>May 7, 1996 > >Dear Friends and Colleagues, > >On April 25 my chairman, a clarinetist, wrote of me in the annual >performance appraisal: > >"...I am very concerned however with the number of complaints about the >quality of tuning and regulation that I receive from students and >particularly the piano faculty.... Although he may enjoy international >esteem and admiration by his professional peers, it is unfortunate that >the quality of his work is seriously questioned by the contingency whom >he serves." > >No specifics of whom, which, where, why or when. Dear Newton, I am so sad that this has happened to you. This is so inconsistent with what we know of your character and abilities. Having had some training in Performance Evaluation preparation, I can tell you that it is poor form to bring up reservations about an employee's performance that have not been previously discussed. If your supervisor had received complaints about your work, these needed to be discussed with you at the time; and you should have an opportunity to respond. The Performance Evaluation can then be used to subsequently track progress toward established goals. It should not contain undocumented allegations. The whole purpose of such tools is to help the employee and the supervisor to track and communicate about performance, including setting goals. If your supervisor his concerns about your performance in any area, the evaluation can be used to work together toward addressing those concerns. In other words, it should be constructive, not chastising. Also, it is clear that you already, like most of your colleagues, have more instruments than you can do justice to. On top of such a workload, we are also expected to perform concert quality work. How many of the pianists on your faculty perform at a top concert level? They usually can not while doing all the other things they are expected to do: teach, serve on committees, etc. I would recommend that you explore avenues open to you within the University: Ombudsman, Personnel Counseller, Employee Assistance Program, EEO (ADA). In the meantime, you might work with your spervisor to improve communication, so that concerns are brought to your attention promptly, and that you are given the opportunity to respond appropriately. Regards, Charles Charles Ball School of Music University of Texas at Austin ckball@mail.utexas.edu
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