Brink Fox addresses Board of Trustees

Eastman professor Donna Brink Fox, chair of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, spoke to the University's Board of Trustees in May. The following is the text of her remarks.

My remarks are framed initially by the Faculty Senate charge, which is found on the cover of all confidential Senate minutes. The description says that the Senate should "consider the state of the University"--with two primary areas of assignment:

1. inquire into any matter that has implications for the academic function and welfare of the University and make recommendations concerning such matters; and

2. be a channel of communications between and among the various faculties, and between the collective faculties and the president and provost of the University.

My comments will summarize our progress this year on these two tasks. These remarks are not meant to be a comprehensive review, but rather to be representative of the work of the Senate during the 1997-98 academic year.

The first area of responsibility for the Senate is to inquire into matters of academic importance to the University. Into which matters did we inquire this past year?

We began the school year at our September meeting asking questions about the admissions situation, and invited Neill Sanders to help us understand the numbers of the class of 2001. As a result of this discussion, senators realized that many of us had little knowledge of the financial aid policies of the University, and we invited a presentation on this topic for our October meeting.

A continuing inquiry into issues of quality--quality of faculty, quality of programs--brought Tom LeBlanc to the Senate to address these issues, particularly in relation to the changes in the College resulting from the implementation of the Renaissance Plan.

Inquiry into the status of the Medical Center programs invited Jay Stein to the May meeting to address questions about the strategic plan, the recruitment process for new personnel, the implementation of Strong Care, and response to the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper article on residents and accreditation.

We realize that in a single academic year, not all significant topics of campus interest can be discussed by the Senate, and there remain important issues of quality to be addressed in the coming year. We note especially the ongoing dialogue on the quality of parking and the quality of "there's no decent place to eat since the Hillside closed!"

The second charge to the Senate is to serve as a channel of communications between campus constituencies. How has the Senate done this in 1997-98?

First, the publication and distribution of the Senate minutes regularly offers all faculty the opportunity to read the transcripts of the meetings and to have the same level of information on important topics as the senators. This year our meetings have included presentations on facilities update and campus planning, budget projections, telecommunications, computer security, Year 2000, and copyright regulations.

Other meetings have included academic leaders from the library, the Eastman School, and the Laser Lab. In November, Ron Dow from the library shared with us his vision for the future of the library, some of which you saw on the displays last night at dinner. Following his selection as the new director of the Eastman School, Jim Undercofler spoke with the Senate about his plans for the future of the school. In December, Bob McCrory brought us up to date on the use of the Omega Laser by National Laboratories.

Another way we facilitate communication is through the existing structural design of the Senate. First, various Senate committees invite the participation of faculty members from around the University, without restriction of Senate membership. Second, the chair of the Executive Committee is invited to the president's Cabinet meetings. Third, at the Senate meetings, there usually is a closing segment of time called the "unrecorded session," where sensitive issues or expressions of concern can be aired for consideration by the Executive Committee. From this unrecorded session have come several of the topics that the Executive Committee discussed with the president and provost at our weekly meetings.

How do we decide what topics to discuss with the president and provost? The ideas come from the faculty in a variety of ways. We have invited opinions from all faculty by encouraging them to write to us on the UR Forum. In the past few weeks, the messages about the revision of the Faculty Handbook have even replaced parking as the No. 1 item for dialogue. The revisions of the Faculty Handbook will continue to be a topic of accelerated discussion in the fall semester.

On Wednesday, May 13, the final Senate meeting of the school year was held, a traditional blending of current and experienced senators with the newly elected people who will serve beginning in September. Based on the number of e-mail messages that were generated yesterday between and among the senators and the Executive Committee, I believe we can look forward to a lively exchange of ideas and opinions from this group in the coming year. A proposal has been made (by a new Executive Committee member) to create a Faculty Senate web site that would increase the visibility of and access to Senate topics and Senate members, and would also facilitate communications between and among the various faculties--exactly responding to the Senate charge.

Since I am stepping down as the chair, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to (1) Joyce Ostberg, secretary to the Faculty Senate, who keeps all the Senate paperwork flowing on time; (2) the members of this year's Executive Committee, who not only meet regularly (nearly every week) as a committee but also serve as liaisons to other Senate committees, reporting back to us on major issues of interest and concern that are discussed with the president and provost, and are considered for deliberation with the full Senate: Maddy Schmitt, SON; William Cave, M&D; Ray Baggs, M&D; Marilyn Brown; M&D; Sandy Segal, College; Daniel Koltun, College; Sue Gustafson, College; and William Simon, M&D; and, finally, (3)the president and the provost, and on behalf of the Executive Committee, let me express my thanks for the time you spend with us in dialogue and conversation, for the responses you help us find to our inquiries about the state of the University. I also give you my personal thanks for the opportunity to be involved with your University leadership.