Issues Definition of senior leadership is not clear (People do not know who the ‘senior leadership’ is, or different groups may think of different people as being senior leaders. Deans are not on the Cabinet, but faculty probably consider their Dean a senior leader.) Inherent distrust, deficits in the “trust bank” (Past senior leaders may have acted in ways that cause the current leaders to be distrusted not because of something they did but because of something done by a prior occupant of their position; learning about the legacy of distrust is the first step to resolving it.) Participation too often is after the fact (Decisions are made then announced when it is too late for any input to be given thoughtful consideration before action is taken. “Input” thus becomes an act of lip service only.) Know what we are going to do – and why (One phrase comes to mind – “keep the one big thing the big thing.” It too often seems that we try to do too many separate things at once which … [Read more...]
Engagement Forum Notes
Two open forums were scheduled to give UMW Faculty and Staff an opportunity to share their thoughts, suggestions, and other feedback about the initiative. The moderators for these sessions were Dr. Anand Rao, Chair of the UFC and Mr. Michael Morley, President of the SAC. Session 1 Date: September 19 Location: Fredericksburg Campus: Attendees: Approximately 80 attendees plus 2 moderators. Moderator Comments: Introductions Comments will be shared anonymously with administration. Please share thoughts openly. We'd like feedback on how to mitigate issues, and ideas on how to improve communication. Explanation of survey results Strengths Opportunities Attendee Comments (Note-taker 1): Question: Did Faculty and Staff take the same survey? Yes, they did. Questions were presented based upon the user's responses, so it may appear that there were different surveys. Recommendation: The BOV should make "Richmond" understand that the COL is high and has … [Read more...]