Faculty Senate Meeting | October 21, 2020

Presidential Search discussion; process for nominations committee; Ombuds position; retirement letters; athletics; CAFR; PLC questionnaire

Faculty Senate Meeting

October 21, 2020 | 4:00 PM

Note: To facilitate open discussion, the identity of most Senators making comments or questions is not recorded. Such comments as recorded here are generally not verbatim. The identity of comments from Senate Officers and Senate Ad Hoc and Standing Committee Chairs are given, as is the identity of persons commenting in their official administrative capacity (e.g. EVP, Provost, or College Dean.) 

Meeting called to order

• Motion made to approve minutes from September meeting- unanimous approval
• Approval of bylaw changes – unanimous approval

Nominations

New nominating committee to be set up in December

President Search Process

Professor Katy Harriger described the process of selection of University President from 2005. The key items were:

• There was only one faculty member in the search committee
• There was a Faculty Advisor Committee (FAC) that viewed the materials and then interviewed the top three candidates
• There was a Senior Appointments Committee (SAC)
• The search committee interfaced with the FAC and the SAC also interviewed the top three candidates

The question of what the Senate can do this time was raised, and in the absence of the SAC it was felt that perhaps the Senate Executive Committee could play the role of the SAC.

There was a concern that the Senate had been marginalized in the current search process:

• None of the members of the FAC or Search Committee hold elected positions representing the faculty and no member of the Senate is on either the FAC or the Search Committee
• Who chose these committees and how?

There was a discussion about the issues to be discussed in the meeting between the Senate Executive Committee and the Search Committee. Some of key items suggested were:

• Inquire about the process, especially where the Board of Trustees (BOT) got the names for the search committee and the current FAC, how quickly will the process move
• There was a sense that the current process undermines faculty governance. Recommendations were made to involve faculty as much as possible in order for the new President to have faculty support, and for the university to affirm credibility and respect for faculty governance
• Criterion for the best candidate were suggested as someone who:
  • believes in academic priority
  • has been a tenured faculty member, not solely an administrator
  • is interested in the faculty and faculty development
  • supports efforts of diversity and inclusion
  • believes in transparency re: all decision making processes
  • values the student teacher relationship
  • believed in new student development
  • values graduate education
  • is aware of recent trends in higher education
  • is a successful fund raiser

Ombuds Position

There was a discussion about the internal Ombudsperson with two candidates and the Senate Executive Committee will be talking to them

Retirement Letters

There was a discussion about the retirement letters and the need to respond to the letter

Athletics

Professor Wayne Silver reported on the relational issues between faculty and athletes and the way athletes were treated by faculty and other students. There was also concerns about financial relationship between Athletics and the University especially in view of the pandemic.

CAFR

There was a brief report about the Committee for Academic Freedom and Responsibility by Professor Stew Carter. Anyone with issues for CAFR should send them to Stew Carter.

PLC Questionnaire

Concerns were expressed about the nature and purpose of the data collection related to the PLC program from the summer.

• The confidentiality of the data collection seems suspect.

Announcements and Meetings

There will be a Senate/FAC Forum at 4 pm on 11/6/2020.

In all likelihood all Senate meetings will be conducted remotely for the remainder of AY20-21.

Meeting Adjourned