{"id":14348,"date":"2016-08-10T08:04:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T13:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=14348"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:28:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:28:47","slug":"faculty-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=14348","title":{"rendered":"Q and A with new Secretary of the Faculty Vin Steponaitis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Vin
Vin Steponaitis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vincas P. Steponaitis came to Carolina in 1988 to be the director of the Research Laboratories of Archaeology in the College of Arts and Sciences. When Faculty Council reconvenes this fall, Steponaitis will have a new role, as the first new Secretary of the Faculty in 20 years, following the retirement of Joseph Ferrell. In that position, Steponaitis will also be an ex-officio member of 10 standing committees, keep minutes of council meetings, conduct elections and maintain records for honorary degrees and special awards.<\/i><\/p>\n

As Steponaitis joins the Office of Faculty Governance, Deputy Chair of the Faculty Anne Whisnant will be leaving. Effective Aug. 15, she will accept an appointment as Whichard Visiting Distinguished Professor of History at East Carolina University for the 2016-17 academic year. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

We sat down with Steponaitis recently to ask him about his new role.<\/i><\/p>\n

What does faculty governance mean to you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In essence, it\u2019s that faculty members have a say in how the University is run. It\u2019s very critical for recruitment and retention. Faculty are more attracted to places where they know they\u2019ll have a say in the way the institution operates. When you look around the country, faculty governance is not as strong everywhere as it is here. It\u2019s not something we can take for granted. <\/span><\/p>\n

Does strong faculty governance attract a different kind of faculty member?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know that it\u2019s a different kind of faculty member. A strong role in governance certainly helps the reputation of the University faculty nationally. Once faculty get here and they realize that their voice matters, I think that\u2019s a powerful incentive to stay. Salary is important, but equally important are the more intangible things about a place\u2014your colleagues, the institution\u2019s values, and whether you have a voice. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why did you want to become Secretary of the Faculty?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t replace Joe [Ferrell]. He is a tough act to follow. But this gives me a chance to give something back to an institution that has sustained me for almost 30 years. I feel very strongly that institutions need care and feeding to remain strong and to get better. When Joe decided to step down, I felt I was in a good position to help.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"q-and-a-icon-21619\"How do you see your role? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you imagine faculty governance as a ship, the chair of the faculty is like the captain. He\u2019s the one who sets the course. The role of the secretary is like the ship\u2019s engineer. I have to make sure that the ship works. The two roles are complementary. If this were the Starship Enterprise, Bruce Cairns would be Captain Kirk and I\u2019d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>be Scotty. <\/span><\/p>\n

What are your priorities and your vision as the first new secretary in 20 years?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

My priority is to keep faculty governance strong and to make it stronger wherever I can. Challenges always arise and you have to adapt. For example, over the time Joe Ferrell was secretary of the faculty, he transformed the Office of Faculty Governance into a very active place, with a small but energetic staff. That has really made a difference in how faculty governance works.<\/p>\n

I come in with fresh eyes. I\u2019m going to pick up every piece and look at it from every angle. Some pieces I\u2019ll look at and I\u2019ll put them back down exactly where they were. Other pieces I\u2019ll look at and say, \u201cI really think this should go over here.\u201d With Anne [Whisnant] gone, it will be a challenge, but I hope to get some temporary help in place. There\u2019s a small silver lining, actually, in that the gap left by Anne\u2019s departure lets me see more clearly the many contributions she made on the job while here. And I think that will help me as I go through the process of rethinking how this office will be structured.<\/p>\n

What challenges in higher education do you see on the horizon?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the big challenges is to find ways of addressing the loss of confidence in the liberal arts. What makes American universities strong is their focus on the liberal arts. We\u2019re not just training specialists in their narrow fields at the undergraduate level. Our students learn how to write, they learn how to think, they learn how to communicate and these skills serve them in good stead, no matter what they do in life. And they do amazing things.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other challenge is defending the importance of basic research. We just have to understand that not all research will immediately translate. Universities create an ecosystem where basic research can happen, where different scholars pursue their ideas. Some of those ideas may lead to dead ends. Others, 30 years from now, may lead to amazing breakthroughs. We don\u2019t know in advance which ideas those will be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A third thing is that we have to work to maintain the kind of flexibility and agility that universities have traditionally had and to decrease red tape. There\u2019s a tendency in large organizations to keep adding bureaucratic processes and to micromanage from above. Often that doesn\u2019t work out well. Yes, we have to be accountable, but we have to find ways of being accountable that don\u2019t waste time and stifle creativity.<\/p>\n

\n
\u00a0Interview by Susan Hudson, <\/em>University Gazette<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vincas P. Steponaitis came to Carolina in 1988 to be the director of the Research Laboratories of Archaeology in the College of Arts and Sciences. 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