News
Chronicle again recognizes UB workplace
For the second year in a row, UB has been recognized for the quality of its workplace by the Chronicle of Higher Education in its annual “Great Colleges to Work For” survey.
More than 300 colleges and universities participated in the survey—nearly triple the number of schools that participated last year. The results were based on responses from nearly 41,000 administrators, faculty members and staff members.
Among large institutions, including Cornell, Michigan and Duke, UB drew high marks for best practices and policies in eight recognition categories:
• Compensation and Benefits.
• Tenure Clarity Process.
• Health Insurance.
• Housing Assistance Programs.
• Overall Satisfaction with Benefits.
• Post-retirement Benefits.
• Professional/Career Development.
• Vacation or Paid Time Off.
President John B. Simpson says UB’s continued inclusion in the Chronicle ranking confirms the success of efforts to transform the university’s human resources as part of the UB 2020 strategic planning process.
“The ranking is testament to the culture of excellence we are creating at UB in all that we do—from research and scholarship, to teaching and student programming, to providing our faculty and staff with a great environment in which to work and enjoy all that employment at a major university offers,” Simpson says.
Over the past two years, an HR Transformation Initiative has resulted in many new services for faculty and staff, including new programs focusing on employee wellness and professional development, new divisional HR units, a new Work/Life Balance unit and an expanded Employee Assistance Program.
UB also began implementing a university-wide effort focused on building the foundation of a great workplace: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. The initiative is based on research and measurement tools developed by the Great Place to Work® Institute, based in San Francisco. The institute produces various “best companies to work for” lists in the U.S., including Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.
Reader Comments
Theresa Runstedtler says:
UB also needs to strive to make its campuses a great place to work for women and people of color. I've seen too many brilliant, young scholars leave because of the overall climate at the university.
Posted by Theresa Runstedtler, Asst. Professor, American Studies, 07/13/09
Michael Behun says:
It is beholden upon us to note that most of the best practices and policies for which UB has been cited, and about which it brags here, are benefits negotiated by United University Professions for its members. These include our financial compensation package, which includes negotiated salary increases, and a range of other benefits, including health insurance, post-retirement benefits, and vacation/time off.
A review of the UUP contract at uupinfo.org will make this abundantly clear to any reader.
In addition to negotiated benefits like those in the contract, UUP presents public seminars/workshops for its members in order to make the tenure process easier to negotiate. Our efforts in this regard were initiated at the behest of UUP faculty and professional staff, some of whom told us they did not find the process clear or helpful.
The union also assists faculty members and professionals who face difficulties during this process – and some certainly do. It is often necessary for UUP to negotiate with SUNY and the Governor’s Office for Employee Relations to resolve tenure and permanent appointment issues and sometimes to help insure that our members receive tenure or permanent appointment despite denials by senior campus administrators.
In addition, many of the areas of satisfaction listed here are the result of programs devised at the state, not the campus, level.
All of this does not, of course, take away from whatever work satisfaction employees express. Good work on behalf of our members at any level is very much appreciated. It seems only fair, however, to give credit where credit is due. Union members have fought hard – VERY hard – for many years for the benefits that give them job satisfaction. These benefits were not handed to them by the state of New York, by SUNY or by UB out of the goodness of their hearts.
UB manages the distribution of benefits and processes them for the most part in an efficient, timely and professional manner, which is a great boon for all of us. The HR Transformation Initiative has added value to the employee benefits package, from which all of us benefit to some extent. We have the UB administration to thank for that. Employee satisfaction is not tied primarily or exclusively to a UB initiative or to university administrative practice. It is a collective enterprise involving many units on and off campus and certainly the efforts of union members, some of whom have paid dearly for the privilege of representing the interests of their colleagues, thus making UB a better place to work.
I would like to thank the UUP negotiating teams and New York State for helping UB. Strong unions make UB a better place, but the people at UB make it a great place to work.
Stronger Together,
mike
Michael Behun President United University Professions Buffalo Center 645-2013
Posted by Michael Behun, President United University Professions Buffalo Center, 07/13/09
Jim Holstun says:
President Simpson says that “UB’s continued inclusion in the Chronicle ranking confirms the success of efforts to transform the university’s human resources as part of the UB 2020 strategic planning process.” But he neglects to note SUNY and the State of New York’s role in forming the eight “best practices and policies” for which UB is cited.
And at least half of the eight are benefits negotiated by United University Professions, including our financial compensation package, with our negotiated salary increases and a range of other benefits, including health insurance, post-retirement benefits, and vacation/time off. He also neglects to note that the pending UB Administration-sponsored bill, A/S2020, would make it easier to casualize academic labor at UB by contracting out work and cutting salary and benefits, making UB a “not so great” place to work in the future. That’s why UUP has opposed it.
In the light of recent serious questions raised on campus, and in local and national media, about gender inequity in the promotion and tenure process, it is surprising to read about our presumed excellence in “Tenure Clarity Process.” Certainly, not all faculty have found the process clear and equitable. It’s true that, for the most part, the UB administration manages well the distribution of benefits and processes, and that the HR Transformation initiative has brought welcome changes. Credit is due, and the UB Administration is an important part of the university. But so are both campus chapters of UB UUP: it certainly wouldn’t hurt campus morale and solidarity for President Simpson to credit the ongoing hard work of the statewide union and the local chapters.
Posted by Jim Holstun, Professor of English, 07/13/09
Paul Zarembka says:
Almost all of the recognitions are the result of the state-UUP contract. Unionism has a positive influence on salaries and benefits throughout the United States. I trust the administration at UB is aware of how employees got where they are. UUP members are certainly aware of their benefits established through contract.
Posted by Paul Zarembka, Professor of Economics and UUP chapter Grievance Office for Academics, 07/13/09