When the Faculty Senate holds its first meeting of the 2019-20 year this afternoon, Dr. Anthony Chow will give the welcoming remarks as its new chair.
He is serving a two year term, succeeding Dr. Andrea Hunter, who served two years and is now Associate Chair.
An associate professor in the Department of Library and Information Studies, Chow joined UNCG in 2006. His School of Education courses include administration and management, emerging technology, web design and usability, instructional technology, and virtual communities. He served as the School of Education’s Director of Online Learning from 2012 to 2015.
He has six priorities and areas of focus for Faculty Senate in the coming year:
1) Faculty welfare and faculty representation. As a father of three, he knows that health insurance, benefits and quality of life are important to the faculty – as well as knowing that they are being heard, he tells CW.
2) Utilizing technology to increase communication and representation. Examples? There’ll be more file sharing and interactivity during meetings There’ll be chargers at each table and electronic “sign-in,” for convenience. Instant messaging and the Google suite will be used, as well as WebEx, so those who can’t be there physically can still participate in discussions.
3) Increase alignment between administration and faculty goals. “Our chancellor and provost are great to work with and we want to make sure our relationship remains strong,” he says.
4) System efficiency and effectiveness with an emphasis on UCD. “User-centered design” is key, he says, to breaking down barriers and enhancing usability for students and faculty – in teaching and learning, in choosing and registering for classes, and in navigating many other areas.
5) Refine guidelines and procedures so alignment between University and Units. We’ve grown as a University, and we need to ensure balance and efficiency as well as clarity in expectations, he explains. This includes teaching loads, promotion and tenure, and more.
6) Increase training and normalize core tasks and functioning such as student evaluations, unit leadership, class sizes, and reviews. This will enhance norms from department to department and school to school, across the university, he explains.
“My leadership style is helping other people be successful,” he says. He’s been teaching and researching leadership and management for 20 years. Good leadership means having clear goals, he says. And then the work is easier to do.
He also advocates for the uniquely invaluable position UNCG’s faculty members hold in making a difference for the local and larger community. Their expertise, research, and skill-sets make a huge impact and should be leveraged even further.
Chow has over 20 years of experience in academia, private industry, and government and specializes in web design and usability, leadership and management, instructional technology, and analytics and informatics. He served as a research associate at Florida State University before joining UNCG.
He received his Ph.D. in Instructional Systems at Florida State, his M.S. in Educational Psychology at Florida State, and his B.S. in Developmental Psychology at San Francisco State University.
Past chair Dr. Andrea Hunter serves this year as Associate Chair of Faculty Senate, Dr. Brad Johnson serves as Secretary, and Dr. Channelle James is Parliamentarian.
Chow is also a member of the four-person UNC System Faculty Assembly delegation. Dr. Andrea Hunter, Wade Maki, and Dr. Sarah Daynes are other delegates. (See details here.)
Looking ahead, the General Faculty Meeting and Convocation will be Wednesday, Sept. 25, 3 p.m., in Alumni House.
See agenda for today’s (Sept. 11) Faculty Senate meeting, 3 p.m., Alumni House
See full Faculty Senate roster here.
By Mike Harris
Photograph by Martin W. Kane
