The Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee (AF&T) proposed a new resolution at the Faculty Senate meeting on Sept. 29. The resolution calls for the creation of a task force with two purposes: to identify the legitimate use of term faculty and articulate methods that protect non-tenurable faculty’s academic freedom.

The resolution requests the University of Minnesota annually report the number of long-term term faculty as outlined by the Board of Regents policy on faculty tenure.

The resolution will be voted on at the next Faculty Senate meeting on Nov. 3.

The tenure code protects faculty against potentially being fired for political or personal reasons and protects their academic freedom, Gopalan Nadathur, former AF&T chair, said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

Term faculty, or non-tenurable faculty, are appointed by contract and will not be granted tenure at the end of their term, Nadathur said. What AF&T refers to as regular faculty have a six to nine year probationary period, which concludes with the University granting them tenure if they are re-hired, he said.

Academic freedom is important in the University setting because it allows people to seek new ways that serve the common good without fear of repercussions, Nadathur said.

“The tenure code assumes that the large majority of our faculty will be tenured or are on the way to tenure,” Nadathur said. “It includes requirements in it to ensure most people contributing to the teaching and research mission of the University are in fact in tenurable positions.”

However, term faculty appointments have increased from 28% to 43% since 2010 at the University, even though non-tenurable faculty appointments should be used in “few exceptional circumstances,” Nadathur said.

The University must report any term-faculty appointment that has existed for seven years or more to the Tenure Committee to determine if there is a legitimate reason for the continued use of a term-faculty appointment for the role in consideration and that this continuation would not result in the abuse or denial of academic freedom protections. The committee does not have a say specifically in hiring and retention decisions though, Nadathur said.

“I was a member of the committee from 2016 to 2022 and in none of those years was the reporting actually done,” Nadathur said.

To address those problems, AF&T began discussing the resolution on Oct. 2, 2020 and underwent a two-year long extensive consultation process.

Part of the resolution includes creating a task force devoted to understanding the demographics of term faculty at the University, AF&T Chair Eric Van Wyk said.

The task force would decide what AF&T should be doing and what it can do to ensure people have strong academic freedom protections, Van Wyk said. The task force is expected to finish its work within one to two years.

No faculty members have been appointed to the task force, but it would consist of AF&T members, term faculty representatives and ex-officio members who will communicate across committees and administrations, Van Wyk said.

The task force would begin its work either in December or the spring, Van Wyk said.

The voting process will occur online during the meeting and all voters will pre-register to alleviate the issue, Colleen Flaherty Manchester, the chair for the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC), said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

“[The] AF&T committee can technically stand this task force up on its own, but it’s pursuing the resolution path for obtaining faculty buy-in and also educating faculty about the issue,” Flaherty Manchester said.

Academic freedom is a core concern of faculty, and assessing the academic freedom of term faculty is critical because of the mission work these individuals do, Flaherty Manchester said.

Provost Rachel Croson said she is in full support of academic freedom for faculty and faculty-like staff in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

“I welcome a discussion on that topic along with suggested edits or clarifications to our policies that we should consider,” Croson said.

In the Board of Regents policy on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, amended July 2020, the policy defines academic freedom as the ability to discuss relevant matters in the classroom and explore avenues of scholarship, research and creative expression. Faculty can “speak or write on matters of public concern as well as on matters related to professional duties and the functioning of the University” without institutional discipline or restraint.

Any institution of higher learning should expect faculty to explore boundaries of knowledge without restraint, Van Wyk said. Teachers should have the freedom to decide how to teach students the material covered in the classroom and grading processes to provide the best education for students, he said.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the role of the Tenure Committee. The committee determines if there is a legitimate reason for the continued use of a term faculty appointment and that this continuation would not result in the abuse or denial of academic freedom protections. The committee does not have a say specifically in hiring and retention decisions. 

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated when the task force was created. Creating the task force is part of the resolution. 

The College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Sciences (CFANS) Dean Brian Buhr proposed a plan on Sept. 19 to restructure the Departments of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Horticultural Science and Plant Pathology.

Though the administrative plan is not fully defined, the proposal outlines all three departments reporting to one yet-to-be-named department head to more effectively pursue the College’s mission. An additional faculty consultative committee will be created after the realignment by the dean to appropriately represent the distinct identities of each department, Buhr said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

“We have thriving plant sciences and food systems majors that cut across the three departments,” Buhr said. “So this combination will ultimately help us better coordinate and deliver interdisciplinary coursework.”

According to Buhr, no academic aspects will change, only the administrative structure, which would allow consistent, united planning involving integrated programs to occur that was impossible under three independent department heads.

“Although distinct in their respective disciplines, these three departments share some general commonalities, including plant breeding and exploring plant diseases, and integrated classroom and research delivery of our plant sciences,” Buhr said.

The College had consulted with an advisory group and all departments in a year-long process, which led to the concept of administrative realignment, according to Buhr.

Professor Jerry Cohen from the Department of Horticultural Sciences said the advisory committee did not recommend this course of action.

Cohen said he does not think Buhr followed the CFANS Constitution, which took two years for Cohen to access and is not accessible on the University’s policy library webpage. The constitution states the Dean must consult with faculty before making a proposal of this magnitude, which Cohen said he believes Buhr failed to do.

Administrators should take advantage of their faculty’s experience and knowledge to make appropriate and beneficial administrative decisions, Cohen said. Administrators do not need to listen but they do need to ask, he said.

Cohen said he is concerned about the realignment decreasing the influence of the plant sciences.

The University is a land grant institution, which Cohen said means it was established to advance agricultural sciences in the United States. Combining three departments under one head can “dilute the departments’ voices by a factor of three,” he said.

The new leadership structure laid out in the proposal would have a department head who is responsible for strategic direction, research and financial strategies along with other responsibilities and an associate head who would work on budgetary oversight and support for strategic planning.

From each of the three departments, there will then be an undergraduate coordinator, graduate coordinator and research, extension and outreach coordinator.

The proposal also details a cut in faculty from the current 49-person staff across all three departments to 46 people, accounting for the removal of three department heads. This will allow for four more faculty positions because of the cost savings, according to the proposal.

According to Cohen, plant sciences play a critical role in the sustainability of our planet, as they address important issues like food deserts, climate change and more. Cohen said the combination of these departments causes a loss of reputation and identity.

The realignment will not allow the plant sciences to grow and flourish, Cohen said.

Gary Muehlbauer, head of the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, does not share the same concerns as Cohen.

“We should’ve done this years ago,” Muehlbauer said.

The three departments have been competing against each other for resources and faculty members, and the realignment will allow strategic assignment of faculty to promote a cohesive and stronger undergraduate program, Muehlbauer said.

According to the proposal, some of the benefits of the realignment are that it will improve the number of faculty dedicated to scientific discovery and streamline faculty staffing of academic programs.

Through the realignment, the college can effectively allocate resources and federal funds toward research, teaching and the University’s extension program, which delivers a practical education to discover science-based solutions that build a better future, Muehlbauer said.

“The most effective way of doing this is by merging into a single unit,” Muehlbauer said. “I would hope that the new department can develop an identity that is stronger than any of the three individual departments.”

Professor Linda Kinkel, who teaches epidemiology and ecology of plant diseases, said she attended a retreat on Sept. 30 that addressed the realignment and its possible consequences.

In the last few years, the plant pathology department has lost five faculty members, making the department vulnerable in the realignment process. Plant pathology does not share specific disciplinary concepts that could be lost in the administrative restructuring, Kinkel said.

Kinkel said it is important to address and articulate the concerns of the realignment and devise buffers against its risks, however, she supports the Dean’s decisions while believing competition between the three departments can be addressed without administrative reconstruction.

“There needs to be a space for broader discussion on how to address the concerns and risks of this realignment,” Kinkel said.

The University of Minnesota welcomed Dr. Mercedes Ramírez Fernández as the new vice president for equity and diversity at the beginning of the fall semester. 

Ramírez Fernández received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at the University of Puerto Rico. From there, she earned a master’s degree in counseling at the University of Iowa and her doctorate in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013.

Ramírez Fernández’s interests in human psychology and cultural identities have led her through several careers devoted to equity, diversity and inclusion across the country, she said.

Ramírez Fernández previously worked at the University of Rochester as the president of equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, where she developed and implemented an office of equity and diversity, she said. 

Ramírez Fernández said her main reason for accepting the opportunity to work at the University was her love of the people and the unique commitment they have to the “openness to consider different answers” and “acknowledging the brutal truth,” she said. 

Tina Marisam, associate vice president for equity and diversity, and Vice President of Human Resources Kenneth Horstman said they look forward to working alongside Dr. Ramírez Fernández.

“Her experience and recognized leadership are tremendous assets that will help us advance equity, diversity and inclusion as vital and valued parts of our everyday work,” Horstman said.

Marisam said in an email to the Minnesota Daily they look forward to seeing the progress the University will make under Ramírez’s leadership. 

“Dr. Ramírez Fernández has deep knowledge of the equity and diversity field, top-notch strategic thinking skills and demonstrated passion and energy for the work,” Marisam said. “All of these qualities, as well as her great capacity for empathy and understanding, make her an excellent choice.”

Regent Darrin Rosha expressed his approval for Dr. Ramírez Fernández in this position but warned we should “be mindful of our growth in positions and in compensation in all areas.” 

The University’s increasing administrative board affects all students who graduate with immense student debt, especially students with diverse backgrounds, Rosha said. 

Rosha said he hopes Ramírez Fernández will “assess and coordinate the University’s diversity initiatives across the University to ensure we are both effective and efficient in those efforts.” 

Ramírez Fernández said “equity, inclusion, diversity and racial and social justice are like air” and it is important to have an office of equity and diversity to ensure students, faculty and staff achieve their aspirations. 

In her current position, Ramírez Fernández wants to ensure the University provides necessary resources and support for everyone on campus so they feel “seen, valued and affirmed.” 

Her main goal throughout her career has been and continues to be “how do we support people in their quest to become their best selves,” she said.