The Faculty Senate met on Wednesday, April 18, to discuss the recent faculty election and options for the future of faculty governance.
One of the major problems in this year’s election is the unwillingness of many members to run for the position of vice president of the Faculty Senate. This one of the particularly important positions in the Senate, as the vice president progresses to president the year after his election, and he serves as chair of the faculty the following year, .
The former Vice President Larry Kagan canvassed all of the write-in candidates to identify any possible candidates. Kagan found it surprising that a lot of the people written in were not willing to run, though he also admitted that there is an understandable kind of reluctance to be involved in faculty governance due to teaching, research, and time commitments.
There are still a few positions left open, there is a special ballot that was sent out on the morning of April 17. The deadline for voting is midnight of Monday, April 30, and it is expected that the results will be announced on Wednesday, May 2. The positions yet to be filled are those of the vice president, secretary of the senate and senator at large. There had been a significant amount of write-in votes, especially for the position of vice president.
The election results at the meeting, however, decided who will become the new officers and chairs of the Faculty Senate. The newly elected officers are: President of the Senate Larry Kagan, Chair of the Faculty Jim Napolitano, and Recording Secretary Nancy Campbell. The former Faculty Senate President Jim Napolitano has not yet accepted the position of chair of the faculty.
Included on the ballot was a measure to vote to approve the new Ph.D. requirements, which decreases the required amount of credits for graduation.
During the Faculty Senate meeting, Kagan provided information regarding the turnout of the faculty for this year’s elections. He showed that there has been a decrease in turnout in comparison to last year’s elections. Kagan further broke down voter turnout by faculty status, showing that tenured faculty consisted of 86.6 percent of the votes, retired faculty 5.6 percent of the vote, librarians 4.8 percent, and research faculty 3.7 percent of the votes.
When asked about his upcoming term as president of the Senate, Kagan remarked that he plans on focusing on the Faculty Senate relationship with the Board of Trustees and to find more effective ways to develop a stronger relationship with the administration. Kagan referred to the new Communications Committee as a method of improving communication with the administration. The Communications Committee, set up by President Shirley Ann Jackson, is the product of a recommendation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The committee consists of two co-chairs, Langdon Winner and William Walker, Vice President and Dean of Rensselaer at Hartford John Minasian, the five academic deans, the dean of Graduate Education, the current chair, incoming president, and president of the Faculty Senate, and members of the faculty appointed by the president on the recommendation of the provost. The goals of the committee are to identify processes, opportunities, and vehicles for effective communication between the administration and the faculty.
