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News

New Faculty Senate president promises unity

Warner to focus on faculty recruitment and retention, aims to make UH family friendly

By Portia-Elaine Gant
Senior Staff Writer

Allen Warner will begin his one-year term as Faculty Senate president today with a strong focus on developing "productive partnerships" between the Faculty Senate and administrators, staff and students.

Warner, who has been at the College of Education since 1973, has served as a senator and Faculty Senate secretary.

"One of my biggest goals is, in a very short one year, to try to help build structures that are not so dependent on the personalities of people and find ways that all of the constituencies of the University can work together," Warner said.

He said faculty recruitment and retention, which is referred to in UH President Jay Gogue's strategic plan, is a problem he will try to tackle during his presidency.

"All too often we find really good people and hire them and help them develop, and they may then be recruited away by some other institution. It's a challenge we have to look at," Warner said.

Finding and keeping the best teachers and researchers is the basis of a sound university education, he said. But there are several reasons why it's not so easy, including recurring concerns like childcare and spouse employment.

"Sometimes, with retention, it will be an issue of salaries," Warner said. "Sometimes we haven't, in the past, really operated as a family-friendly place. The Faculty Senate is looking at a number of things that have to do with policies that would help make the University be a more family-friendly place to recruit and retain really good talent."

Though he intends to use the diversity of the campus as a tool for generating a number of solutions to every challenge, Warner said he recognizes a need for unity.

"One of the challenges faced by this university is that too much operates in silos. You have students in this silo, and staff in this silo, and faculty in another silo and the various colleges are in another silo," Warner said.

He said other factors add to that separation, like UH's largely commuter population.

"We're different because we're a commuter school and because we're the most diverse research institution in the country," Warner said. "I like that and it's why I'm still here."

Houston's dynamic nature and the nature of the University lead to many unrealistic expectations of UH, Warner said.

"There are tremendous opportunities for the University, but the biggest challenge is for it to very carefully focus its energies in important areas such as research, teaching (and) preparing people for thoughtful and productive lives," Warner said. "There are great pressures for us to be all things to all people."

Warner said the Faculty Senate will work within the UH System Board of Regents' strategic plan so each of the four System universities can work toward meeting their goals.

The Faculty Senate meeting that will include Warner's inauguration will begin at 12:15 p.m. today in the Farish Hall Kiva.
 

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