Members of the Cornell Faculty Senate discussed several key initiatives -- including professorial titles, the university's planned new medical college in Qatar and female faculty salaries -- at their regular monthly meeting April 11 in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall.
Dean of the Faculty J. Robert Cooke explained that he had appointed an ad hoc task force to study the issue of professorial titles last November, in order to search for new options that would allow the university and the faculty more flexibility. He said that the uncapping of the federal mandatory retirement age, and the subsequent aging of the higher education faculty, has presented the university with a challenge: how to hire new, young faculty to maintain academic excellence and prepare for the future, while continuing to meet its financial obligations.
Cooke pointed out that the number of endowed faculty aged 60 and over has increased from 106 in 1982-83 to 203 in 1999-00, despite the introduction of a phased retirement program. And while the number of faculty aged 60 and over in the contract colleges was reduced from 119 to 92 in the same period, due to multiple attractive buyout programs, those colleges also have had to reduce dramatically the number of young faculty hired.
W. Donald Cooke, emeritus professor of chemistry and chair of the Subcommittee of Professorial Titles Committee, said the committee was "seeking ways to make part-time appointments more attractive to senior faculty, in order to release funds for new appointments." He said the committee is seeking input on a proposed new title of senior professor. This "would allow active, full professors, with 25 or so years of service, to continue serving as active faculty on a part-time basis, while retaining their professional identities and remaining as productive as their stamina, creativity and interest allow." He added that the money saved by their part-time status could be redirected into new appointments.
In addition, Donald Cooke noted, emeritus professors sometimes have trouble getting research funding, and the senior professor title might alleviate that problem.
Kay Obendorf, professor of textiles and apparel, expressed concern that this option would considerably reduce the interest in the phased retirement program, which mandates total retirement after no more than five years.
Ronald Ehrenberg, director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute and the Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations, added a cautionary note. He said the bigger problem in a few years is going to be the huge wave of retirements coming, "and where are we going to get the young faculty to replace them?"
On the issue of the Weill Cornell Medical College of Qatar, Provost Biddy Martin explained that under the agreement with the Qatar Foundation for a new branch of the medical college in that Middle Eastern country, the university would have complete control over the program, thus ensuring that the academic quality meets Cornell standards and safeguarding the Cornell name.
One faculty senator asked what the incentive for Cornell was in this venture. David Robertshaw, professor of biomedical sciences and associate dean of the new branch of the medical school, said that increasing globalization was a motivating factor.
"This allows the medical school to have an international presence in that region of the world," Robertshaw said. "It's an extension of higher education on an international basis, part of a general movement in higher education in that direction."
Several senators, however, expressed concerns about the initiative and the lack of faculty input in the process.
"It's too bad it's too late to do anything about this, but perhaps the best we have is it's the medical school and not us," said Terrence Fine, director of the Center for Applied Mathematics and professor of electrical and computer engineering. "This is basically about having the money and buying a piece of Cornell. I feel quite bad about this."
Risa Lieberwitz, professor of collective bargaining, said she was concerned about academic freedom and the human rights and safety of Cornell students and faculty. She noted that Qatar has a history of human rights abuses, including a lack of women's rights and a lack of religious freedom. "We cannot provide or assume that there will be the same kind of academic experience and rights as Cornell students here have with these restrictions."
She added that with total funding coming from the Qatar Foundation, there is the potential for a conflict of interest in the running of the medical school.
James Mingle, university counsel, responded that under Cornell's agreement with the Qatar Foundation, "the university has full operational autonomy," with extensive legal and financial protection, including "five-year rolling budgets secured by a letter of credit issued by a London bank Cornell approves."
Mingle said that from the earliest discussions with Qatar, Cornell considered the issues of academic freedom, personal safety and non-discrimination to be critical, and they are all addressed in the agreement. Unfortunately, he added, the government of Qatar -- like many around the world where Cornell has foreign programs and affiliations -- is not a democracy.
"We consulted with the U.S. State Department, and in light of increasing globalization they were supportive of this initiative in the interest of educational diplomacy."
Moreover, he pointed out, Qatar has considerably relaxed human rights restrictions in the past few years. "They recently introduced democratic elections, although the government is still a conservative regime. It's true that they are far to the right of us, but so are most other countries," he added.
Francille M. Firebaugh, director of special projects, Offices of the President and Provost, briefed the senate on a faculty gender equity salary study under way. The study, a universitywide project, involves a regression analysis for each college. The deans will review the results, particularly the women faculty salaries that are 5 percent or more below their predicted salary level. The deans will use these results to identify those cases that depart substantially from the regression prediction and then make adjustments consistent with performance evaluations.
In addition, Firebaugh said, a second set of regression analyses related to gender equity will take place this summer.
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