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September 16, 2016

Meeting of the Faculty Council and General Faculty

Friday, September 16, 2016 from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Kerr Hall, 2001 (Eshelman School of Pharmacy)

Live-stream link to join meeting via telephone or computer: https://bluejeans.com/211414236

3:00 p.m. Chair of the Faculty’s remarks

  • Professor Bruce Cairns, chair of the faculty

3:10 p.m. Secretary of the Faculty’s remarks

  • Professor Vin Steponaitis, secretary of the faculty

3:15 p.m. Presentation of Hettleman Awards

  • Professor Tamara Berg (Computer Science)
  • Professor Jillian Dempsey (Chemistry)
  • Professor Matthew Kotzen (Philosophy)
  • Professor Lee Weisert (Music)

3:25 p.m. Chancellor’s and Provost’s remarks

  • Chancellor Carol Folt and Provost Jim Dean

3:45 p.m. Update on Collaboratory

3:55 p.m. Faculty Council vote: Resolution 2016-14. On the Importance of Shared University Governance

  • Submitted by Professor Steve Leonard

4:05 p.m. Ethics and policy education discussion 

  • Professor Kim Strom-Gottfried, director of ethics education and policy management

4:25 p.m. “Diversity syllabus” Part II: “Lactation: New Rooms and Resources”

4:45 p.m. Informational presentation: Phishing at UNC

5:00 p.m. Adjourn

Video of proceedings

https://bluejeans.com/s/7ZB5P/

Journal of proceedings of the Faculty Council and the General Faculty 

The Faculty Council and General Faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill convened September 16, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. in Kerr Hall, room 2001.

The following 62 members attended: Anksorus, Ansong, Arnold, Baumgartner, Berkowitz, Berman, Brewster, Cairns (Chair of the Faculty), Cravey (AAUP representative), Cuddeback, Daughters, Provost Dean, Dobelstein, Drake, Duqum, Edwards, Estigarribia, Estrada, Felix, Filene (Student representative), Chancellor Folt, Furry, Hannig, Hastings, Hill, Hobbs, Hornstein, Hunter, Ives, Jabati (Student representative), Joyner, Khan, Kim, Kireev, Kris, Lee, A. Levine, Lithgow, Malloy, Mayer, Mayer-Davis, Melehy, Metz, Moracco, Nelson, Persky, Platts-Mills, Pruvost, Pukkila, Renner, Salyer, Scarlett, Song, Steponaitis, Thompson Dorsey, Tuggle, Upshaw, Wallace, Willett, Williams, Yaqub and Zvara.

The following 36 members received excused absences: Aikat, Babb, Bangdiwala, Boettiger, Cox, Coyne-Beasley, Driscoll (AAUP representative), Fisher, Fry, Gilchrist, Gilland, Giovanello, Hall, Halladay, Jaramillo (Graduate student representative), Jones, Kang, Koonce, Larson, C. Levine, Lundberg, Mauro, McBride, Mizzy, Neta, Osterweil, Parise, Perelmuter, Porto, Rini, Savasta-Kennedy, Sturm, Tepper, Thorpe, Weight, Welty and You.

The following two members received unexcused absences: Ammerman and Chapman.

Call to order

Secretary of the Faculty Vin Steponaitis (Anthropology and Archeology) called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.

Chair of the Faculty remarks

Professor Bruce Cairns (Surgery), chair of the faculty, welcomed the faculty and thanked the new members of the Faculty Council for their service. He noted that his red bow tie was to commemorate the one-year anniversary of surviving a cardiac arrest. He thanked his cardiologist, Dr. Paula Miller, and Dr. George Stouffer, chief of the UNC cardiology division, for their support.

Professor Cairns discussed a new initiative in the College of Arts and Sciences called Carolina’s Human Heart: Living the Arts and Humanities that will sponsor a series of programs and lectures to highlight the value of the arts and humanities at Carolina. Professor Terry Rhodes (Music), senior associate dean for fine arts and humanities, distributed flyers with a list of events sponsored by the program.

Carolina’s Human Heart program began with the Chancellor’s Lecture in Ethics, which featured guest speaker Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy and law at New York University. Professor Cairns said that he learned a lot at the lecture and looks forward to having more discussions about ethics on campus, including with Professor Kim Strom-Gottfried (Social Work), who has been selected as the new director of ethics education and policy management.

Professor Cairns welcomed Katie Ziglar, the new director of the Ackland Museum of Art. Ms. Ziglar holds a bachelor of arts degree in history from Carolina and a master of arts degree in Islamic art and architecture from American University in Cairo. Ms. Ziglar has expressed interest in collaborating with faculty to use the Ackland’s collections in their courses.

Over the past week, Professor Cairns attended a lecture organized by Professor Eunice Sahle and the Department of African, African American and Diaspora Studies that featured Professor Peter Nyong’o, a Kenyan political scientist and pro-democracy advocate. He is also the father of Academy Award-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o. Professor Cairns said that Professor Nyong’o has risked his life to bring true democracy to Kenya. He noted that Carolina Student Body President Bradley Opere and Professor Nyong’o are from the same county in Kenya.

Professor Cairns welcomed and acknowledged the student representatives Faculty Council, Eliza Filene and Malik Jabati. Professor Cairns said that he has met with Employee Forum Chair Charles Streeter at the Carolina Engagement Council and is looking forward to working with him over the coming year.

The faculty will elect a new Chair of the Faculty this spring. Professor Cairns explained that Professor Richard Myers, chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, is responsible for soliciting volunteers to run for the office. He urged faculty who are interested in running to consider self-nomination.

Professor Cairns encouraged the faculty to attend University Day on October 11. He asked faculty to gather at the Old Well under their school’s gonfalon to process into Memorial Hall. He noted that regalia are optional.

Secretary of the Faculty remarks

Secretary of the Faculty Vin Steponaitis thanked Professor Cairns and said that a number of faculty have approached him and asked if he is “the new Joe Ferrell.” Professor Steponaitis said that he has no intention of trying to replace Professor Ferrell’s institutional memory or parliamentary expertise. He said the second question people ask him is why he wanted to serve as Secretary of the Faculty. Professor Steponaitis said that he sees the role as an opportunity to give back to the institution that has nurtured and sustained his career for the past 30 years.

Professor Steponaitis said that he thinks the Secretary position will be fun because he will get to know and interact with faculty colleagues across the University. He also looks forward to working with Professor Cairns, the chancellor and the provost. His goals are to keep faculty governance strong and to make sure that Faculty Council remains a place where the faculty’s voice is heard.

Professor Steponaitis gave an update on staffing in the Office of Faculty Governance.

He explained that the office organizes Faculty Council meetings, supports various faculty governance committees and oversees the faculty elections. The Secretary of the Faculty directs the office. Professor Steponaitis noted that former Deputy Secretary of the Faculty Anne Whisnant has left her previous position to accept a distinguished visiting professorship at East Carolina University. He will work this fall on hiring a new staff member. In the meantime, Katie Turner has been keeping the office running with the assistance of Shari Neal, a temporary employee, and Kadejah Murray, a student worker.

Professor Steponaitis joked that he put together a survival kit for the Secretary the Faculty that includes a copy of the “Faculty Code of University Government,” a copy of “Robert’s Rules of Order” and his cell phone with Joe Ferrell’s number on speed dial. He thanked the faculty for their service and turned the floor over to Professor Cairns.

Presentation of the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement by Young Faculty

Professor Cairns and Chancellor Folt presented the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement by Young Faculty to Professor Tamara Berg (Computer Science), Professor Jillian Dempsey (Chemistry), Professor Matthew Kotzen (Philosophy) and Professor Lee Weisert (Music).

The Philip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes include a $5,000 stipend. The awards were established in 1986 by the late Philip Hettleman, a New York investment banker and member of the class of 1921 to recognize the achievements of outstanding junior tenure-track and recently tenured faculty. The recipients will deliver a lecture during the academic year. As a student at Carolina, Philip Hettleman was the business manager of “The Daily Tar Heel” when Thomas Wolfe was editor in 1946. Hettleman hung a portrait of the famous author in his office in New York City, which became one of his earliest gifts to the University. The portrait hangs on the wall in front of the North Carolina Collection at Wilson library. Mr. Hettleman died in 1980.

The chancellor congratulated the awardees, and the faculty applauded.

Chancellor’s remarks

Chancellor Carol Folt thanked Professor Cairns and the faculty for their service. She provided an overview of her activities on a typical day to demonstrate the range of issues and groups she interacts with across campus. The chancellor explained how she is able to maintain a positive spirit while also trying to lead the University through a number of pressing issues. She said that her daily activities put her in touch with faculty, staff and students who do inspiring work and that the faculty would be “remiss if we ever lose sight of the breadth of who we are and get pulled too much into the things that concern us.”

The chancellor returned from ACC meetings to attend a meeting with entrepreneurs from across campus who came together to give three-minute pitches about their work and public service. She met with “The Daily Tar Heel” editorial board and noted their efforts to become more diverse. The chancellor attended the Chancellor’s Lecture in Ethics that was co-sponsored by the Parr Center for Ethics. She was impressed with the questions that students asked the speaker. Afterwards, she had dinner with a number of research faculty working in the area of HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases.

Chancellor Folt said that she is extremely proud of the work that goes on every day at the University. The SACs review was completed over the summer, and the 10-year reaffirmation process is now underway. The chancellor and provost have been meeting with deans to discuss a strategic framework to guide the University in setting priorities. Over the last fiscal year, the University raised $495 million in philanthropic contributions, almost double the amount in prior years.

The long legislative session will begin in a few months, and the chancellor said that she believes it is worthwhile for the University to be “willing to listen and talk and be a part of” discussions with the legislature.

The chancellor said she is glad that the Faculty Council will have diversity programming again this year led by Professor Rumay Alexander (Nursing), interim chief diversity officer, and the Community and Diversity Committee. She noted that for the second year in a row, “Insight into Diversity” has recognized Carolina as the university with the leading diversity and inclusion program in the country. Professor Alexander is collaborating with Vice Chancellor of Workforce Strategy, Equity and Engagement Felicia Washington on organizing diversity liaisons in units.

The Campus History Task Force is expected to have a plan for the Carolina Hall exhibit soon, as well as new signage and organized campus discussions about the history of the hall. Professor Kim Strom-Gottfried (Social Work) has started in her position as Director of Ethics Education and Policy Management, which will mean that she is stepping down from chairing the Faculty Athletics Committee. Katie Ziglar has joined the Ackland Art Museum as the new director. Chief Sustainability Officer Brad Ives is leading the Three Zeros campaign to reduce water consumption, energy consumption and waste. The third annual Diversity Thinkposium attracted about 400 students, staff and faculty. The keynote speaker was Professor Jim Johnson (Business). He spoke about the changing demographics of our state and nation.

The chancellor provided a brief update on the implementation of the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (HB2). She said that federal Judge Thomas Schroeder ruled that the university system cannot enforce the act and an injunction has been put in place. She reiterated that the University had not been enforcing the Act prior to the ruling. Although the ruling applied to three people, the University is treating it as though it pertains to the entire campus.

The chancellor discussed the process behind establishing the Collaboratory for environmental policy research. She said that the legislature approached her about her willingness to accept funds to develop a policy center, and she agreed because “as a public university when the legislature asks us to do something, it is our obligation and in our best interest to do it.” She reassured the faculty that the research produced by the Collaboratory will be done “in a way that is consistent with our values.”

Chancellor Folt commented on the recent allegations that the University mishandled a reported case of sexual assault under the new Title IX guidelines. She said that she was unaware of the case until she read about it in the media. She declined to talk about specifics of the case, but said that she could discuss the process for handling reported sexual assaults on campus.

The chancellor explained that under the new guidelines for reporting, a number of changes have occurred for how cases that get reported are directed. She emphasized that the new reporting process may take more time to ensure a fair outcome for everyone involved, but that those involved try to move the cases through the process as quickly as possible. The chancellor noted that the number of sexual assaults that have been reported to the Department of Public Safety have doubled over the last year. She said that the increased volume of reports may extend the time needed to examine each report carefully.

Questions for the chancellor followed.

Professor Jay Smith (History) said that in 2014 and 2015, the NCAA visited UNC-Chapel Hill and reported that the University did not have institutional control over its athletics program. More recently, the University settled a case that involved a football player being hazed by his teammates. Professor Smith also mentioned that he was surprised when the University allowed Tim Beckman, a former coach at the University of Illinois who was terminated for downplaying injuries, to volunteer. He said that now it appears that the Department of Public Safety gave preferential treatment to a football player accused of raping another student. He asked the chancellor to explain her plan for changing the dynamics of our athletics program.

Chancellor Folt responded that she has worked with the Faculty Council and other groups to put in place reforms to ensure that what happened in the past would not happen again. The University responded to the SACs letter and provided the data that SACs requested. The SACs response shows that there are mechanisms in place to protect academic integrity. The NCAA response similarly addressed the five major allegations that were put forward. The chancellor said she spoke with Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham regarding the volunteer role Tim Beckman assumed, and Mr. Beckman was immediately removed from the position. Mr. Cunningham has publicly apologized for the incident. She is still awaiting the response from the NCAA.

Professor Frank Baumgartner (Political Science) asked the chancellor if she has confidence that we have the people and process in place to ensure justice when there are allegations of sexual misconduct.

Chancellor Folt responded that she believes the right processes are in place, but with increased levels of reporting, more resources may need to be devoted to supporting the offices and staff who handle cases to resolve them more quickly.

Professor Jan Hannig (Statistics and Operations Research) asked how much upper administration has grown compared with faculty and faculty salaries.

Chancellor Folt said that a report created two years ago comparing administrative costs and cost per student found that we were at the bottom of our peer group. We’ve had cuts of nearly $14 million over the last two years, and money was taken from the central fund to increase faculty salaries. She said that she considers it appropriate to examine administrative costs again, but we should also consider the costs associated with increases in research funding and compliance with federal rules.

Professor Beth Moracco (School of Public Health) said that most of the training around sexual assault is geared toward reporting, not prevention. She suggested that prevention be a focus in future trainings.

The chancellor agreed that prevention is a crucial part of reducing sexual assault cases. Felicia Washington, vice chancellor of workforce strategy, equity and engagement said that there is a task force that currently meets to focus on prevention and developing programs.

Update on Collaboratory

Brad Ives, associate vice chancellor for campus enterprises and chief sustainability officer gave an overview of the Collaboratory and its mission. He explained that the Collaboratory was established in the state budget “to facilitate the dissemination of policy and research expertise … [for] practical use by state and local government.” He noted that while Chapel Hill will receive funding for the Collaboratory, the research program will entail a system-wide collaboration with researchers and policy experts from across a number of constituent universities.

Mr. Ives explained that while he oversees auxiliary services and the business operations of some parts of the University, his background and expertise is in law and environmental policy. He holds the title of Chief Sustainability Officer in addition to his role overseeing auxiliary services. He said one of the reasons he was hired at Carolina was to examine the campus infrastructure and energy use.

Mr. Ives said that he will oversee the Collaboratory until a permanent director is found, and a faculty advisory committee made up of experts from across the University will advise the director.

Provost Dean said that as provost he feels that his role is to be “the guardian of the academic reputation of the University as the chief academic officer,” and the structure of the Collaboratory will help to ensure that all research produced by the Collaboratory will meet rigorous academic standards.

Professor Christopher Willett (Biology) asked Provost Dean whether he thinks the way the Collaboratory was established by the legislature bypasses rules for establishing centers and institutes, which the Faculty Assembly is on record as opposing.

Provost Dean said the Collaboratory is not a traditional center or institute, and he doesn’t feel comfortable weighing in on a faculty resolution.

Professor Hassan Melehy (Romance Studies) said that he is concerned about comments reported in the media that were made by a legislator regarding liberal bias at universities and in environmental research. He said that he worries that science already strives to be objective and that the Collaboratory might be an effort by politicians to tamper with the outcomes in environmental studies.

Provost Dean said that in establishing the Collaboratory, the legislature has not given guidance on how to perform the research and that the University would not accept interference in the research process.

Resolution 2016-14. On the Importance of Shared University Governance

Professor Vin Steponaitis presented Resolution 2016-14 on behalf of Professor Steve Leonard (Political Science) who was unable to attend this meeting. Professor Steponaitis read the resolution and called for discussion and debate.

Professor Cairns said that we are in a new period of figuring out how shared governance works at universities. He said he is comfortable with the resolution and affirming the importance of shared governance, but does not have strong feelings about the resolution. He encouraged discussion.

Professor Tim Ives (Pharmacy) said that as a member of the Faculty Assembly, he believes the spirit of the resolution is to call for more consultation and collaboration between the legislature, the President and General Administration, the Board of Trustees, the chancellors across the system and the faculty.

The resolution passed with one opposed.

Ethics and policy education policy discussion

Professor Kim Strom-Gottfried (Social Work), director of ethics education and policy management, introduced herself and gave an overview of her new position. Her research background is “in the area of professional ethics and particularly the challenges of aligning the realities of working different professions with the national standards.” She is particularly interested in moral courage and obstacles to ethical decision-making.

The office that she directs was created upon recommendations by two working groups commissioned by the chancellor during the previous academic year: the Ethics and Integrity Working Group and the Policies and Procedures Working Group. Her office is charged with creating a policy repository and developing processes for commissioning and decommissioning campus-wide policies. She said she will also focus on challenges with compliance and supporting “policy liaisons” across campus. She invited the faculty to contact her if they have questions or concerns about policies that they wish to share.

“Diversity syllabus” part II: “Lactation: New rooms and resources”

Professor Rumay Alexander, chair of the Community and Diversity Committee and interim director of diversity and multicultural affairs, introduced Dr. Clare Counihan, program coordinator for faculty and staff at the Carolina Women’s Center.

Dr. Counihan introduced Dr. Gloria Thomas, the new director of the Carolina Women’s Center. Dr. Thomas joined Carolina from the University of Michigan where she previously directed the Center for the Education of Women.

Dr. Counihan presented background on the Affordable Care Act and its impact on parental leave policies. She noted that since 2010, employers with 50 or more employees have been required to provide accommodations and private spaces for nursing mothers to express milk while at work. In the post-9/11 context, many veterans and non-traditional students are returning to school, and they are in need of lactation accommodations.

In partnership with the provost, chancellor, Committee on the Status of Women, Community and Diversity Committee, Carolina Women’s Center, and Facilities Services, Dr. Counihan created a guide for managers, staff and students who wish to understand the resources that are available on campus. In addition, the provost committed $100,000 to expand access to lactation facilities and increase the number of lactation spaces on campus. She directed the faculty to Parenting@UNC, a web resource with information and interactive maps for locating lactation spaces.

Professor Bruno Estagirribia (Romance Studies) asked what the guidelines are for staff who need time to express milk and what the next steps are for supporting caregivers at Carolina.

Dr. Clare Counihan said that Subject to the Human Resources Act (SHRA) employees are allowed to take one 30-minute and two-15 minute breaks per day. Supervisors can require that staff use paid leave beyond that hour. She said that she plans to continue working to add lactation spaces across campus, launching parenting programs, improving eldercare resources and examining policies that impact family leave and tenure for faculty.

Informational presentation: Phishing at UNC

Chris Kielt, chief information officer; Kevin Lanning, chief information security officer; and Dennis Schmidt, assistant vice chancellor of IT enterprise infrastructure and operations; presented information about steps users can take to identify, report and discourage phishing at Carolina.

Mr. Kielt defined phishing as “an attempt to access your personal information by getting access to your credentials.” He said that ITS routinely blocks up to 7.7 million phishing emails per day and some messages manage to make it through filters. Users must be on alert to spot phishing emails so they can be reported and blocked.

As a result of the number of phishing emails seeking users’ credentials information, ITS is planning to move to a two-step verification process that would require users to verify their identity. He reminded the faculty that ITS would never send an email to users asking them to input their ONYEN credentials to validate their accounts. He said that while these emails may look authentic, they are phishing emails and should be reported.

Professor Jan Hannig (Statistics and Operations Research) asked what the two-verification process will consist of.

Mr. Kielt said that ITS is considering a contract with Duo to provide the two-step authentication service.

Adjournment

Its business having concluded, the General Faculty and Faculty Council adjourned at 5:01 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Katie Turner
Faculty Program Specialist

Vin Steponaitis
Secretary of the Faculty

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