Great school, but with enough bad apples to potentially spoil the barrel
Pros
The students are amazing, the majority of the faculty are collaborative and open to new ideas, and the values in the mission statement are worth fighting for. The retirement benefits are fairly generous, and perks like having access to gyms, fields, and the lake campus are nice. Everyone does know everyone, and for the most part that's a positive thing - there's a real community spirit here.
Cons
The first thing you'll hear from anyone is the pay. Salaries are far below market rate, and the Davidson area is no longer cheap to live in. The school will continue to lose excellent folks due to the low salaries and lack of opportunity to advance within the organization. While there are many excellent folks in departments and in administration, there are also several completely toxic units/departments. No strategic thinking is done in these dysfunctional departments. HR is not good at understanding violations of employees rights.
