University of Virginia General Faculty Council (GFC)

Minutes: September 12, 2000 12:30-2:00 PM, Room 389 Newcomb Hall

Members Present: Mary Abouzeid, Frank Butros, Patricia Foley, Jim Freeman, Brad Holland, Carol Hunter, William Keene, Aaron Laushway, Barbara Millar, Jane Penner, Jan Redick, Max Salinas, Betsy Tucker, Ellie Wilson

Members Absent: Chuck Callaghan, Donal Day, Joe Gieck, Maurice Lipper

Others Present: Tara Talfair (Organizational Development and Training), Terry Lockard (Information Technology and Communication), Linda White

The meeting was chaired by Patricia Foley

1. Minutes of the July 11, 2000 meeting were approved.

2. The newly elected at-large members of the General Faculty Council were introduced and welcomed: James Freeman (Psychology) and Carol Hunter (Alderman Library).

3. Report from the Chair:

    1. Benefits Committee: Trish Foley is serving on the Benefits Committee and attended a meeting of that group on 9/06/00. She reported to the Council that some changes in QualChoice administered health benefits for UVA employees have been drafted by the Benefits Committee. These proposed changes have been submitted to the state legislature for approval. If approved, they will become effective January 1, 2001. Without detailing the specific changes, Trish described them as positive, or good for employees. While the rate for basic coverage will probably go down slightly, expanded coverage will be available for employees who wish to invest slightly more in health benefits costs.
    2. Women’s Leadership Council: Several months ago Trish Foley sent an email to Council members asking if there was interest in participating on the Women’s Leadership Council. Ellie Wilson is interested in this group, and will look into participation. Apparently this group is an effort to provide follow-up, after a five-year block of time, to the earlier "Committee on Women’s Concerns."
    3. College of Arts and Sciences and Faculty Policies: Trish Foley reported that, in recent months, the College of Arts and Sciences has been drafting its own general faculty policies, independent of the effort underway by the Provost’s Office. Following back and forth discussions involving the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (Mel Leffler), the Provost’s Office, and the General Faculty Council, it was decided by Dean Leffler that drafting of any policies by the College of Arts and Sciences should wait until the document under preparation by the Provost’s Office has been completed.

      4. Council members entered general discussion on this topic. The consensus of the group was: while it is appropriate for the various schools of the University to establish faculty policies which reflect/address the specific needs of the individual schools, these policies must conform to the Policy on the General Faculty drafted by the Provost’s Office. In instances where policies of schools are in conflict with the Provost’s policies, the latter should override. Further, it was felt by Council that the document now being finalized by Alex Johnson (Provost’s Office) should contain language that clearly defines the overriding status of the Provost’s Policy on the General Faculty. Jane Penner will communicate this to Alex Johnson.

    4. General-Faculty Roster: Keeping the general-faculty roster up-to-date, and making sure that all appropriate persons are listed is a concern to Council members. Trish Foley will send out a copy of the latest revision of the general-faculty roster to each council member. Members are asked to check over the list to see if their respective departmental general faculty members are included.
  1. Terry Lockard, from UVA’s office for Information Technology and Communication (ITC) gave a presentation outlining the learning opportunities, primarily computer and communications skills, available through ITC. She revealed that faculty participation in the training sessions scheduled by ITC is very low. Possible reasons for that were discussed among Council members, and the issue of "timing" or "just in time" training was considered to be an important issue for faculty members. Ms. Lockard did clarify that, in addition to regularly scheduled training courses, ITC staff are available to conduct one-on-one training, special group training sessions, etc.

    2. Ms. Lockard also described a current effort by ITC: the Faculty Information Technology Skills Task Force. Members of this group are developing a list of training needs specifically directed toward faculty. Ms. Lockard said that they very much wanted a representative from the General Faculty Council to serve on this task force. Carol Hunter expressed interest, and volunteered to be on the task force.

  2. Tara Talfair, of the Department of Organizational Development and Training (ODT), described the special opportunities for professional development and training available through her organization. Faculty participation, especially at the upper levels of UVA administration, is very high in some of these programs. Leadership development and training is probably the primary focus of the organization, however other related services are provided: consulting, facilitator development, leadership networking, and workshops designed to train and build administrative/supervisory skills.

    3. In addition to the services described above, the ODT also administers the University’s Tuition Assistance/Reimbursement Program.

  3. "Town Meetings" (as discussed at the July 2000 Council meeting) are to be scheduled by individual Council members with their constituents to take place in late October. At the October Council meeting, a list of topics of interest for discussion/presentation at these meetings will be drafted.
  4. Resource Fair: The annual Resource Fair will be Wednesday, November 8, 2000 from 2:00-5:00 in Newcomb Hall. Jan Redick and Ellie Wilson volunteered to man the booth. Various gimmicks to attract folks to the table were proposed, and included: helium balloons, pencils, mugs, Tootsie Rolls. Aaron Laushway will explore whether helium tanks and/or balloons are allowed in Newcomb Hall. Jan and Ellie will make final decisions on this.
  5. The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM.

 

 

NEXT MEETING: October 10, 2000 12:30 PM Location: TBA (Either the Board Room, Newcomb Hall, or Sponsor’s Hall, Darden School.)

 

Submitted by: Jan Redick