Faculty Affairs Committee Minutes (01-19-06)

Meeting: Thursday, January 19 at 5:00 in the Prairie Lounge

Present: Representatives of the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC), the Faculty Development Committee (FDC) and the Consultative Committee (CC)

Absent (FAC): Patrick VanZandt

The primary purpose of this joint meeting was to discuss commonality of purpose and the division of labor between the three related committees. According to Guyotte, the Consultative Committee functions as an ombudsman to investigate concerns brought to it my members of the campus community and, according to Kuchenreuther, to facilitate communication between the groups. The Faculty Affairs Committee should function to develop policy. According to Sungur, the Faculty Development Committee will be involved in systematic data collect. In addition, the Consultative Committee should function as a sounding board for Faculty Affairs Committee policy before it goes to the Campus Assembly for consideration and approval. For some issues, it might be appropriate for all three groups to collaborate. Although there exists no real mechanism for chairs to work together, we intend to try to do so wherever prudent.

Finzel suggested that the Faculty Development Committee and the Faculty Center do survey work to share with the Faculty Affairs Committee; the Faculty Affairs Committee will then create policy to bring to the Campus Assembly; the Consultative Committee will work to insure follow up and implementation of policy.

The Faculty Affairs Committee wants to do something soon to establish its credibility. It is also necessary that it establish and articulate boundaries.

Kuchenreuther noted that the Faculty Culture Task Force would be coming on Tuesday, January 24. It will be important for the committee to present a unified response, even though we may not have all of the relevant data and there is no time to collect such data.

Other suggestions for possible future agenda items:

•  Exit interviews

•  Clarification of non-tenure track teaching appointments

•  Back fill for faculty and P&A leaves

•  Efficacy of the assembly

•  Clarification of the process for eliminating a discipline

•  Administrative awareness of faculty (& staff) productivity

•  Travel policy

•  Retention of faculty, particularly faculty of color

•  Lack of openness in budget process

•  Anticipate issues for the constitution Task Force (For example, why is there no P&A, and no non-tenure track representation on the Faculty Development Committee, the Consultative Committee and the Executive Committee when such inclusiveness was mandated for the FAC?)

•  Periodic review of P&A directors

•  Dissatisfaction with Single Semester Leaves selection committee makeup

•  Administration of Faculty Research Enhancement Fund

•  Research Infrastructure and Collaborative Research Task Force

•  Develop written workload policy at UMM

•  Decide which issues need to be addressed in Strategic Planning Document (contact Andy López)

•  How are we addressing compensation with the Strategic Plan?

•  Annual Review of directors