contractual duty to report colleagues' plans to leave job?

[mleok]

Huh.  My institution clearly has the opposite philosophy -- the deans have consistently tried to talk departing faculty (at least the ones who are leaving in good standing) into taking a couple years of leave of absence rather than resigning immediately, to give them some time to try out the new job.  Usually, they don't come back, but occasionally, someone realizes that the grass wasn't greener over there, and we celebrate their return.

When I left my first tenure-track position for a tenured one, my department and dean tried to put together a one year leave of absence, but the acting provost denied it. I can't help but laugh everytime I get a fundraising pitch from them.

[pgher]

A quick perspective from a different field. My church's pastor recently left. She gave four weeks notice. That seemed awfully short, but in retrospect was totally appropriate. That was long enough for her to gracefully wrap things up and depart. It was also long enough that we could find visiting preachers starting the week after she left. One-Sunday pulpit supply is surely easier to find than semester-long adjuncts. Still, four weeks seems more reasonable than two weeks (or less) for specialized professionals who are difficult to replace, and who NEED to be replaced in at least a temporary way.

[mamselle]

Hmm. A month for a church does seem short...to me, anyway.

Most churches I've worked with or been a member of ask for a year's notice so they can prepare a self-study profile and hire an interim for the following year (the better to help the congregation sort out what issues are going to have continued focus and which ones (including, sometimes, personal disputes) were tied to the previous pastorate, and will be dropped after they've gone.

I suppose in those cases it's more like the CEO of a (tiny, sometimes) company, and despite all the issues discussed above about short-sheeting a departing professor, I haven't heard of or observed that in those cases (it's treated a bit more like a terminal year, in my experience).

Well, except for the case where the Sr. Min. was discovered by the Board to have been engaged in some longstanding hanky-panky with the Sr. Deacon's wife.

THAT was resolved over a weekend...

M.

[dr_codex]

Hmm. A month for a church does seem short...to me, anyway.

Most churches I've worked with or been a member of ask for a year's notice so they can prepare a self-study profile and hire an interim for the following year (the better to help the congregation sort out what issues are going to have continued focus and which ones (including, sometimes, personal disputes) were tied to the previous pastorate, and will be dropped after they've gone.

I suppose in those cases it's more like the CEO of a (tiny, sometimes) company, and despite all the issues discussed above about short-sheeting a departing professor, I haven't heard of or observed that in those cases (it's treated a bit more like a terminal year, in my experience).

Well, except for the case where the Sr. Min. was discovered by the Board to have been engaged in some longstanding hanky-panky with the Sr. Deacon's wife.

THAT was resolved over a weekend...

M.

I think this is the key comparison.

When management leaves, either there is ample time and a clear succession plan, or, they are escorted by HR from the building and immediately cut off from all company spaces and resources. In neither case are they uncompensated. Those who have their access cut are almost always paid for the severance period afterward; the issue isn't salary or benefits, it is access to corporate intellectual property and/or client information.

Polly has been arguing for some time on these boards that faculty should think about ourselves -- and be thought about -- as management. Many people refuse to take positions that are designated Management Confidential (MC), in no small part because they don't come with the protections of tenure. But she's right that these refusals make true shared governance very difficult, if not impossible.

Clean has been arguing for even longer that however we conceive of ourselves (MC or labour) we watch our own backs. Never love something that cannot love you back.

[Ruralguy]

I would argue that because almost all faculty only act in an advisory capacity, and usually only on matters that concern faculty and students, even if on the "important" committees, that we aren't manageriall in the true executive and responsible sense. We absolutely aren't fiduciary. But yes, that's probably why at a lot places there is flexibility in how we come and go...no one really cares!  It also shows how places that die care for no real reason are just being jerks. 

By the way, where is Polly? Busy with important stuff I suppose.

[larryc]

Snitches get stiches.