Meeting Minutes
FACULTY AFFAIRS UPC
Minutes of the Meeting of
December 7, 2007
REVISED
PRESENT: Pat Simpson, Chair, Heather Cannon, Pamela Caughie, Donna Halinski, Gloria Jacobson, Susan Mezey, Tim O’Connell, David Prasse, Peter Schraeder.
ABSENT: Harvey Boller
Minutes taken by: Francesca Pirovano
Introductory Matters:
The Chair called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
Minutes of the meeting of October 12, 2007 were amended and approved.
Minutes of the meeting of November 16, 2007 were amended and approved.
UCC Meetings Report
It was reaffirmed that when UPC committees approve policies, the committees’ recommendations are sent to the UCC which then sends its recommendation to the Provost.
It was noted that many committees are composed of faculty that are on nine-month contracts and therefore many committees will not meet over the summer months.
The Chair provided the committee with the Progress Report for FA-UPC which she presented at the All UPC Committees Meeting on 11/29/2007.
The Chair also provided the committee with a draft of a document that specifies suggested documentation that should be provided by administrators bringing new programs, policies, and procedures before the FA-UPC. It was decided that comments and approval of this document will be discussed via e-mail.
Old Business:
Medical School Change in Tenure Policy
While the issue of this committee’s review of tenure policies had been debated in past meetings, the committee came to a consensus that it is the role of the FA-UPC to review Promotion and Tenure Guidelines.
It was clarified that this proposal was reviewed by the Executive Faculty Group and the Committee on Academic Rank and Tenure.
It was noted that several universities have tenure policies which include modified tenure clocks for specific schools, so there is precedent for the Medical School’s proposed Tenure Policy.
A motion to approve the modification of the tenure clock to a new range of five to seven years was approved unanimously, noting that this approval does not reflect the approval of any modifications to the Tenure and Promotion Guidelines since the FA-UPC has not seen them (Simpson, Prasse).
The FA-UPC will also advise the UCC that when Tenure and Promotion Guideline modifications are proposed, the FA-UPC would like evidence that the modified guidelines are reviewed by the full faculty before being presented to the FA-UPC for approval.
Information Security Policy
The committee supports developing a policy on information security, but sees the following problems with the policy as presented:
Tone – any references to disciplinary action should be removed from the policy
Scanning - What is being scanned and what the scans are searching for should be explicit in the policy.
Implementation – references to implementation should be removed from the policy. Also, concern for academic and personal privacy should be emphasized in the policy.
Education and Training – Faculty should be trained on how to keep sensitive information secure in both hard copy and electronic formats.
A draft resolution from the FA-UPC will be put together for review by committee members over the holiday break. Initial discussions of this draft will occur by email.
Faculty Handbook
There was no discussion of the Faculty Handbook as we are awaiting recommendations from the Provost, the General Counsel, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Health Sciences Campus.
New Business:
Policy modifications
One member informed the committee that certain policies and procedures that come under the purview of this committee have been modified without consulting the FA-UPC.
The possibility of individuals coming before the FA-UPC without the support of their department/dean was briefly discussed. The Chair will bring up this issue at the next UCC meeting.
Future Meetings:
The next Meeting will be on January 25, 2008 at 8:30 am.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:30 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Francesca Pirovano