Recruitment and Retention of Faculty
“My professors taught me how to think critically and how to write clearly and persuasively. The small class sizes nourished a love of learning that I did not know was in me. I would’t be where I am today if not for what I learned at William & Mary. William & Mary is unique because of its exceptional faculty, their commitment to teaching and the close interactions students have with their professors. This is why the For the Bold campaign is so important.”
Mike Foradas ’78
Chicago Campaign Celebration, May 2018
Overview
Our people are our most powerful asset. A core value of the W&M community is that human connection is paramount to our approach to sharing and generating knowledge. Exceptional faculty who value student involvement in their scholarly endeavors are vital to a community that encourages students to find their passion and purpose and to reach their full potential.
Bringing great minds together to challenge what is known, explore what is new and find imaginative solutions is essential to our ability to innovate around emerging problems. Importantly, a diverse community that values contrasting perspectives fuels innovation and accelerates learning and discovery. A community of active, responsible citizens is fundamental to the development of leaders who understand how the world is changing and want to change it for the better.
Opportunities for investment
- Professorships Funds for professorships, particularly in areas such as computer science, economics and data analytics, are essential to meet increased student demand.
- Academic Initiatives Resources that enable faculty members to pursue new opportunities and innovative initiatives that advance their work.
- Fellowships It is important to provide faculty members with high quality support from graduate students who have the financial flexibility to explore ambitious ideas and initiate new research projects.
- Faculty Awards Having the ability to recognize top performers who enrich the academic enterprise is vital to retention efforts when resources for salary increases are limited.
- Scholarships To keep the best faculty, we must also attract and retain the best students to engage with them in their scholarly endeavors.
Pride Points
- More W&M faculty have earned the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award — the state’s highest teaching honor — than faculty at any other university.
- W&M is ranked No. 5 for best undergraduate teaching by U.S. News & World Report.
- Year after year, the university has been ranked in the top 10 for undergraduate teaching.
- W&M’s utilization of full-time teaching staff is ranked among the highest in the nation — with 79 percent of instructors employed full time.
- There are nearly 870 instructional employees, of which only approximately 20 percent are part time.
- The use of adjuncts is far below the national average of 50 percent, which is indicative of our commitment to building a strong, long-term instructional team.
Impact
- Thirty-six endowed and expendable funds for professorships have been established since the start of the campaign.
- W&M has raised $53 million toward our $100 million teaching excellence goal.
- Expanded and enhanced faculty recognition opportunities to reward top talent, including the Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence.
- Seventeen athletics positions have been fully or partially funded with private support, including 11 new endowments for coaches.
- Funding to bring the very best candidates to campus and host them during the interview process.