Faculty Senate hears provost's academic plan for future of UNT

The UNT Faculty Senate met for the first time in 2004 on Feb. 11 and heard reports from Howard Johnson, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Scott Simpkins, chair of the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects and Research.

Johnson presented a draft for an academic plan for UNT, using Vision 2015 as a basis for his plan. Vision 2015 is what the UNT administration envisions for the institution by the year 2015 and the steps needed to achieve that vision. Johnson listed four core values that he believes are paramount for UNT to be successful — providing a distinctive undergraduate experience for students; improving interdisciplinary research and education; building on the resources available in the Dallas-Fort Worth region; and globalization. In order for these values to be successful, Johnson said there are three areas that need to be expanded — engaging UNT alumni; aggressively recruiting faculty and nurturing existing faculty; and improving the image of the university.

Simpkins' report to the senate regarded real and perceived problems with the IRB. He said the two most frequent complaints he hears regarding the board are that the application review process is too lengthy and applications are "meddled" with — changes are made in their language. He said a staff member has been shifted to work fulltime for the IRB to help make the application process faster, and he hopes the other complaint can be reduced by a shift in attitude regarding editing of the applications — for instance, the idea that the more people who read the application, the greater the chance of all the problems being caught and fixed. He said sometimes the changes are based on stylistic preferences but other times they come out of real necessity. Simpkins also listed several things that can be done to help the application process move more smoothly, including submitting applications as early as possible; asking for help right away when a problem arises; and using simple, eighth-grade-level language — especially for consent forms used in the research process.

In other business, faculty members:

• Heard Lou Pelton, senate chair, speak about the formation of a committee to examine UNT's current smoking policy. He said the committee should release a report in the near future.
• Heard Pelton speak briefly about the plus/minus grading system that was approved by the Academic Affairs Committee and recommended to the provost. Pelton said the new EIS system is capable of accommodating those changes and the provost's office will determine how and when the system is implemented.
• Heard and approved a report from the Committee on Committees, presented by Martha Tarlton, committee chair, regarding committee seats that need to be filled.
• Heard and approved a report from the Committee on Faculty Participation in Governance, presented by Janell Mathis, committee chair, regarding selection of a faculty ombudsman. Mathis said four nominations were submitted by the Feb. 2 deadline and were in the process of being examined. She said she hoped to have an applicant selected by the time the Faculty Senate met again on March 10. A report from that meeting will appear in the April 2 issue of InHouse.
• Heard a report from Frances Van Tassell, senate vice chair, regarding the regular meeting of the senate's executive committee with administrators. Issues discussed included administrator accountability; official spokespeople for the university; the status of responsibility-centered management; UNT's annual report; nominations for teaching awards; and UNT's honorary degree policy.
• Heard a report from Pelton including information about responsibility-centered management and budgetary issues involving academic issues; and the Faculty Forum, allowing faculty to share ideas, issues and resources with each other. The forum can be accessed by visiting osprey.unt.edu/facultyforum.

The Faculty Senate met again March 10 and will meet 2 p.m. April 14 at in Wooten Hall, Room 322. 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 plans second annual beautification day
• Cleanup continues at Clark Hall following small fire
• Spring brings Texas severe weather season
• Regents approve honorary degree, authorize new athletic center completion
• Staff awards presented at sack lunch
• April brings University, Alumni Appreciation, Honors days
• UNT student is a Truman Scholarship finalist
• Division of University Relations, Communications and Marketing earns three national awards
• TAMS students are semifinalists in national science competition

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