Too many administrative tasks. Too many emails. Way too much bureaucracy.
During the final session of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ faculty retreat, Dean for Faculty Affairs and Planning Nina Zipser gave an overview of findings from the workload audit the Workload Committee was asked to undertake. That group was charged with examining the nonresearch workload of the faculty within the three divisions of the FAS and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Nonresearch work includes anything from advising students and writing letters of support for prizes to serving on committees and various bureaucratic tasks.
“Teaching, advising, and research are the focus of our mission,” said Zipser in a post-retreat interview. “We are reducing nonessential tasks that divert faculty from these core pursuits.”
Through discussions and analysis, Zipser reported an increasing and unsustainable amount of nonresearch work expected of faculty, and that such work is not equitably distributed across faculty. The committee proposed an FAS audit of the type and amount of work being asked of faculty, determine whether administrative systems are substantially increasing workload, and analyze whether there is adequate support available to faculty.
(Header image caption: Faculty and administrators gathered in late summer for the inaugural FAS Faculty Retreat at the Science and Engineering Complex. Credit: Scott Eisen for Harvard University).