Summary
Contents
Committees. Seemingly endless, boring discussions going nowhere. No university survives without them, and no faculty member can avoid them. Why are there such a plethora of committees in the university? What functions do they serve? And how can you, as a committee member or chair, ensure that the work gets done quickly and effectively with a minimum of conflict, boredom, or wasted time? Author Neil J. Smelser has incorporated decades of experience on a myriad of committees from the local level up to national policy advisory groups into this book. He skillfully demystifies committees and explains how to get on certain committees and avoid others, how to get the committee work done as efficiently as possible, how to ensure that your views are properly represented in the committee's report, how chairing a committee can help shape its mission and direct its outcome, and how to use committees as a positive factor for your academic career. Smelser's advice will be useful to anyone working in the university setting.
The Committee Report
The Committee Report
A few committees in the academic world do not produce any records. Notable examples are the external, ad hoc committees at Harvard University that meet to consider new appointments and promotions. They gather in the morning, interview members of the relevant academic department and a dean or two, and perhaps discuss the candidate among themselves. They then lunch with the president, the dean of the college, and a few of their associates. Toward the end of the lunch, the president simply goes around the room, asking each individual member of the committee what—and why—he or she thinks about the candidate. No vote is taken, no written report is presented. The president thanks the committee, and it dissolves.
At the end of ...