0C W yu 2m0 6C .. 201 0 0 Lecturers: Off the beaten track In April 2010, University lectur- -ers erupted in protest after Kirsten Herold, then vice president of the Lecturers'Employee Organization, was not reappointed to her position as a lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature a post she'd heldfornS years. 'i Herold has since been hired as a lecturer in the School of Public Health, but she said being a lectur- er can be shaky territory. "The department can just say, 'Sorry, it's not working out,' and let you go," Herold said. Lecturers, who comprise 16 per- cent offaculty in LSA, are not hired on the tenure track. Instead they have fixed-length contracts that can be renewed or not. According to Herold, most lec- turers have Ph.D.s and are experts in theirfield. But there's a hugegulf between lecturers and professors in terms ofjob security, responsibili- ties and salary. The typical baseline salary for lecturers is $33,000, which is less than Ann Arbor Public School teachers, who generally make $60,000 to $70,000, according to Herold. Por that reason, Herold said it's in the financial interest of the Uni- versity to hire lecturers as opposed Mo tenured professors. According to Herold, there's' about a 25 percent annual turn- over among lecturers. She said many people leave because a part- ner or spouse needs to move, while others realize the career is a "dead end." From Page 5C thriving academically. She added that most people who pursue careers in academia aren't satisfied with just a paycheck. "So much satisfaction from your job comes from these intangibles like the rewards you get for publish- ingand the rewards you get for teaching," Poe said. It's these kinds of rewards, Poe said, that impel faculty down the tenure track. "If all they wranted was money, they would do something else that makes more money," Poe said. Still, for the professors who've developed into "dead wood" - or stopped publishing or conduct- ing research - Poe said a process exists wherein the department chair will ask the professor to teach more classes to make up for the dearth of research publications. Poe said Medical School faculty are particu- larly motivated to continue research, because their research is dependent on grants. Thus, if a profes- sor in the Medical School decides to slack off on research, he or she would be left without a source of funding, and consequently, without a lab. "If I'm not doing science, then my lab would be taken away," Poe said. "Everybody working for me - if I'm not supportingthem on my grants - goes away. I'm just left with an office." ARE LONGER PROBATIONARY PERIODS HELPFUL OR FRUSTRATING? Though an assistant professor typically has eight years to make tenure, the regents voted to extend that period to 10 years last April. But the decision to actually implement that exten- sion was left up to each school and college. So far, none have extended their probationary period to 10 years. In an e-mail sent to faculty before the change was passed, University Provost Philip Hanlon wrote the reasons for the extensions were centered around giving extra time for Medical School faculty to get their research up and running, as well as providing more flexibility to faculty in two-career and single- parent households. The change has been both supported and con- tested. Whitman agreed that the extension would be beneficial for certain disciplines, but other faculty members are skeptical of the motivations behind the change and fear there could be unintended negative consequences. Poe said though the Medical School was the driv- ing force behind the extension, the other schools and colleges likely won't adopt the change because the longer the probationary period, the longer some- one "stews in hot water" and the longer "the agony of trying to prove yourself to your peers." Poe said one of the main concerns about the two- year extension is that the expectations for tenure track faculty would become greater because they would have more time in the probationary period. While a researcher might typically be expected to publish 25 papers in seven years, Poe said that if researchers now had nine years to obtain tenure, the expectation would increase to about 35 papers. "It's just prolonging the agony," Poe said. Poe added that extending the probationary period could be a potential problem for recruiting faculty. "When the University of Michigan is competing for faculty with other universities that have shorter tenure clocks, those other universities will win if ours is too long," Poe said. "In order to remain com- petitive with our peer institutions, we need to have similar clock lengths." STAYING ON TRACK Obtaining a Ph.D. seems to be only the first step toward securing the independence associated with a full professor position. Prospective tenure-track fac- ulty must battle through probationary periods, form reviews, evaluations and clock extensions in order to earn their place among the leaders and best. According to Jeffery Frumkin, associate vice provost for academic and faculty affairs and senior director of academic human resources, this is because tenured faculty are hired in ordertto advance the University's academic mission, both in research and in teaching. "It is the tenured faculty that really set the stan- dards of what excellence means at the University," Frumkin said. (Hammer: From 4C) School were able to prevent him from obtaining tenure. In the Law School, a two-thirds majority faculty vote is required to put someone up for tenure. In Ham- mer's case, faculty voted 18-12 in favor - two votes shy of the requi- site number of2o. According to Hammer, in depo- sitions under oath, faculty mem- bers who'd voted against him obscured their views on issues like homosexuality. In August 2010, the Michigan Court of Claims tossed out Ham- mer's claim of sexual orientation discrimination, according to a Sept. 15, 2011 litigation report to the Regents. Last July, the court also dis- missed Hammer's claim that the University failed to provide him adequate notice of his non-reap- pointment, according to the liti- gation report. Since 2003 Hammer has taught; at Wayne State University, where he's a tenured law professor. But Hammer said he won't abandon his case against the Law School and is currently in the pro- cess appealing both decisions. "Institutions need to be held accountable when they violate your rights,".Hammer said. Inan e-mail interview, University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald wrote that the University didn't commit any violations, an assertion he said is proven by the court's rulings. "The University does not believe it violated Prof Ham- mer's rights," Fitzgerald wrote. "More importantly, neither did the courts." Wednesday, 2012 3C random student interview by laura argintar / illustrations by jeff zuschlag 1 1 1 C W elcome to the Ran- me about auditions in Ann Arbor, dom Student Inter- so I instantly agreed to going ' view, where we with her.T trivialize your life with obvi- ous illustrations. That's pretty cool - what was interviewing like? What ste- Wow, that's very misleading. Hey, you look like you're not reotype were you trying to play But they do at this artisanal sau- going anywhere or doing any- into? sage place off State Street, called thing fun. Wanna have some It was at the Holiday Inn. It was Biercamp. Delicious. good conversation? just me, the casting director and a Actually, I was planning on making video camera in a room. I played I've never heard of that either. a phone call during my study break. an exaggerated version of myself: The place is a real gem. the blonde hair, big boobed, party girl who's boy crazy and will fight Then I'm sorry we're about to off anyone for my man! exploit that in The Statement. With all you know about the < ) school and Ann Arbor, how are / you ever going to find new things you haven't heard of or done Well, why not talk to me instead? before? Are you going to use my name in There is always more to uncover this? and each experience is different the top stories of 2011 Beginning July 15, a string of six sexual assaults occurred in various areas around campus. As of today, the Ann Arbor Police Department is still searching for suspects. i 1 Nope, just your first name and school. Or you could do my Spanish name! Carmen! - a Haha, nice alias. So, do you have any New Year's resolutions? Yes, of course - my New Year's res- olution determines my entire year. I am one of those people who actu- ally keeps it. Like this past year, it was to jump on every opportunity that came my way. That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself. So what kinds of things did you do? I auditioned for "The Real World" and made it to the second round of interviews. My friend had told A.k.a. the life of the party and the one who always gets the most camera time. I like the angle and strategy! So what's your New Year's resolution going to be for this year? I think it's time I come to terms with reality, and being in the real world. But more specifically, it's to experience Ann Arbor for all its worth. I want to explore and go on adventures at Michigan. Agreed. I'm a senior and I'm still learning new places to explore and eat and go to. Like appar- ently there's this place - Grange - that's a farm-to-table style restaurant, and I had no idea. I've been to that restaurant! You really need to go. Oh man, OK, first on my bucket list. The restaurant workers at Grange don't dress up in farm clothes though. with new friends. I heard there was this Ethiopian restaurant where you eat with spongy bread and slop up the food with your hands. I am also looking to go mechanical bull riding, if you know a spot. There used to be at some of the football pregames or a club called 5th Quarter. They might've taken it away though. Then I do not know what I'm going to do with these cowboy boots and hat I just bought. Now see, wasn't this more fun than your phone call? -"Carmen" is an LSA sophomore. Ann Arbor-based Borders announced its plans to liquidate July 18, closing the doors of 399 stores and laying off more than 10,700 employees nationwide. Humanities Departments Science Departments otessor 43% cture 13% 'r Professors 48%A Lecturers 10% Assistant Professors 22% Associate& Professors 30% 'Assistant Professors 14% Associate' Professors 20% Total faculty in department: 377 Total faculty in department: 911 George Clooney came to Ann Arbor March 20 to film scenes of his political drama "The Ides of March."