Iowa State is coming up short on its strategic-plan goal of senior faculty teaching 80 percent of introductory classes.

During the 1998-1999 academic year, only 53 percent of the introductory classes at Iowa State were taught by senior faculty, according to the ISU Fact Book. That number is down from nearly 62 percent in 1997-1998.

ISU faculty and staff said the discrepancy in senior faculty teaching freshman-level classes is due to many factors, including finding time for research and a lack of desire to teach younger students.

Douglas Kenealy, university professor of animal science, said the time commitment that introductory classes require is often too much for junior faculty members to handle. This leaves many students with unanswered questions and not enough individual attention.

Another problem with junior faculty members is their need to conduct research to get established and ultimately become promoted, said George Brant, professor of animal science. This also takes time away from the classroom.

Senior faculty members may also find conflicts while teaching introductory classes, Kenealy said.

“Many feel that it is beneath them to work with freshmen,” he said. “[They feel] that their talents are better put to use with more experienced students.”

ISU Provost Rollin Richmond said senior faculty members, through their experience, provide their students with skills junior faculty often don’t possess.

“Senior faculty usually have significantly more experience as teachers than their junior colleagues and often, although not always, are more effective in helping students to learn,” he said. “They usually are well-established in their disciplines and can frequently bring a broader perspective to their teaching than more junior people.”

He said the university has a duty to make sure the best instructors teach at the introductory level.

“It is more important for us to identify faculty, regardless of their rank, who have the skills and background to teach well at the introductory level,” Richmond said.

Ultimately, the introductory classes should be taught by the best faculty, he said, even if that person does not have seniority.

Richmond said senior faculty members need to be monitored by each department to ensure they are doing their part.

“It is the responsibility of the Department Executive Officers in consultation with their deans to determine the teaching responsibilities of faculty,” he said. “These individuals do a good job of matching the needs of courses to the skills and propensities of their colleagues. It is their responsibility to make these assignments, and they are in the best position to do so.”

However, Warren Dolphin, university professor of zoology and genetics, said the combination of senior and junior faculty is what sets Iowa State apart.

“In truth, what makes ISU an excellent university is the fact that we have both young and old faculty, those both young and old who focus on teaching and those both young and old who focus on scholarship and research,” he said. “As result of taking 40 or so courses in a typical program of study, students can benefit from all of these approaches to knowledge and experience a universe of viewpoints.”