Executive Summary

This toolkit was written to assist Department Chairs in retaining their faculty across all ranks. These best practices should be applied to all faculty, not just the stars of a department. Retention efforts, when applied equitably to all faculty, can improve the general climate for everyone and can lead to better productivity and greater satisfaction for all faculty. Faculty retention is critical to the health of a University department both for morale reasons and also for economic reasons, as faculty replacement costs tend to be much higher than retention costs.

This document addresses nine key areas which can impact faculty retention. These practices help all faculty and are particularly important to women and underutilized minorities. This executive summary includes nine recommendations to department chairs. Details of how to implement these recommendations can be found later in this document.

Systematically monitor decisoins to elimiate unintentional bias and create opportunities for all faculty.
Encourage transparency in operations, sharing information equitably with all faculty.
Fostor a supportive environment. While this support is critical for pre-tenure and underrepresented faculty, all faculty benefit from a supportive environment.
Recognize important faculty contributions in all areas including teaching, research, service, and creative activities.
Utilize a variety of resources (salary adjustments, chaired professorships, reduced loads, leaves, bridge money, research support, mentors, etc.) to recruit and retain faculty. Resource decisions should be made on a case by case basis.
Recurite and support diverse faculty, recognizing that excellence can be achieved in may areas. Work with department and colege Promotion and Tenure committees to value diverse career paths.
Offer opportunities for faculty professional development, collaboration, and networking.
Advocate flexible and accomodating policies and practices that can improve the experience of faculty and help with retention.
Gather information from faculty through individual conversations, faculty focus groups, department chairs and deans, and exit interviews with faculty who are leaving UW to identify factors in retention. Identify solutions to remove these barriers.

Best Practices for Faculty Retention

A number of often overlapping practices, outlined in this toolkit, can help retain productive faculty. This toolkit advocates proactive, thoughtful measures which can have great impact on faculty satisfaction. Specific areas of focus include

Monitoring the Health and Welfare of Departments
Transparency in Operations Including Fair and Open Promotion and Tenure Guidelines
Creating a Welcoming Department Climate
Mentoring
Valuing Diversity in the Department
Supporting Career Development of Pre-tenure Faculty
Encouraging Mid-Career Professional Development
Faculty Development Programs, Benefits, and Resourcese
Flexible and Accommodating Policies and Practices

Last Updated: July 07, 2005

advance@engr.washington.edu

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