Senate meeting to focus on several important topics

Ólöf Einarsdóttir

I invite you to join us at the Spring Academic Senate meeting on Wednesday May 16, 2018 in the Kresge Town Hall from 2:30–5 p.m. The meeting will be followed by a reception hosted by the Chancellor and the Senate.

The agenda of the meeting may be reviewed online

The agenda will focus on important topics up for divisional review, approval, and discussion. The highlights include:

  • an update from campus leadership
  • the announcement of the 2019 Faculty Research Lecturer
  • a report on faculty salaries (including gender and ethnicity salary gaps) and updates on faculty
    childcare from the Committee on Faculty Welfare (CFW)
  • a report and solicitation for feedback by the Committee on Teaching (COT) regarding student
    evaluations of teaching
  • Committee on Educational Policy (CEP) recommendations on the Kresge classrooms
  • regulation and bylaw updates from CEP and the Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication
    (COLASC)
  • Reports from the Student Union Assembly (SUA) and Graduate Student Association (GSA)
  • Strategic Academic Planning (SAP) updates, followed by Q&A

This has been an exciting year on campus as we engage on multiple fronts to define our campus identity in terms of shape and research foci. It is more important than ever to stay connected and informed. As you know, the campus is undertaking both Strategic Academic Planning (SAP) and Long Range Development Planning (LRDP), and the Baskin School of Engineering is undergoing reshaping. Childcare for faculty is slated to open as early as Fall 2019. Those of us serving in the Senate are asked nearly every week to opine on critical campus issues related to different committees’ purviews as well as from a more general faculty perspective.

In this context, I would like to thank all our faculty members currently serving on Senate and special committees for their service. I truly appreciate the hard work you have put into various committee issues and projects. Your service is invaluable to the campus. I also want to thank all of you who have participated in various focus groups and surveys conducted by the LRDP, SAP, Committee on Career Advising (CCA), Center for Teaching and Learning (CITL), and many more. Additionally, I want to thank Chancellor Blumenthal, CP/EVC Tromp, and other administrators for their collaborations with the Senate.

I am grateful for having had the privilege of serving as Academic Senate Chair over the past two years, and I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, May 16th for my final meeting as chair.

Ólöf Einarsdóttir, Chair