KU a top 10 public university for new faculty

In addition to being listed as among the best in the nation for junior faculty, the University of Kansas is one of five universities cited as an “exemplar” for its clarity of institutional expectations for tenure by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education at Harvard. The new report, based on a survey of 15,000 pre-tenure faculty at 127 colleges in the United States, evaluated institutions on tenure practices, the balance between work and home, collegiality and the quality of the school as a place to work. Overall, 32 institutions were cited as exemplars among three groups — undergraduate, master’s and doctoral/research institutions — in at least one of eight categories. To qualify as an exemplar, institutions needed scores that were notably higher than similar institutions. “KU is a great place to work, to teach, to do research and to serve the public,” said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. “This kind of national recognition is gratifying and will help KU compete for the best new generation of scholars. Recruiting and retaining top young faculty to KU is vital to giving our students the best education possible.” Comprehensive reforms of the promotion and tenure standards and procedures developed by faculty governance were approved in 2008. The revisions were aimed at improving the transparency of the process and clarify the roles of participants at all levels. It also addressed the appeals process. KU previously was named a best place to work by The Chronicle of Higher Education in 2008 and KU Hospital was named to Modern Healthcare magazine’s Best Places to Work in Healthcare in 2009. It has been a long established custom at KU for faculty to play a key role in the administration of the university.