Faculty Senate seeks seat on board

By Carol Wood

The last time Faculty Senate Chairman Michael J. Smith attended a board meeting, he surprised members with an eloquent argument supporting a tuition increase.
On Saturday, Smith again did the unexpected when he asked the board to consider adding a non-voting faculty member to its ranks.

“We on the faculty would love to … participate, discuss and perhaps influence your thinking on the vital issues facing this institution,” he said, adding that they were neither demanding nor legislating such a move, but simply asking.

Smith, a professor of politics, said he was appealing to the board’s sense of community and shared governance when he suggested this addition. A faculty member experienced in the ways of the University could be a great resource to the board, he said.

“We can help to fill out your view of what’s really going on out there in Faculty Land, and, I’m convinced, deepen your understanding of the hopes and concerns of the people who make a university what it is — its faculty and its students.”

Smith said he hopes that over the years the Faculty Senate has proven it could work well with the board and the administration. Throughout that time, senate members also have avoided “posturing and point-scoring for their own sake — satisfying as this sometimes can be,” he said. “We all care too much about this place to drive a needless confrontation.”

In his closing, Smith suggested that together, the board and the faculty could do a better job promoting the advancement of the University community and asked the board to give the Faculty Senate’s request serious thought.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Smith was quick to break the momentary quiet with a humorous, “I’ve stunned you into silence!” Laughter ensued, but discussion would have to wait for another day.