Recommendations:

Structure and Administration

of a merger of the

Departments of

Biochemistry and Chemistry

Draft

11/18/09 1

Charge to Committee

•! Provide recommendations for draft POA and AP&T documents for a merged department comprising the present departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Specifically, develop policies to address the following subjects:

1.! Administrative structure

2.! Faculty performance and compensation

3.! Promotion and tenure criteria and process

4.! Faculty recruiting processes

5.! Faculty workloads, including classroom teaching

6.! Policies related to TA deployment and distribution

11/18/09 2

Process

1.! Define key issues for each charge

2.! Compare current departmental policies

3.! Determine plausible policies and

processes

4.! Engage faculty in discussion

5.! Revise recommendations based on

faculty input

6.! Submit recommendations to Dean Platz

11/18/09 3

!

!

!

Timeline

11/18/09 4

SP-SU 2008 Task Force (Musier-Forsyth, Coleman, Foster,

Gopalan, Zhong) to identify merits and implementation

hurdles of a merger

Jan. 2009 Biochemistry & Chemistry retreat (Fawcett Center)

WI 2009 Faculty vote to proceed with developing an

implementation plan

SP 2009 Committee (Brooks, Dutta, Foster, Hopper, Pei)

charged with issuing recommendations for structure

and policies of a merged department

SP-AU 2009 Weekly meetings of the planning committee

AU 2009 (?) Present draft recommendations to faculty, collect

input, revise and submit to Dean

Guiding Principles and Vision •! New department can be more than the sum of its

parts and will reach beyond traditional disciplinary barriers; existing departments will cease to exist

•! Merged department can be stronger and better allow faculty to carry out their teaching, research and service missions

•! All department faculty will have the same rights and responsibilities

•! Identification and correction of disparities will be a priority for the new administration

•! Eventual co-localization is essential

•! The University will provide resources necessary for successful implementation

11/18/09 5

Department of

Chemical and Biochemical

Sciences

Draft Recommendations:

Structure and Administration for a merger of the

Departments of Biochemistry and Chemistry

11/18/09 6

Administrative Structure

11/18/09 7

Chairperson

* Staff position

Biochemistry

Undergraduate

Curriculum Committee

Associate Chair

Faculty Advisory Committee

VCU: Vice Chair for

Undergraduate Studies

VCG: Vice Chair for

Graduate Studies

*CAO: Chief

Admin Officer

*CIO: Chief

Infrastructure

Officer

Teaching

Divisions:

Analytical Biological

Inorganic

Organic

Physical

Graduate

Studies Committee

Standing Committees

Ad hoc committees

with varied reporting lines

Research Focus

Groups

(To be determined by the faculty)

Administrative Structure

11/18/09

Promotion and Tenure Comm.

Faculty

Chemistry

Undergraduate

Curriculum Committee

8

Chairperson •! Appointed by the BMAPS Dean with departmental

faculty consultation

•! Create an environment that nurtures faculty functions and development –! General administrative responsibility

–! Procure resources for the department from intra- and extra-university sources

–! Prepare Patterns of Administration (POA) and Appointments, Promotion and P&T (APT) documents

–! Consult and engage faculty in departmental governance

–! Oversee assignment of, and provide incentives for excellence in, teaching, research, and service duties

–! Perform annual faculty reviews and evaluations for promotion and/or tenure

–! Promote and reward unifying activities (e.g., RFGs)

11/18/09 9

Associate Chair •! Appointed by Chair and reports to Chair

–! Justified by larger, more diverse department, with current geographical separation

•! Assists Chair in assigned aspects of departmental administration

•! Possible assignments: –! Formulation and implementation of research infrastructure

–! Work with Chair to achieve disciplinary integration, including issues related to appointments, salary, teaching, performance, promotions and tenure

–! Represent Department/Chair in appropriate official capacities •! e.g., Coordination and oversight of IGPs

–! Work with CIO and CAO to coordinate North/South Campus operations •! Infrastructure, computing resources, teaching, facilities, space

–! Work with VCU to ensure uniformity in Chemistry and Biochemistry undergraduate programs

–! Work with VCG to coordinate activities of students and faculty in the departmental graduate program and in IGPs

11/18/09 10

Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC)

•! Standing committee that advises the Chair

•! Elected by and from faculty to represent

diversity in departmental teaching and

research interests

•! FAC provides feedback to chair in lieu of

full faculty when timeliness is important or

the issue is less substantive

•! The FAC should not generally replace

consultation with faculty

11/18/09 11

Vice Chair for Undergraduate Studies

(VCU) •! Appointed by the Chair

•! Implement and manage two baccalaureate

degree programs: Biochemistry and

Chemistry

•! Coordinate development and

implementation of General Chemistry

curriculum

•! Oversee staff for both UG programs

–! Instructional, Advising, Support

11/18/09 12

Teaching Divisions

•! ACS: Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical chemistry

•! Primary responsibility: work with VCU to coordinate undergraduate education

–! Chemistry majors

–! Biochemistry majors

–! Non-majors

•! Divisional representatives report to VCU:

–! Anticipated teaching needs (long- & short-term)

–! Recommended teaching assignments

–! Evaluation of UG teaching

11/18/09 13

Vice Chair for Graduate Studies (VCG)

•! Appointed by the Chair

•! Oversees graduate student admission,

matriculation, support and progress

•! Oversees GTA budget and appointments

•! Promotes cohesion of graduate students

in North and South campus laboratories

into a single community

•! Plans and implements innovative

approaches to graduate student recruiting

11/18/09 14

Research Focus Groups (RFGs)

•! Subgroups of faculty with shared intellectual interests

•! Provide coherent groups for:

–! Departmental decisions

–! Collaborative research

•! Number will be established and reviewed by the faculty

•! Faculty participation in one or more RFGs may change

with research interests

•! RFG representatives will participate in relevant

departmental activities

–! e.g., faculty hiring, graduate curriculum, student recruitment and

training, seminar programs

11/18/09 15

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)

•! Staff position appointed by and reporting to the chair

•! Oversees the physical plant and associated budget

•! Coordinate uniformity in resources and staffing for North/South Campus operations

•! Oversees and supervises staff –!Hiring, evaluation

•! Finance

•! Safety

11/18/09 16

Chief Infrastructure Officer (CIO)

•! Staff position appointed by and reporting to the chair

•! Responsible for maintaining research infrastructure (North and South Campus) –!Shared instrumentation facilities

•! E.g., NMR, MS, BPIF, analytical, CISG

–!Computing facilities and support

–!Teaching instrumentation

–!Stockroom

–!Service shops •! Glassblowing, electronic, machine

–! Liaison to CCIC and other University Facilities

11/18/09 17

Undergraduate Programs

Chemistry

Biochemistry

11/18/09 18

Number of Biochemistry and Chemistry Majors

•! Biochemistry and

Chemistry

undergraduate

programs are of

comparable size and

growing

•! Enrollment trends

suggest the majors

appeal to different

groups of students

11/18/09 19

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Biochem UG Chem UG

Undergraduate Programs

•! B.S., B.A. in Biochemistry

•! B.S., B.A. in Chemistry

–!Two Undergraduate Curriculum Committees

(UCCs)

–!Each UCC will determine the appropriate

training curricula for its program

–!VCU will oversee both programs

11/18/09 20

Graduate Educational

Program

11/18/09 21

Graduate Program

•! Department will offer a single PhD program in

Chemical and Biochemical Sciences

•! (Degrees are awarded by the Graduate School)

•! Faculty may elect to participate in

Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs (IGPs)

–!Department will recognize service to the IGPs

(e.g., committees, directorship)

–!Department will provide TA support to IGP

students in faculty labs

11/18/09 22

Graduate Education

•! PhD specialization will adhere to recognizable

sub-disciplines (analytical, biological, inorganic,

organic, physical, and theoretical)

•! The GSC will recommend a set of core and

special topics graduate courses within these

sub-disciplines, with input from RFGs and

teaching divisions

•! Core and elective courses for each student will

be based on intended research direction

•! Individualized curriculum will be refined in

consultation with thesis committee and VCG 11/18/09 23

Graduate Studies Committee (GSC)

•! Composition assignment/election to the

GSC to be determined

•! Duties of the GSC include:

–!Student recruiting and admissions

–!Determination of graduate curriculum and

program requirements

–!Recommend a pool of core and elective

graduate course offerings

–!Oversight and conflict resolution

11/18/09 24

Searches, Appointments,

Promotion, and Tenure

11/18/09 25

Appointment of Faculty •! Faculty are advisory to Chair in search and

appointment process

•! All searches are initiated and conducted at the Department level

•! Searches are based on perceived teaching needs as well as forward-looking research opportunities –! Divisions identify required teaching expertise

–! Research Focus Groups identify needed research expertise

–! Recommendations are forwarded to the Chair

•! FAC and Chair evaluate the proposed teaching and research needs and decide hiring priorities

11/18/09 26

Faculty Search Procedures •! Chair will appoint a departmental search committee

•! Search committee will approve advertisement, review

applications and determine which candidates to interview

•! The faculty will have access to applications and be invited to

advise the committee during entire process

•! Search committee will organize on-campus interviews for

selected Faculty candidates

•! All faculty will be offered an opportunity to interview each

candidate and to advise the search committee

•! Search committee will summarize each candidate’s strengths

and weaknesses to the faculty prior to a vote

•! Strong consensus in favor of a candidate will be required for

making an offer

•! The Chair will conduct all negotiations with faculty candidates

11/18/09 27

Annual Reviews (ARs)

•! ARs will be conducted by the Chairperson for all

faculty each year and recorded in a written

document

•! ARs will serve to document accomplishments,

evaluate progress, set goals, provide a record for

P&T, and will be an important determinant for

salary adjustments

•! Written ARs will be placed in the departmental

personnel file of each faculty member, faculty can

prepare responses to annual reviews

11/18/09 28

Performance and Compensation

•! Performance will be assessed relative to the appropriate peer group

•! Chair, in consultation with AC and FAC, will evaluate faculty performance and determine compensation

•! Performance Areas:

–! Teaching •! Classroom, training

–! Research •! Publications, grants, presentations, awards, etc

–! Service •! Department, Program, College, University, State, and beyond

11/18/09 29

Promotion and Tenure (P&T) •! Assessment will be based on performance relative

to the appropriate peer group

•! Review will be performed by the entire P&T Committee (all faculty of rank higher than the candidate)

•! Review process will be organized by a Procedures and Implementation (P&I) subcommittee –! The P&I subcommittee will collect materials, seek

external letters, present each candidate’s case to the entire P&T committee and moderate discussion and voting

–! The P&I subcommittee will prepare summary report for the Chair, with input from and approval by the entire committee

11/18/09 30

Promotion and Tenure (P&T) Committee

•! Standing committee that reports to Chair

•! Evaluates all candidates for promotion and tenure

•! Membership: –! All tenured faculty of higher rank than the faculty member

under review

•! Procedures and Implementation (P&I) Subcommittee: –! Membership:

•! P&T committee Chair (elected by the faculty)

•! Procedural Oversight Designee

•! ad hoc member (specific for each candidate and elected by the committee)

–! Functions: •! Monitor annual and peer reviews of faculty

•! Identify and recommend candidates for consideration

•! Draft P&T reports to Chair

11/18/09 31

Teaching and TA Support

11/18/09 32

OSU Workload Assignment •! From OAA Handbook, 2009:

–! OAA requires departments, in cooperation with their colleges, to establish policies that describe the allocation of effort in the department as a whole (as opposed to that of individual faculty members)…. Departments with active baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral programs should have a norm of at least 50% of the total departmental workload devoted to teaching. The remaining workload time should be devoted to sponsored and department funded research/creative activity, service, and other professional responsibilities consistent with the department's mission…. Within departments significant differences in the assignment of responsibilities to individual faculty members may exist, reflecting individual faculty strengths, interests, and abilities to contribute to the overall mission of the department.

11/18/09 33

Teaching Expectations (from current POAs)

•! Current POAs define expectations in different terms (Chemistry: # of courses, Biochem: # of lectures)

•! Chemistry: –! 3 lecture or lab courses/year (range: 2-5)

•! Since a typical Chemistry course is 3 credits this corresponds to a load of 90 lecture hours (3 courses x 30 lecture hours/course)

–! Mitigating factors: •! Administrative post (e.g., Vice chairs teach 1 course/year)

•! Release time

•! Biochemistry: –! 50 lectures; at least one course per year

•! 50 lecture hours corresponds to ~1.7 three-credit courses

–! Mitigating factors: •! Exceptional service commitments

•! Release time

•! Newly appointed faculty

11/18/09 34

Current Teaching - Chemistry

11/18/09 35

Academic Year Total # of

courses

taught

# of courses

taught by

faculty*

# of graduate

courses taught

by faculty*

# of courses

taught by

others

2007-2008 145 84 33 61

2008-2009 146 76 31 70

2009-2010 149 76 29 73

Total courses (3 years) 440 236 93 204

Lecture hours (LH)** 13200 7080 2790 6120

FTEs*** 33

Courses/FTE/year 2.4

LH/FTE/year 72

* Regular tenured or tenure-track

** Assume 3 credits per course, 30 lecture hours each *** Number of regular faculty FTEs as of September 2009

Chemistry

Teaching by

Instructor

AU2008 WI2009 SP2009 N,08-09 FTE N/FTE

U 1 0.2 5

G 1 0.3 3

U 1 0.3 3

G 1 0.3 3

U 1 0.3 3

U U G 3 0.8 3.75

G 1 0.8 1.25

U U 2 1.0 2

G U 2 1.0 2

U,G U 3 1.0 3

G 1 1.0 1

U U U,G 4 1.0 4

U U 2 1.0 2

G U U 3 1.0 3

U U G 3 1.0 3

G U 2 1.0 2

G U U 3 1.0 3

U U U 1 1.0 1

U G U 3 1.0 3

G 1 1.0 1

G G U 3 1.0 3

G U 2 1.0 2

G U 2 1.0 2

U,U G 3 1.0 3

U G 2 1.0 2

G G 2 1.0 2

U G 2 1.0 2

U G 2 1.0 2

U G 2 1.0 2

U U U 3 1.0 3

U,U U 3 1.0 3

U U G 3 1.0 3

U U 2 1.0 2

U G 2 1.0 2

U,U 2 1.0 2

U,U G 3 1.0 3

Mean 2.1 2.5

Mode 2 3

•! Table provides a snapshot of teaching load per regular faculty member (rows) for the 2008-9 academic year –! N, number of courses;

FTE, fractional appointment to the department; U, undergraduate course; G, graduate

11/18/09 36

Current Teaching - Biochemistry

11/18/09 37

Quarter Total # of

courses

taught***

# of courses

taught by

faculty

# of graduate

courses taught

by faculty****

# of courses

taught by

others

Au09 11.1 5.7 2 5.4

Wi10 11.1 7.6 2 3.5

Sp10 8.1 3.8 0 4.3

Su10 1.7 0 0 1.7

Total courses* 32 17.1 4 14.9

Lecture hours (LH)** 960 513 120 447

FTE (regular faculty) 10.3

Courses/FTE/year 1.7

LH/FTE/year 50

* Biochem courses range from 2-5 credit hours. For the purpose of comparison,

they have been converted into 3cr equiv. e.g., 50 lectures = 1.67 3cr equiv ** 30 lecture hours per 3 cr course equivalent

*** Omit Biochem 850; include H200,H201 **** Biochem 702, 766, 770, 761

Teaching Loads in a Merged Department

Summary of Current Teaching Load Distribution

Courses taught by

Regular faculty

# of

FTEs Courses/FTE

Courses taught by

Auxiliary faculty

Biochemistry 17 10.3 1.7 15

Chemistry 76 33 2.3 73

Total 93 43.3 2.1 88

11/18/09

Proposed target load: 60 lecture hours/year

Quarter-Semester Conversion

Lecture hours Courses

Quarter 30 2

Semester 42 1.5

Combining the teaching efforts of the two departments brings the mean

teaching load to ~2 (3 cr) courses per faculty per year, or ~ 60 lecture hours

38

Reaching the Targeted Teaching Load

•! Eliminate course redundancies

–!E.g., biochem, physical biochem

•! Reduce frequency of low enrollment

courses

•! Redistribute teaching load among regular

and auxiliary faculty

•! Take advantage of the Quarter to

Semester transition to streamline curricula

11/18/09 39

Teaching Load Adjustments •! Variations from the standard load (60 lecture hours per year)

will reflect “individual faculty strengths, interests, and abilities to contribute to the overall mission of the department” –! The Chair and FAC will work together to strive for transparency

in assigning adjustments in teaching loads

•! Faculty will be subject to a minimum teaching requirement –! E.g., 90 lecture hours over 3 years

•! Example adjustments –! New (untenured) faculty

•! 30 lecture hours in the first year (graduate-level/specialized)

–! Administrative post (e.g., Chair, AC, VCU, VCG) •! 30 lecture hours per year

–! Teaching-intensive faculty •! 90+ lecture hours per year

–! Faculty release time •! 1/6 of 9-month salary and benefits in exchange for 30 lecture hours

11/18/09 40

Chemistry TA Support, 4 yrs

TA slots per year: 1,924 ÷ 4 = 481

469

509

501

445

Number of TAs Supported

11/18/09 41

(Yearly)

Biochemistry TA Distribution Numbers of Biochemistry TAs

Course AU2008 WI2009 SP2009 SU2009 Total

Intro. Bio. 5 4 3 2 14

211 1 1

212 1 1

511 3 5 5 4 17

521 2 2 4

613 2 2

614 1 1

615 1 1

721.01 1 1

721.02 1 1

721.03 1 1

702 1 1

766 1 1

706 1 1

761 1 1

Total 14 16 12 6 48 11/18/09 42

TA Support Summary

•! Anticipated Total TA availability:

–!Chemistry: 480 TA quarters

–!Biochemistry: 48 TA quarters

–!Total: 480 + 48 = 528 TA quarters

•! FTEs in merged department ~ 43

•! TA Support per faculty:

528 ÷ 43 = 12.2 quarters/year/FTE

(stipend + tuition + fees)

11/18/09 43

Proposed TA Distribution –! Faculty must provide at least 0.5 quarter of

support per TA •! (i.e., one “year” of TA support = 3.5 quarters)

–! Faculty are assured 3.5 TA slots per year (12.5 quarters ÷ 3.5 quarters/TA = 3.5 TA slots)

–! Faculty may be awarded additional TAs up to a maximum of 6 per faculty (6 x 3.5 = 21 quarters) •! Untenured assistant professors do not have this limit

•! Considerations: extraordinary teaching or service, number of graduate students supported on RA

–! When TA support is overbooked, TA assignment is prioritized as: Departmental Graduates > IGP students > Others

11/18/09 44

Faculty Input Welcome

•! BCPC Committee:

–!Charles Brooks (brooks.8; 2-9641)

–!Prabir Dutta (dutta.1; 2-4532)

–!Mark Foster (foster.281; 2-1377)

–!Jim Hopper (hopper.65; 7-2552)

–!Dehua Pei (pei.3; 8-4068)

•! Dean Platz (platz.1; 2-8908)

•! Dean Steinmetz (steinmetz.53; 2-3236)

11/18/09 45