May 15, 2008

Wynne Chin

Chairman Wilson, Vice-Chair Stephens, and other distinguished members of the Board,

Let me first give some good news. Chairman Wilson addressed the Faculty Senate on April 16^th at noon and it went extremely well. He noted that the Senate President will continue to have a formal slot to address the board at each meeting and that it represents a primary means for interaction with the board. I thank you for making that point at our Senate meeting. But the real hit was when Chairman Wilson stated in a most definitive manner that the three most important goals for UH is “tier one, tier one, and tier one!”  That certainly resonated well with our senators. We, in turn, showed how hard working we are by not having any lunch available. As a matter of fact, the Senate always works through lunch as long as I’ve been a senator.  Perhaps we need to change that tradition. As it is, we had to scramble to get a sandwich for Mr. Wilson which provided me the opportunity to make the comment that the Chairman only gets fed after he completes his address to the Senate. 

This takes me to the concept of tier one.  Clearly, from the Senate’s perspective – tier one cannot be achieved unless you improve faculty excellence and student success.  These two objectives go hand in hand.  Faculty excellence is not an easy thing to accomplish.  It takes extraordinary investment in resources to attract, develop, and retain “tier one” level research active faculty which I know you, as board members, and President Khator will continue to work on as a goal.  Cutting edge research faculty, in turn, is critical to develop a “tier one” student. 

Let’s restate what I just said, “tier one research active faculty” is critical to develop “tier one students” for the future global economy that Houston requires. In my undergraduate classes, for example, near the end of the semester - I have a number of lectures categorized as “not in the book.” Essentially, this is where faculty bring into the class what they are researching – going over studies and new knowledge, insights that they have just produced for their academic outlet.  In my case, I explain to my students that what they are learning will not appear in a standard textbook for another 3 to 5 years.  The reason, of course, is that once academic research is published, it must be read and understood by textbook writers.  These writers, then, incorporate it into the next edition of their book and the lag time is often 3 or more years.  Students being taught by tier one research active faculty have the luxury of receiving cutting edge knowledge immediately and thereby providing them with a major head start as they go on the job market. Catch me during a break and I can provide you with more stories.

But just having “tier one level faculty” with state of the art knowledge is not a guarantee for student success.  We need to focus on the processes, programs, incentives that lead to student success.  Our Senate is committed to working hard with President Khator and her administration on student success.  Beyond recruiting an adequate number of qualified faculty, our faculty senate committee on education policies and student affairs headed by Dave Mazella will be working throughout the summer on how “tier one success” is defined at other top universities and equally important synthesize the various programs out there to produce a best of breed profile for achieving success.  You can’t get there unless you know what you are going after.  Nor can you get there unless you recognize the best path. 

At the same time, also at the suggestion of President Khator, I and my President-elect Dan Wells have been working with the student government and staff council Presidents and VPs to increase the spirit, morale, and culture required to be successful.  The Cougar culture that we hope to inculcate will not only be for students, but also for staff and faculty alike.  We are looking at how best to instill an even stronger UH culture that reflects a commitment to hard work and excellence, a belief and perspective that are abilities and achievements are on par if not better than any other University in the world.

In conclusion, I just want to be clear that the Faculty Senate has always stood ready to work on what is best for U of H. With President Khator, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and do some heavy lifting. The Faculty Senate also recognizes that the board also shares the same level of commitment. Together, we will achieve “tier one, tier one, tier one.”