Tangible ways to Improve Morale at Shaw

Dr. Broadway’s post on thinking big in fundraising is an excellent idea. Shaw should refocus its efforts on solving our deficit problem by raising money instead of cutting essential services. In particular, Shaw’s recent elimination of our pension match can have long-term detrimental effects on an employees’ future well being. I hope our Faculty Senate works to restore this benefit.

Morale at Shaw is still extremely low and should be improved. Here are my ideas for discussion.

Goal: Give everyone the clear understanding that we suffer and grow together for the good of Shaw.

• Immediately dismantle our two-tier system where a few live in plush, clean, and spacious quarters near Estey Hall with parking designated for Estey residents only and most other employees live in squalor, where molded, leaking buildings, unclean surroundings and mud filled potholes abound and little parking is available. In particular, we must eliminate the stigma that the elites at Shaw live in plush, gated communities and the rest live in squalor.

Recommendations: Return Human Resources immediately back to Tyler Hall. Do not permit the President, or anyone else, to have two offices when many employees are cramped in unclean quarters. Use the two buildings near McDonald for University gatherings on a reservation basis. Use the Estey Auditorium for community activities. Populate Estey Hall differently to allow offices for not only Alumni, but the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Community Relations and Student Government. Delete many of the administrative positions or spread them around campus with the people. Allow any faculty and staff the ability to park in the Estey lot and reserve no parking areas for an elite few. Show clearly that Estey is for the Shaw community and not just a privileged few.

• Improve the Appointment Process. Employing friends, relatives, and misusing power are rampant at our University. The result is not only a waste of money but not having the talents necessary to do certain crucial jobs.

Recommendations: Immediately notify the University community that no future appointments will be made without proper evaluations and assurances that all eligible employees are made aware of the position and have opportunities to apply. The entire campus community (Board, Administration, Staff, and Faculty) should be penalized for violating conflict of interest rules. New policies should be devised to assure all employees have a chance to contribute to the University.

• Start activities immediately this summer that address faculty and staff morale issues

Recommendations: Certain initial activities could alert the University community that we are truly a family and intend to help each other become our best. We could organize an all-University volunteer effort this summer to enlist employees to contribute to clean up our University. Modest efforts could be done to improve faculty and staff living conditions (leaks in Old Education and Tupper, mold in Graphics, modern boards in ISC and Tupper, paving the potholes from Debnam to Tupper, tearing down the wired fence). An employee’s salary equity study could be done with the plan of addressing the most drastic salary disparities first. Indeed, our Faculty Senate should be willing to help organize the opening orientation sessions that would involve all faculty and staff in recommending ways to further Shaw's growth.

James Nelson, Jr., President, Faculty Senate