Meeting Minutes

Present: Houston Wood, Kenneth Schwartz, Teresa Culver, Edmund Kitch, Rebecca Kneedler, Steven Nock, William Kehoe, Susan Kirk, Gene Block

Houston Wood, Chair of the Faculty Senate, called the meeting to order.

Semester at Sea Report - Gene D. Block, Vice President and Provost

• An oversight committee has been established to review course offerings through the transition period.
• All University departments have been given a list of coursework and CV's for the faculty that will be teaching this year's Semester at Sea.
• UVA will appoint the dean for the Semester at Sea each year.
• There will be an application process for students applying for a Semester at Sea.
• There will be an application process for faculty interested in teaching a Semester at Sea.

Improving Administration and Faculty Communications

Houston Wood asked Gene Block to suggest ways that communication with the administration might be institutionalized. Mr. Block suggested more Executive Council meetings, more meetings with the full Senate, and more information sessions, engaging the Provost more fully with the Senate.

It was noted that information does not trickle down from the administration and the Senators to the faculty as a whole as well as it should. Faculty Senate representatives need to do a better job of communicating with their constituents.

It was decided that the Provost and the Chair of the Senate would work together at the beginning of each year to schedule a series of meetings to advance administration and faculty communication.

It was noted that the Faculty Senate Constitution and By-Laws call for a meeting at the beginning of each year between the Executive Council and the Provost and the President to set the agenda for the Senate.

It was suggested that the Faculty Senate could create subcommittees to address some of the faculty concerns regarding feeling that there is a lack of communication.

It was also suggested that someone from the managing board of the Cavalier Daily be invited to work with the Senate to insure accurate and clear reporting of information in the publication. The Faculty Senate also needs to make sure that a representative from the Daily Progress and other media are correctly informed on issues.

General Faculty Policy

Teresa Culver is the Faculty Senate representative on the Policy Review Committee, which worked on the revisions to the General Faculty Policy, now called the non-tenure track faculty policy. Non-tenure track faculty (NTTF) members have term appointments. The non-tenure track faculty includes administration and professional staff, librarians, and term appointed academic faculty participating in research and teaching.

Gene Block discussed the General Faculty Policy revisions and his work with Bill Keene, former chair of the General Faculty Council, on writing the new policy.

Teresa Culver raised concern about non-tenure track academic faculty issues. Issues of concern include the disproportionate numbers of women and minorities in these positions and the policies of non-tenure track faculty holding rank. It was suggested that a senate committee should consider the role of NTTF at UVa, whether current situation poses a problem, and if so, should policies be changed.

Mr. Keene has contacted Houston Wood to ask for clarification of the Faculty Grievance Committee's policies and guidelines. Mr. Wood has given Mr. Keene's suggestions to Mildred Robinson, Chair of the Faculty Grievance Committee, for that committee's review and recommendations.

In closing, Ed Kitch asked about the Student Integrated System, and the need for the new system as soon as possible. Gene Block responded that this is an enormous task and it is on track for completion in three to four years.

The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

Submitted by Teresa Culver, Secretary of the Faculty Senate