MEMBERS PRESENT:  Donal Day – Arts & Sciences,  Dennis DeSilvey – Medical School, Tom Dowd – Other Schools, Trish Foley – Medical School, Nancy Garlick – Arts and Sciences, Brad Holland – Administration, Aaron Laushway – Student Affairs, Joyce Pastors – Medical School, Jane Penner – Libraries, Jan Redick – Medical School, Mary Smith – Engineering, and Betsy Tucker – Arts & Sciences

MEMBERS ABSENT:  Susan Andrews – Administration – RESIGNED, Joe Gieck – Athletics, Elizabeth Fortune – Other Schools, Abby Gillette – Other Schools – RESIGNED

ALSO PRESENT:  Mair deVoursney, Robert deVoursney, and Lynda White

Jane Penner chaired the meeting

1.       The minutes for the January GFC meetings are not yet posted on the GFC web site.  Approval deferred until the March meeting.

2. Chair’s Report

a.       Representatives Susan Andrews and Abby Gillette have resigned from the GFC and left the University.  The Council expressed thanks and appreciation to them both for their years of service to the GFC.

b.       Bill Randolph, Director of the University’s Integrated Systems Project (ISP), will be invited to an upcoming GFC meeting to update the group on ISP activities.

c.       The GFC will request that a knowledgeable representative from QualChoice attend an upcoming meeting to answer questions about QualChoice coverage for general faculty members and their families.

3.       The next New Faculty/Staff Welcome and Resource Fair will be held Tuesday, March 14, from 2:00-4:30 pm in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom.  Aaron Laushway has agreed to provide coverage for the General Faculty Council table.  Jan Redick may be able offer some coverage.  Other GFC volunteers are welcome to assist.

4.       Trish Foley reported that some nominations for the upcoming elections to the GFC have been received.  The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 18.  Outgoing councilors were encouraged to make a personal appeal to their constituents for nominees.

5.       Other Reports

a.       Betsy Tucker reported that at the Chair level in the Drama Department there is a new, unprecedented interest in General Faculty evaluations.

b.       Donal Day reported that he has, as requested, been monitoring U.Va.’s legislative activities.  The big issue of the moment is the proposed change to the Classified Staff compensation plan.

6.       The remaining time was devoted to discussion of the draft of the proposed new Policy on the General Faculty (dated December 15, 1999).  Dennis DeSilvey reported that he was part of a discussion of the draft revision by the Academic Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate.  This committee is very interested in the revision of the Policy on the General Faculty and is generating a set of comments and questions about the draft revision. These will be sent to Alex Johnson, Vice Provost for Faculty Recruitment, who, along with Kathy Reed, Associate Provost for Management, has been representing the Provost’s Office in the revision discussions. 

Joyce Pastors reported that, as yet, there has been no response from either Alex Johnson or Kathy Reed to the set of questions sent to them following January’s GFC discussion of the proposed new Policy on the General Faculty.

A question was raised about the advisability, as part of the GFC deliberation process, of engaging independent legal council to review the proposed revision.  Comments were made about the GFC’s responsibility to all members of the general faculty to make sure that any revision of the Policy on the General Faculty fully protects the employment rights of the general faculty while it meets the needs of the University’s administration.  There will be more discussion about this idea as the process advances.

The Council then continued the work begun at the January meeting by reviewing the proposed new policy section by section.  At meeting’s end several more questions had arisen about the proposed revision.  These questions focused on proposed changes in standards of notice, reassignment and termination, abolition of position, and the issue of “grandfathering” members of the general faculty who were hired under the current policy.  These questions will be sent to Alex Johnson and Kathy Reed for their written response. 

The discussion of the draft of the proposed new Policy on the General Faculty will continue at the March meeting.  This will be a deliberate, thoughtful process and the GFC recognizes the high stakes involved in any revision of the existing Policy on the General Faculty.  The GFC, while looking for a “win-win” revised policy, will work diligently to protect the long-term interests of its constituents.   As the discussion continues the GFC will continue to work under the existing Policy on the General Faculty, http://www.virginia.edu/~provost/genfac.htm

7.       NEXT MEETING:  Tuesday, March 14, 2000, 12:30-2:00 pm.  Location: 389 Newcomb Hall

Submitted March 2, 2000

Tom Dowd, Secretary

General Faculty Council