A Message from the Chair

Professor Joseph Konstan, chair, Faculty/Senate Consultative Committees

Fall 2017 has been a busy and interesting time in governance. I'll briefly review four of the key priorities we've been working on in the Faculty and Senate Consultative Committees (FCC and SCC) this fall; the rest of this newsletter offers many other highlights from across the committees.  

Liberal Education

The Twin Cities Delegation of the Faculty Senate met this fall for the first of what will be several sessions on liberal education. These meetings are open not only to Twin Cities faculty but to the entire University community. Our goal is a transparent faculty-led process where the Liberal Education Redesign Committee works closely with the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP) and the FCC, but also consults regularly with the TC Delegation of the Faculty Senate as it prepares proposals for the faculty's consideration.

Sexual Misconduct

A key project this fall has been working to fulfill the University Senate's charge to take strong action against sexual misconduct. President Kaler launched a four-pronged initiative to address sexual misconduct (with governance leaders nominating faculty, staff, and students to serve on various task forces). The November University Senate meeting was built around a 90-minute session to learn about and discuss sexual misconduct, how the University handles it, and what we should be doing about it. Special thanks to FCC Vice Chair Greta Friedemann-Sanchez, who not only organized that session, but also led a set of earlier activities to prepare us for it. Most recently, the FCC has been engaging closely with administrators to help ensure that the senate-charged mandatory training is as valuable and effective as possible.   

Beyond Status Quo

I expect many of us were surprised by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and MN Academics United decision to withdraw its application to represent the Twin Cities faculty. Governance, of course, took no position on unionization, though individuals in governance ranged from strongly supportive to strongly opposed with many also strongly in-between and strongly undecided. The removal of the Maintenance of Status Quo (MSQ) order, however, has also unfrozen substantial efforts where faculty governance is involved, including work on parental leaves, faculty development leaves, and other matters that were temporarily halted. The FCC has been working to help re-start the various processes and consultations (many of them happening within the committees).

Governance and Consultation

There is much more happening. Both the SCC and FCC have been consulting on various policy changes. FCC Vice Chair Greta Friedemann-Sanchez and I attended a Big Ten Academic Alliance faculty governance meeting, and came back both with a substantial appreciation for the productive relationships we have between governance and administration and with ideas for how to improve the effectiveness of our own governance processes. And we have also been meeting regularly with the University's senior leaders, with members of the Board of Regents, and others to ensure that the perspectives of governance are heard at all levels. We look forward to working with our faculty legislative liaisons over the coming spring as the legislature convenes.  

As we've recently celebrated Thanksgiving, I'd like to close with a few words of gratitude. First I want to thank the hundreds of dedicated volunteers who serve in governance-- within the University Senate and its committees, within campus and collegiate governance, and in all roles throughout the system. I know that effective governance takes time, energy, and dedication, and I am continually impressed by the thoughtful and dedicated service so many students, staff, and faculty put forward to make this a better university. Second, I'm grateful to the hard-working and very capable University Senate Office staff who work behind the scenes to make the machinery of governance run. Finally, I want to thank my colleagues whose votes of trust have given me the opportunity to serve in this leadership role. Though at times it is hard to see past the burdens of responsibility, I really do recognize and appreciate what a privilege it is to represent the faculty and the University community.  

--Professor Joseph Konstan