions desirable to some of the very best scholars.”

A proposal to create the honorary instructional professor title for academic teaching staff was defeated, 71-55. Some senators say this specific title could weaken the tenure system and the true meaning of the term professor. Sharkey and others are disappointed the instructional title was not approved.

A senate-approved change to Faculty Policies and Procedures will require departmental executive committees to recommend the modified professor titles to their deans.

The Academic Staff Assembly has already approved its own version of modified professor titles for research and instructional staff, but they would be budgeted — instead of honorary — titles. A UW System committee also is studying the issue and is considering budgeted professor titles for academic staff as well.

Academic Staff Executive Committee chair Wilton Sanders says he appreciates the “good intentions” of the Faculty Senate to consider professor titles for research and instructional staff.

Still, he adds, “Their approach to academic staff titling appears inconsistent with shared governance, in that academic staff members have the primary statutory responsibility for academic staff personnel matters.”

Sanders, a senior scientist in the Department of Physics, says he looks forward to working with UW System to move forward with the professor title series for academic staff. Both the assembly and senate title recommendations would require approval of the campus administration and the Board of Regents before they could be implemented.

Sharkey says he is concerned that the UW System could implement professor titles for academic staff that would be imposed “indiscriminately” and put UW–Madison “out of step” with its peers.

The Board of Regents last year adopted eight principles “to guide staffing decisions in the UW System” in the future. Those guidelines include revising titles for “non-tenure-track instructional and research staff” to reflect national trends, and “integrating non-tenure-track instructional staff into departments and institutions.”

The national trends on this issue are fueled by the fact that many universities will see a large number of faculty and academic staff retire in the next five to 10 years. University leaders are concerned about filling those positions. In addition, universities now employ professional staff for duties that years ago were the responsibilities of professors.

Supporters generally say the professor titles for academic staff would provide more hiring flexibility to departments and deans. They also say the titles would give more credibility to academic staff when they apply for grants as principal investigators and work with external agencies and other colleges and universities.

Opponents maintain the titles are likely to be misleading to the public and could create divisions among academic staff and in departments.