Faculty Senate

U.F. Faculty Senate Newsletter

January, 2005
     Issue #2

Thanks to your increased participation, the business of the Faculty Senate is moving forward. Attendance to Senate meetings is increasing, with 94 Senators present at the December meeting. Participation in the Council elections has also been impressive with 110 senators casting their votes.

The Policy Councils are becoming increasingly involved in University affairs. Their excellent groundwork is an auspicious beginning to true shared faculty governance.

In this newsletter we are starting a new feature "Laudamus", which highlights the national awards and achievements of faculty members. This month we recognize the faculty awardees in the College of Engineering.

University-wide elections to the Faculty Senate will be held in a few months, and we need to make sure they are run according to our Constitution. We must also ensure that faculty compensation continues to be addressed with the same vigor as in 2004.

The Faculty Senate has its own office in Tigert Hall and Administrative Assistant, Mrs. Christie Hennigan, as well as a budget. Such tangible developments would not have happened without the help of President Machen and of (then Provost) David Colburn.

I hope that this year, the Senate will begin to play a greater role in addressing the strategic and academic issues that face us.

Council on Academic Freedom, Faculty Quality & Faculty Welfare
•    Mike Katovich, Professor, Pharmacodynamics - Three Year Term
•    Rebecca Pauly, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine - Three Year Term
•    Reza Abbaschian, Professor, Materials Science - Two Year Term
•    Doug Cenzer, Professor, Mathematics - Two Year Term
•    Joseph Layon, Professor, Anesthesiology - One Year Term
•    Chris Snodgrass, Professor, English - One Year Term

Council on Academic Infrastructure & Support
•    Peggy Carr, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture - Three Year Term
•    Lisa McElwee-White, Professor, Chemistry - Three Year Term
•    David Bloomquist, Associate Professor, Civil & Coastal Engineering - Two Year Term
•    Scott Nygren, Associate Professor, English - Two Year Term
•    Jerry Cutler, Professor, Art & Art History - One Year Term
•    Bryan Weber, Assistant Professor, Nursing Adult & Elderly Care - One Year Term

Council on Academic Planning, Budgeting & Resource Allocation
•    Frank Bova, Professor, Neurological Surgery - Three Year Term
•    Colette St. Mary, Associate Professor, Zoology - Three Year Term
•    Jim Pettigrew, Associate Professor, Dentistry - Two Year Term
•    George Wilson, Associate Professor, Community Health & Family Medicine - Two Year Term
•    Ellis Greiner, Professor, Pathobiology - One Year Term
•    Naomi Young, Assistant Librarian - One Year Term

Council on Academic Policy, Curriculum & Structure
•    Donna Duckworth, Professor, Molecular Genetics & Microbiology - Three Year Term
•    John "Jack" Mecholsky, Professor, Materials Science & Engineering - Three Year Term
•    Joan Frosch, Associate Professor, Theatre & Dance - Two Year Term
•    Luise White, Professor, History - Two Year Term
•    Cal Dolce, Associate Professor, Dentistry - One Year Term
•    Anita Spring, Professor, Anthropology - One Year Term

Council on Academic Research & Scholarship
•    Mary Ann Burg, Associate Professor, Community Health & Family Medicine - Three Year Term
•    Saeed Khan, Professor, Medicine - Three Year Term
•    Karen Bjorndal, Professor, Zoology - Two Year Term
•    Richard Yost, Professor, Chemistry - Two Year Term
•    Brandon Kershner, Professor, English - One Year Term
•    Jim Rodrigue, Professor, Clinical & Health Psychology - One Year Term

All information pertaining to Policy Councils can be found on the Faculty Senate website at http://www.senate.ufl.edu/councils

• Ad Hoc Committee on Tenure,
  Dr. James Klausner
  Recommendation Number Eight
  "College level tenure and promotion boards shall provide recorded individual assessments to the college deans as part of their fact finding and consultative role in the review of promotion and tenure cases. An individual assessment shall consist of a college tenure and promotion board member indicating whether or not the candidate meets the standards required for tenure and/or promotion within that college, and that assessment shall become part of the tenure and promotion packet. The individual assessors shall not be identified in the tenure and promotion packet."
  PASSED
  
  
• New Department: College of Medicine,
  Dr. Timothy Flynn
  Department of Aging & Geriatric Research
  PASSED
  
  
• Constitution Committee,
  Danaya Wright
  Constitutional Language for Policy Councils
  Voting members of each Council shall consist of six (6) members elected by the Senate from the Senate membership, one member will be appointed by the President or the President's designee, and the
  Chairperson of each Contributing Committee. The Chairs of Related Committees to a Council shall serve as non-voting members of those Councils with the right to propose inquiries and other actions.
  Council members elected by the Senate serve three-year staggered terms. If an elected Council member's Senate term expires before the Council term, the member will continue to serve on the Council until the end of the three-year Council term.
  PASSED
  
  
• Graduate Council, Dr. Ken Gerhardt
  Master of Science with Major in Decision Information Sciences
  PASSED
  
  

• Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainability,
  Dr. Les Thiele
  Committee Resolutions
  
  1. The University of Florida shall establish a university-level Office of Sustainability to serve as a clearinghouse and coordinator of administrative, academic and research sustainability initiatives.
  2. The Sustainability Committee shall be empanelled as a permanent joint-committee with modifications to membership and charge:
  3. The University of Florida shall provide interim funding to maintain the ongoing programs and activities of the existing Office of Sustainability within the College of Design, Construction and Planning. Ongoing programs and activities include, but are not limited to the following: 1) Zero-Waste Initiative with UAA and the Physical Plant Division; 2) campus-wide Carbon Neutrality program; and 3) academic teaching and conferences.
  
  
• University Curriculum Committee,
  Dr. Sheila Dickison
  Degree Title Change - B.S. in Applied Physiology & Kinesiology