Faculty Senate elects officers for 2005-06

The Faculty Senate elected officers for the 2005-06 academic year during its May 12 meeting. Frances Van Tassell, associate professor of teacher education and administration, was re-elected to serve a second term as senate chair, and Grant Miles, associate professor of management, was re-elected to serve as vice chair. Samuel Atkinson, professor of biological sciences, was elected secretary. The new terms begin Sept. 1.

Senators also approved a resolution regarding the open and public defense and availability of master's theses and doctoral dissertations. The resolution proposes a policy stipulating that information that cannot be divulged publicly is not appropriate for inclusion in a thesis or dissertation.

In other business, Faculty Senate members:

• Approved a report from the faculty ombudsman, Gene Wright, who reported he has listened to 45 faculty members since he began in the position in mid February. He also presented standards of practice promoted by the University and College Ombuds Association.

• Approved a report from the Core Oversight Committee recommending that the provost ensure that academic units with courses in the core curriculum comply with required assessment and reporting procedures. The committee found that many of the core courses are not in compliance as required and have not been since the oversight program began.

• Approved a report from the Faculty Research Committee that included the number of research grant applications and awards given this year. Lloyd Chesnut, vice president for research and technology transfer, said that Higher Education Assistance Funds earmarked for research at UNT went down from $20 million in 2003-04 to $18 million in 2004-05.

• Approved a report from the Workload Committee that focused on the growing amount of service required of faculty by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and other assessment and planning initiatives. Forde, committee chair and professor of political science, also shared suggestions about incorporating these requirements into the proposed Responsibility Center Management plan.

• Approved a report from the Committee on the Status of Women that updated the senate on the committee's work in several areas, including the development of a consistent exit interview process for faculty and staff members, the identification of a central location and office for collecting and retaining exit data, the identification of an office that will be able to make recommendations relative to the exit data, and the collection of data regarding UNT faculty salaries.

•Heard a report from Howard Johnson, provost and vice president for academic affairs, that of the 20 candidates for tenure this year, 15 were granted tenure, one was denied and four were given extensions to continue the process. Of the six candidates for promotion, two withdrew, two were denied and two were granted. He also announced that there will be eight new Regents Professors for 2005-06, and he encouraged all schools and colleges to nominate faculty for the designation.

• Heard a report made by Miles regarding the senate Executive Committee's May 4 meeting with administrators. Topics included library funding; updates to prior Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerns; the status of tenure appeals; evaluation of administrators; searches for deans for the School of Library and Information Sciences, the School of Visual Arts and the College of Business Administration; and concerns regarding the lack of market salary adjustments in the College of Education.

• Heard a report made by Van Tassell regarding several topics. Those included an update on an ad hoc committee studying the promotion and tenure process; an update on the release of UNT's academic plan; a report on the May Board of Regents meeting; a report on the Faculty Senate Town Hall Meeting held April 27; and work to review the Faculty Handbook and Policy Manual policies regarding promotion and tenure.

• Heard a report from the Committee on Committees.

The senate held its last meeting of the academic year on June 8. A report about that meeting is slated to appear in the June 24 issue of InHouse. For more information about the Faculty Senate, visit www.unt.edu/facsenate.

BY MICHELLE HALE mhale@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• UNT to receive about $4 million in general revenue funds from the state of Texas
• Scholarship honors a friend's commitment to promoting diversity
• Parking permits for 2005-06 now for sale
• Committee continues to examine Responsibility Center Management
• Work dress codes relax as summer temperatures go up
• Gift to help promote Czech music, culture
• Denton County Transportation Authority approves rail line favored by UNT
• Mean Green 2005 season ticket packages for sale

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