Dear Colleagues,

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the 2002-2003 school year. Last year was a very busy year for the Faculty Senate; some of the activities in which we participated, representing you, include:

  1. Questions to administrators.

    2. As you are aware, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate meets once a month with President Pohl and Vice President and Provost Kesterson. At these meetings, the Executive Committee brings before the administrators concerns of a general (and sometimes specific) nature affecting faculty at large. A sampling of those issues brought to the administrators’ attention is:

    1. Raises for administrators (deans and higher). Answer: The pool of money available for administrative raises this year was two percent (derived from the total of current administrative salaries).

    2. Class offerings and faculty teaching at South Dallas ("Expectations & Incentives for Offering Programs at the UNT System Center at Dallas" memo from Dr. Kesterson to the deans). Answer: Tenure/tenure-track faculty taught approximately 54% of classes offered at the System Center in 2000-2001; reimbursement was 20% of the faculty salary returned back to the department.

    3. Concern when classes are canceled due to bad weather after many students have already left for school.

    Questions for administrators may be forwarded to any member of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.

  2. Faculty Salary Study Committee

    1. The Faculty Salary Study Committee and the Faculty Senate Budget Committee are to work together this year to work proactively on salary raise recommendations to the administration.

  3. College of Engineering. The College of Engineering has received final approval from the Faculty Senate, Administration, and Coordinating Board, and a search is currently underway to hire the founding dean of the college.

  4. A guideline was established and approved which details the items from the University Curriculum committee that require Faculty Senate review and approval. These items include:

    1. Additions/Changes to the curriculum (such as new undergraduate courses, new—or changes in—undergraduate degree [or certificate] programs)

    2. New courses to be added to the Core Curriculum

    3. Substantive changes in existing Core Curriculum Courses

    4. Academic Reorganization within a Unit

  5. The final version of the UNT Faculty Discipline Policy was approved.

  6. The Faculty Senate recommended and approved the creation of an Honorary Degree Committee with guidelines for applicants/nominators.

  7. The Faculty Senate’s representative on the advisory committee to the Board of Regents’ search for a new UNT Chancellor was Dr. Juliet Getty. Mr. Lee Jackson, the incoming chancellor, will be addressing the Faculty Senate at the September meeting.

  8. The Faculty Senate approved, by majority vote, the numerical values for the plus/minus grading system.

This upcoming year will also be full of activity as well; some of the major issues to be addressed this year by your senators include:

  1. Search for a new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

    2. Although the person in this position does not answer to the Faculty Senate, President Pohl has indicated that he believes that since this particular Vice President works the closest (of any of the VPs) with the faculty, that the faculty should have a strong voice in the selection of Dr. Kesterson’s replacement. I hope you will become actively involved in the process.

  2. Workload. A survey is forthcoming from the Faculty Senate regarding workload and workload issues. Depending on the results of this survey, there may be a reexamination of the workload options, percentages, and types of faculty hires made in the future at UNT.

  3. Continuing growth of the student body (official estimates place the student body this fall at between 29,111 and 29,600). If the long-term health and quality of instruction at the university is to be maintained and improved, there must be a push for increasing tenured/tenure-track faculty.

  4. Faculty salaries. The Faculty Senate Budget Committee and the Faculty Senate Salary Study Committee are to work together this year to proactively make a presentation arguing why faculty pay raises are even more important in a depressed economy.

  5. Further development of the UNT Research Park. A search for a Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer is currently underway. The person filling this position will have as a major responsibility that of developing—academically as well as in an entrepreneurial fashion—the former TI property.

  6. The first round of assessment of Core Curriculum courses will begin in early September.

I would encourage you to be active in faculty governance, to tap into the resources of the Faculty Senate and to contact your representative(s) with suggestions and/or concerns at any time. Remember, the Faculty Senate meetings are open to the public; we meet the second Wednesday of the month at 2:00 p.m. in Wooten Hall, room 322. In-coming Chancellor Jackson and President Pohl have agreed to address the Senate at the September meeting.

As well, the Faculty Handbook and UNT Policy Manual are online and can be reached from the Faculty Senate web page at http://www.unt.edu/facsenate/facultysenate.htm

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Oxford

Chair, Faculty Senate

 

Send comments or questions to Sue Young, syoung@unt.edu, at the Faculty Senate Office, Telephone (940) 565-2053.