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YSU took “one small step” toward addressing some issues brought up by the campus climate survey
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State University Provost Martin Abraham took “one small step” toward addressing some issues brought up by a campus climate survey during the first “Brown Bag Lunch Series,” said Chet Cooper, chairman of YSU’s Academic Senate.
The survey, conducted last spring, identified various concerns of the campus community including shared governance and input, respect and increased communication and transparency.
Although just 23 individuals attended the hour-long session Monday, Cooper called it a “success.”
“It was a good exchange,” he said. “We had questions answered and concerns raised. ... We have a lot more to discuss. As we move forward I think everybody should be encouraged to attend.”
Abraham said he was happy to provide input to give people a better understanding of what the university’s challenges are.
One challenge is proper staffing.
Career Services Director Christina Hardy expressed concern that full-time faculty are falling by the wayside.
“The amount of full-time faculty at a university is really relevant,” she said.
Abraham agreed by calling full-time faculty “the bread and butter” of the university.
“We do have more part-time faculty than full-time faculty at YSU and that’s a problem for us,” he said. “How do we get out of that problem? We have to hire more full-time people. ... That’s what the students need.”
However, the task is costly.
“It costs equivalent of 20 part-timers to hire one full- timer,” Abraham said. “And one full-timer doesn’t teach as many classes as 20 part- timers. Getting out of these challenges costs us money, but I think it’s a direction we have to go. ... We have to invest in the full-time faculty.”
Cooper voiced another concern: the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s rising requirements and disproportionate resources distributed to meet those requirements.
“We want to provide the best-quality education, but we need resources so we can do all the things we need to be doing to provide [that],” Abraham said. “I’m not sure the Department of Higher Education even understands higher education. I don’t know where you go at this point to make the argument about academic quality and the importance in having guidelines and regulations that address academic quality.”
Cooper said there is more to discuss, more questions to raise and, hopefully, more suggestions to come moving forward.
“This is the first step of many,” he said.
The next lunch will be at noon March 2 in Tod Hall.