Groups disagree over control of job titles

Governance groups representing faculty and academic staff have passed differing resolutions over the use of modified professorial titles for academic staff.

The Faculty Senate adopted a resolution Dec. 3 asserting its regulatory control over the use of modified professorial titles. The vote was followed a week later by an Academic Staff Assembly resolution supporting each academic unit’s control of the titles.

The actions follow a long debate over the use of modified professorial titles by academic staff on campus. Earlier this year, the Faculty Senate approved “research professor” and “associate research professor” as honorary titles for academic staff members to be based on a list of six criteria.

The Academic Staff Assembly endorsed a list of six budgeted — not honorary — modified professorial titles for both instructional and research academic staff. Ultimately, UW System rejected budgeted titles, but reminded campuses that they could create their own systems for granting honorary modified professorial titles.

Former UW–Madison interim provost Gary Sandefur said academic units should decide what titles to use, according to their needs. Since then, the School of Business has hired several academic staff members with the working title “teaching professor.”

Senate resolution author Lawrence Kahan, professor of biomolecular chemistry, says titles that don’t have Faculty Senate approval will cause problems.

“There are no standards to govern these titles, which will lead to dissension, consternation and the lowering of academic staff morale,” Kahan says.

The Academic Staff Assembly countered with a Dec. 10 resolution backing Sandefur’s policy of academic units’ control over modified professorial titles.

“Use of these working titles will increase the morale and productivity of the UW–Madison academic staff and be beneficial to the UW–Madison and its students,” the academic staff resolution reads.