By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
The annual faculty convocation at Fort Hays State University welcomed faculty and staff to the new academic year Wednesday with a clear message — the university is changing.
FHSU re-engineering began last year under the direction of President Mirta Martin, and now with many other key positions in the administration in place, and approval for most changes from the Kansas Board of Regents, this year will see new directions in many of its academic and administrative units.
This change is necessary to stay viable according to the administration, but has made many feel uneasy at the university.
In response to that concern, FHSU Provost Graham Glynn addressed that concern directly at the convocation.
“I’m scared we’re not moving fast enough,” he said, showing new academic buildings at partner universities in China and highlighting their interest in expanding education within their country.
FHSU has had long partnerships with several Chinese homeland institutions over the years.
Despite the uneasiness from quick and major changes at FHSU, Glynn also informed the audience of some of the many achievements FHSU is expected to accomplish this year, including recorded enrollment, and a ranking of the largest comprehensive graduate school in the state.
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During his talk, Glynn also highlighted the need for better communication throughout the university.
“I’m going to ask the faculty to tell me,” he said after announcing a workload task force will be created to evaluate each department’s student credit hours by department, rather than a university-wide number.
That is once piece of the university’s future as future faculty development will also be driven by department and faculty input, rather than directives from the administration.
When hiring faculty Glynn said it will be driven by current staff expectations.
“I want them to be your values and your expectations,” he said.
With new process, departments and expansion, not everything tried will work and Glynn said he expects failure to be a part of the FHSU culture, but that should not be punished.
“Don’t look for blame, look for ways to make things better,” he said.