16 May, 2000

David R. Colburn, PhD
Interim Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs
235 Tigert Hall
POB 113175
Gainesville, FL 32611-3175

Re: Senate Resources

Dear Provost Colburn:

As the first elected Chairperson of the University of Florida Faculty Senate, I wish to thank you for the assistance you have provided us during your tenure as Interim Provost and Vice President. It is my hope, and that of my colleagues on the Steering Committee and in the Senate at large, that we will be able to work together aggressively to make our University of Florida ever better.

As the Chair of the Senate and the Steering Committee, I have taken stock of the tasks before us, and the resources available to carry these out. The tasks are many and the resources may need to be supplemented to support the new Faculty Senate appropriately. After discussions with former officers of the Senate Steering Committee, I met with Senate Secretary and University Registrar Barbara Talmadge and with the "acting" Senate Secretary Rick Ragan. The Office of the Registrar, through these individuals, has provided exemplary support in the past and has informed me that they continue to see the Faculty Senate as a high priority for the staff housed in the Registrar's administrative area.

After much discussion, we estimate that no more than about 0.25 professional FTE and 0.25 clerical FTE have been required to fulfill these responsibilities over the past 10 years. With the creation of a Committee on Committees, our desire to coordinate the work of the Faculty Academic Advisory Council with that of the Senate and the Senate Steering committee, and with continuing support of the University Curriculum Committee and Senate Committee on Student Petitions, it is my belief that the administrative load we place upon the Registrar's office will increase somewhat. Therefore, I ask that the University supplement the support previously provided as follows:

1. Continue with one-quarter [0.25] FTE as a Secretary to the Senate, the Senate Steering Committee, the Committee on Committees, the Faculty Academic Advisory Council, the University Curriculum Committee, and the Senate Committee on Student Petitions. This FTE, whom we hope would continue to be Mr. Rick Ragan, would continue to report to the Registrar. I believe it would be beneficial to hire a 0.50 FTE student [increased from 0.25 FTE] to assist Mr. Ragan with the following tasks:

A. Scheduling meetings and meeting places;
B. Attending meetings;
C. Producing the agenda packets for all above groups;
D. Distributing the agenda packets;
E. Correspond with Senators, Steering Committee, FAAC, ConC, UCC, and Petitions Committee members to obtain and dispense information relative to those groups [i.e. meeting reminders, polling members about issues per request of chair, answering questions, etc];
F. Contacting individuals who are on the various agendas to ensure their attendance at meetings;
G. Producing minutes of meetings;
H. Maintaining permanent records of each group;
I. Coordinating with the Office of the Provost to document the membership of the Senate and each of the Committees;
J. Creating and ensuring the accuracy of a "ListServe" of all Committee members as well as an electronic list of all faculty members of the University of Florida. This latter list is so that we can effectively communicate with the faculty whom we represent;
K. Special projects as requested by the chair or other faculty.

2. I have asked Ms. Talmadge and Mr. Ragan to estimate the annual costs of supplies, postage, etc., expended in support of the Faculty Senate so that if the "new Senate" leads to a significant increase, we will be able to address this with you in a timely manner. However, I am told that whenever food is involved, funds other than general/educational ones must be used. Consequently, I request that a concession fund of between $1,000 and $ 2,000 be assigned for the Senate's use. I suggest that the Senate Secretary be assigned the account, which will be monitored by the Secretary and controlled by the Senate Chair.

3. Have the University Webmaster maintain the Faculty ListServe [1.J, above].

4. Finally, we would like to be able to call on your office to assist us in the event we find roadblocks as we work together to make our University of Florida one of the premier institutions in the United States.

My colleagues and I thank you for your past and continued assistance.
Sincerely,

AJ Layon, MD
Chairperson, UF Faculty Senate, 2000-2001
Professor of Anesthesiology, Surgery, and Medicine

Xc: Faculty Senate Steering Committee
Barbara Talmadge, University Registrar
Nik Gravenstein, MD

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