Summary of the Symposium on the Status of Research at Southern

Introduction

Departing from our usual format of papers and posters, R/SAC's Annual Research Day took the form of a Symposium this year. Held on Saturday April 26, the Symposium examined the state of research at Southern and elicited ways from faculty and deans to nurture the impressive array of research on campus. There was a palpable energy in the Special Dining Room of Connecticut Hall; one faculty member described it as "a spark in the room." Approximately three dozen faculty members and two deans participated in the program. Academic Vice President Phil Smith welcomed participants and Dean Holley and Dean Fredeen gave closing summaries of discussions. Registered participants.

Some authors suggest that "Faculty research may be largely undervalued because we have not done a good job in helping people understand what our research entails." [Koroscik, J. S. (1994). Blurring the line between teaching and research. Arts Education Policy Review, 96 (1), 2-10.]

The importance of research on the development of students has been addressed in the literature [Malachowski, M. R. (2003). A Research-Across-the-Curriculum Movement. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 93, 55-68.].

However, in our own support of and eagerness to convey the value of research, we must remain aware that "Outstanding teaching and research performance are achieved by some …, whereas …others tend to excell in one area or the other. Correlation coefficients seem to indicate the level of performance in these areas to be more a function of individual interest and conditions than a function of any link between the two areas." [Tanner, J.R. & Manakyan, H. (1992). Management-faculty research productivity and perceived teaching effectiveness. Journal of Education for Business, 67(5), 261-26.]

From a utilitarian perception - and in these times of faculty considering extending work years to compensate for failing retirement plans, it is also worth noting that the value of research in prolonging the mental faculties of senior faculty was tested with a group of Berkeley professors; Researchers found that "intellectually active people develop dementia at a later age than others and that they compensate better for normal deterioration in mental faculties". [Holden, C. (1995). How to be a sharp senior. Science, 270 (5238), 921.] Other researchers have concluded "The production of new knowledge is valuable because it broadens our vision, enhances our own understanding, and nurtures Innovation" [Koroscik, J. S. (1994). Blurring the line between teaching and research. Arts Education Policy Review, 96 (1), 2-10.].

1. State of Research at SCSU



1. Impressive Variety of Research and Creative Activity

The Symposium articulated the tremendous variety of research that Southern's faculty members conduct. From doing fieldwork abroad to making a sculpture or writing a poem in New Haven, Southern faculty distinguish themselves not only as teachers but also as researchers and scholars in a broad range of disciplines. Research takes many forms at Southern; clinically based research on patient populations, experiments on animals, music composition, and library research are just a few. Similarly, the results of faculty research appear in many guises. Articles, books, lectures, exhibitions, performances, grants, workshops, and symposia are among the many ways faculty share their research and creative activity. Moreover, R/SAC Symposium participants emphasized that they are active in research even when there is no tangible "end-product."

2. Impressive Quantity and Quality of Research and Creative Activity

   Symposium participants were impressed by the sheer amount of research being conducted by their faculty colleagues and the students who collaborate with them. The current reality both refutes the notion that Southern is a "teaching" university only and reveals the absurdity of the claim that research is antithetical to teaching. Moreover, the quality of Southern faculty research is distinguished in local, regional, national, and international arenas. Faculty members also participate in the professional organizations of their individual disciplines. Symposium participants emphasized that the quantity and quality of research at Southern was especially impressive given the severe limitations of time and money.

2. Needs of Faculty Engaged in Research
1. Faculty identified time as the primary need of those engaged in research. Preparing classes, lecturing, evaluating student work, holding office hours, answering student emails and voice mails, and committee work limit research time and faculty energy. University expectations of excellence remain unchanged for teaching and committee work. At the same time, faculty members acknowledge that the prevailing University culture places increased importance on research and creative activity especially in matters of promotion and tenure.
2. Money is another need faculty identified as a crucial requirement for research. Interestingly, the need for time was voiced more loudly than the need for money. Indeed, some faculty members reported financing their own research projects. Nonetheless, faculty expressed gratitude for CSU and SCSU grants and hoped that these programs would be expanded. Moreover, several Symposium participants expressed frustration with Southern's spar Office, especially in matters of timely submission of external grants and in the post-award process.
3. Improvements to the University's physical plant represent another crucial requirement for faculty research. Faculty protested vociferously about substandard buildings, shared offices, and outdated equipment.
4. Faculty also identified the need for increased validation of research by members of the senior administration. Symposium participants reported that research is deemed crucial by their faculty colleagues. However, some faculty members perceived that senior University administration does not understand the notion of a research culture on campus or sees research as superfluous.

3. Recommendations

Bearing in mind R/SAC's mission to advise the Vice President for Academic Affairs on matters of research, the Research Visibility Subcommittee elicited suggestions from Symposium participants.

1. To address what one participant called "a desperate shortage of time," faculty members made several recommendations. Many faculty members support the idea of working with the administration and the AAUP to reduce course load. Another idea is to expand the existing Research Release Time program. As befits an institution that validates research, faculty members point to the need for greater student involvement as research assistants and graders; this model fits with the University Strategic Plan and has been deployed successfully in PSY 197. In order to facilitate research, faculty schedules should guarantee one or two days without teaching. Every attempt should be made to schedule teaching and committee meetings on the same day so that a faculty member's "research day" is not sacrificed. All pre-tenure faculty should be afforded 9 credits of Research Release Time; moreover, junior faculty should have limited departmental and University service requirements. One faculty member suggested weighting Creative Activity higher than Service in a revised Promotion and Tenure Document.
2. Symposium participants made several suggestions for creative ways to raise money for research. At the departmental level, solutions might include an expansion of lab fee programs and the use of adjunct faculty and graduate students as lab/discussion section leaders and graders. An expansion of the CSU and SCSU grants would help defray the costs of research. The University might also invest in research by expanding the use of stipends or tuition waivers for students who participate in faculty research. Working with spar to secure external funding and to increase efficiency and reduce faculty frustration with that office is also a crucial issue.
3. Many faculty members were pleased with the recent improvements to Engleman Hall while others found the physical plant hostile to research. Suggestions include: a dedicated room for faculty to get IT help; better maintenance of existing equipment and the purchase of new equipment; exploring the use off campus locations to both alleviate space problems on campus and to bridge with the community. Faculty from across the disciplines called for a space separate from their office in which to conduct research and write; library carrels or vacant Townhouses might be ideal for such a use.
4. Symposium participants made numerous insightful recommendations for creating a University culture supportive of research. Increasing the visibility of the range and breadth of research done at Southern is perhaps the best method to accomplish this goal. By making a concerted effort to highlight research accomplishments of SCSU faculty on the University website, we raise the stature of the University and attract interested students. Emphasizing research as a crucial part of teaching will make students' experience at SCSU more valuable. Increased recognition of faculty scholars through award ceremonies, lectures, and on the Internet would help students and administrators perceive professors as scholars. Chairs of departments should report what they have done to encourage research and should regularly submit accomplishments of their faculty members to University publications. Expanding the Faculty Scholar Award program would further validate research at Southern. Finally, while acknowledging R/SAC's role as an advisory committee to the Academic Vice President, Symposium participants suggested that R/SAC communicate its goals to other senior administrators especially the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Vice President for Finance and Administration.