The most important resource of Kalamazoo College is its faculty. While we often offer this statement as an articulation of the respect that we have for our hard-working faculty, it needs to be an action principle as well as a statement of general philosophy. Hiring the best faculty available, and then retaining the best faculty who are here, are the most pressing challenges that we face on a year-in, year-out basis.

We have been fortunate as an institution to have been given a significant resource base by trustees in recent years to help us hire the best new faculty available. Our “start up” package – including a course release in the first year, a new computer, individual research funds, and then a full one-term leave following the third year review – competes with the very best such packages in the country to help us attract outstanding new faculty.

This helps us to attract and retain the best faculty, but we need to do more.

A college that seeks to attract and retain the best faculty must demonstrate to its faculty that it understands the resources that are needed by active and productive scholars, and outstanding and caring teachers and advisors, not only to survive, but to flourish.

A college that seeks to attract and retain the best faculty must demonstrate to its faculty that it understands the ultimate value of human relationships, and that the college supports those with family responsibilities.

To this end, Kalamazoo College announced a new policy which took effect in the Fall term of 2002. The policy described here applies to teaching faculty, for reasons that will become clear in the document.