President Ruth Simmons' approval rate among faculty is about 10 points above the most recent student approval rate, according to a Herald poll conducted among the faculty.
About 73 percent of faculty members stated they either "strongly" or "somewhat" approve of how she handles her job. About 41 percent strongly approve, while 31.4 percent somewhat approve. The poll was conducted more than a week after Simmons announced her intention to step down at the end of the academic year.
The student approval rate, from a poll taken last March, showed Simmons at a 62 percent approval rate among undergraduates, with 30 percent stating strong approval and 32 percent stating they somewhat approved of the way she was handling her job.
The faculty poll was conducted online from Sept. 25 to Oct. 8 and has a 6.6 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence.
The faculty poll indicated a split on whether the campus ban on the Reserve Officers' Training Corps should be lifted. Forty-four percent stated the ban should not be lifted, while 38.3 percent stated it should be. The remaining 17.7 percent indicated they either do not know or have no opinion.
Across disciplines, faculty from the sciences and social sciences were more likely to indicate that the ban should be lifted. About 41.1 percent of science faculty members and 51.2 percent of social science faculty members are in favor, compared to 27.1 percent of humanities faculty.
Simmons is planning to make a recommendation about ROTC at this month's Corporation meeting. If the University is considering changing ROTC policy, the revision will likely come before the faculty for discussion and vote. ROTC, as an extracurricular activity, does not technically fall under faculty jurisdiction, but Simmons has previously said the University values faculty opinion on the topic.
According to the poll, the proportion of humanities faculty members who spend most of their time teaching is about double that of science and social science teachers. In the humanities, 67.8 percent stated they spend most of their time teaching, compared to 31.5 percent and 34.1 percent in the science and social sciences, respectively.
Of those on tenure track — assistant professors, associate professors and professors — 39 percent spend most of their time teaching, compared to 81 percent of those not on the tenure track. Forty-seven percent of tenure-track faculty members spend most of their time researching. Of those not on the tenure track, only 9.5 percent stated that they spend most of their time on research.
Members of the science faculty are the likeliest to spend time writing grants, with 15.1 percent stating it takes most of their time and 24.7 percent stating it is their second-largest priority. Humanities faculty members are most likely to be involved in faculty governance, with 30.5 percent indicating serving on committees is their first or second priority. Social science faculty members spend most time advising — 12.2 percent stated advising is their main activity, while 29.3 percent reported it was their second highest priority.
A total of 59.4 percent stated that they approve of the University's revised tenure process, with 19.4 percent stating they strongly approve and 40 percent stating they somewhat do. Twenty-nine percent disapprove of the new process, with 13.7 percent stating they somewhat disapprove and 14.9 percent that they strongly disapprove.
Sixty-five percent of tenured professors approve of the new tenure process. Of untenured faculty, 46.3 percent stated approval, and 24.1 percent stated they are not familiar enough to answer. About 76 percent of social science faculty members approve of the new procedure, compared to 57.5 percent of science faculty and 50.9 percent of humanities faculty.
The tenure revisions — approved by faculty vote last spring — changed how letters of support are reviewed and altered the timeline for when junior faculty come up for tenure review.
While 37.7 percent stated they are not familiar with childcare resources available to faculty, 28.6 percent expressed some level of dissatisfaction. Twelve percent stated they are "somewhat dissatisfied" with childcare resources, while 16.6 percent are "strongly dissatisfied." A total of 12 percent expressed satisfaction.
Fifty-two percent stated that changes made under the Plan for Academic Enrichment — a cornerstone of Simmons' presidency — have improved the quality of undergraduate academics, compared to 10.9 percent who think it has lowered the quality of academics.
A majority of faculty members stated that first-years are prepared for Brown academics, with 30.9 percent stating students are "very prepared" and 47.4 percent stating they are "somewhat prepared." Eighty-six percent of humanities faculty members find students prepared, while 78 percent of social science faculty and 71.3 percent of science faculty do. But 14.6 percent of social science faculty indicated they think students are underprepared, compared to 13.7 percent of science faculty and 11.9 percent in humanities.
Sixty-one percent of the faculty approve of the Corporation's governance of the University, with 16 percent expressing strong approval and 44.6 percent stating they somewhat approve. Seventeen percent stated they are not familiar enough to answer the question.
Sixty-one percent of faculty members approve of the Faculty Executive Committee's execution of its job, while 21.7 percent stated they are not familiar enough with the committee. Those who have worked at the University longer are more likely to approve of the FEC — of those who have worked at the University longer than 20 years, 71.8 percent approve of the committee, compared to 41 percent of those who have been here five years or fewer.
A majority of faculty members also stated the level of student activism has decreased since they were in college — 57.4 percent think activism has declined, while 15.3 percent think it has increased. Of those who have worked at the University 20 or more years, 82.6 percent stated it has declined.
Thirty percent of faculty expressed dissatisfaction with spouse support, while 18.9 percent of faculty members stated they are satisfied. Thirty-one percent indicated they are not familiar enough to answer.
Forty-four percent of faculty anticipate working at Brown until retirement, while 16.6 percent stated they will stay for five to 10 more years and 12 percent plan to stay fewer than five more years.
Methodology
Online questionnaires were sent to personal accounts of 902 faculty Sept. 25 and advertised on the faculty Morning Mail Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 7. Only faculty that "teach, advise or interact with undergraduate students" were invited to respond, and 174 responses were recorded. The poll has a 6.6 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. The margin of error for the subset of males is 8.0 percent and 12.0 percent for the subset of females. The margin of error is 11.3 percent for the subset of faculty focusing in the humanities, 10.5 percent for the subset of faculty focusing in science and 14 percent for the subset of faculty focusing in social science. The margin of error is 9.0 percent for the subset of full professors and 6.7 percent for the subset of tenure-track faculty.
The sample polled was demographically similar to the University teaching faculty population as a whole. The sample was 68.6 percent male and 31.4 percent female. Full professors made up 50.9 percent of the sample. Adjunct professors, assistant professors, associate professors and visiting professors made up 43.4 percent of the sample, and lecturers made up 5.7 percent. Tenure-track facul
ty — professors, associate professors and assistant professors — made up 88.1 percent of the sample. Of those polled, 33.7 percent focus in the humanities, 41.7 percent in science and 23.4 percent in social science. Thirty-two percent of those polled have worked at Brown five years or fewer, 20.6 percent between six and 10 years, 21.1 percent between 11 and 20 years and 26.3 percent for 20 or more years. Statistical significance was established at the 0.05 level.
Senior Editors Nicole Friedman '12 and Julien Ouellet '12, Managing Editor Brigitta Greene '12 and News Editor Alex Bell '13 coordinated the poll.
Find results of previous polls at thebdh.org/poll.
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