January 12, 2018
Meeting of the Faculty Council
Friday, January 12, 2018, 3:00 p.m.
Kerr Hall, 1001 (Eshelman School of Pharmacy)
Agenda
3:00 p.m. Secretary of the Faculty remarks
- Secretary of the Faculty Vin Steponaitis
- 2018 MLK Week Schedule of Events (JPG)
3:10 p.m. Chancellor’s remarks
- Chancellor Carol Folt
3:35 p.m. Provost’s remarks
- Provost Bob Blouin
3:45 p.m. Faculty Assembly Delegation Annual Report (PDF) and Update
- Professor Alice Ammerman, chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty Assembly Delegation
- PowerPoint (PPT) (PDF)
3:55 p.m. Chancellor’s Advisory Committee Annual Report (PDF)
- Professor Lloyd Kramer, chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee
4:05 p.m. Office of Ethics Education and Policy Management update: Creating a climate of shared responsibility
- Professor Kim Strom-Gottfried, director of ethics education and policy management
- PowerPoint (PDF)
- Table discussion prompts:
- What does it mean to have a culture of integrity at Carolina?
- What challenges /impedes our ability to maintain a culture of integrity?
- What recommendations do you have for strengthening the culture of integrity at UNC?
4:35 p.m. Buildings and Grounds Committee Annual Report (PDF) (By Title)
- Professor David Owens, chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee
4:40 p.m. Open discussion
4:55 p.m. Adjournment
Informational items
Video of Proceedings
Watch the Full Video [Streaming]
Journal of Proceedings
The Faculty Council and General Faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill convened on January 12, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. in Kerr Hall, room 1001 at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
The following 53 members attended: Ammerman, Anksorus, Arnold, Austin, Babb, Baumgartner, Berkowitz, Burch, Calikoglu, Clement, Coble, Cox, Daughters, Duqum, Chancellor Folt, Fry, Furry, Graham, Hastings, Hessick, Ives, Kang, Khan, Koonce, Larson, Lee, A. Levine, C. Levine, Lithgow, Malloy, Mayer-Davis, McBride, Melehy, Mizzy, Moore, Nelson, Perelmuter, Ramaswamy, Renner, Savasta-Kennedy, Sawyer, Scarlett, Song, Stearns, Steponaitis (Secretary of the Faculty), Tepper, Thorpe, Tuggle, Upshaw, Wallace, Walter, Willett and Yaqub
The following 26 members received excused absences: Aikat, Berman, Bloom, Boettiger Cooney, Brewster, Cuddeback, Dobelstein, Estrada, Felix, Fisher, Gilland, Giovanello, Hannig, Hill, Joyner, Kireev, Kris, Mauro, Mayer, Neta, Parise (Chair of the Faculty), Platts-Mills, Pukkila, Rashid and Thorp
The following 15 members were absent without excuse: Ansong, Beltran, Chambers, Chapman, Coyne-Beasley, Edwards, Elsherif, Estigarribia, Gilchrist, Hobbs, Lundberg, Muller, Osterweil, Zamboni and Zvara
Others in attendance: Provost Blouin, Andringa (Undergraduate Representative), Filene (Undergraduate Representative) and Stember (Graduate Representative)
Call to order
Secretary of the Faculty Vin Steponaitis called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.
Secretary of the Faculty remarks
Secretary of the Faculty Vin Steponaitis welcomed everyone to the Faculty Council meeting and read a message from Chair of the Faculty Leslie Parise. Professor Parise is looking forward to working with Faculty Council, Chancellor Folt and Provost Blouin this semester. She is appreciative of the time University leadership and faculty have spent guiding us through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) investigation and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation process. Professor Parise encouraged Council members to participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. She thanked Professor Steponaitis for presiding at the meeting and the Office of Faculty Governance staff for their dedication and hard work.
Professor Steponaitis said fall 2017 was a busy time for Faculty Governance. Faculty Council passed resolutions on important issues, including Silent Sam, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and free speech. He thanked the Faculty Council and standing committee members for their time and effort in drafting resolutions.
The Secretary of the Faculty frequently receives questions about the process of getting an item on the Faculty Council agenda. The Agenda Committee is responsible for composing each Council agenda and consists of the Chair of the Faculty, the Secretary of the Faculty and five members of Faculty Council appointed by the Chair of the Faculty on an annual basis. The Committee decides which issues to bring before Council and how much time to allocate to each agenda item. The Agenda Committee meets one week before Faculty Council, on the first Friday of each month. The first step to get an item on the agenda is to contact Professor Parise, Professor Steponaitis or Katie Turner. The process of introducing a resolution is outlined in the Rules of Procedure, which are appended to the Faculty Code of University Government.
Chancellor’s remarks
Chancellor Folt wished everyone a happy New Year. It is her fifth year celebrating the holidays as the chancellor of the University. The 2017 holiday season was the first one she celebrated without working on the NCAA investigation, the accreditation process and other issues. Chancellor Folt said she is proud of the work faculty and staff have done to keep the University running smoothly. Despite the issues facing the University, we were able to launch the Campaign for Carolina and the Blueprint for Next. Chancellor Folt feels optimistic about the new year. Provost Blouin and Chancellor Folt are focused on ways to work more effectively with faculty governance and putting a renewed focus on our internal and external communication.
Chancellor Folt, Provost Blouin and Felicia Washington, vice chancellor for workforce strategy, equity and engagement, sent a campus-wide email about sexual harassment in the wake of the #MeToo movement. There is a sense of urgency the University needs to bring to the issue. Chancellor Folt said we have not discussed sexual harassment in terms of our own University culture. Students, staff and faculty expect the University community to think about issues such as sexual harassment in more enlightened, proactive and educational ways.
Chancellor Folt recognized members of the University community for their outstanding accomplishments. Professor Satish Gopal (Hematology), cancer program director for UNC Project-Malawi, delivered a wonderful Winter Commencement address on public service. Professor Terry Magnuson (Genetics) was elected 2018 vice president and 2019 president of The Genetics Society of America. The humans and animals research group received the highest level of accreditation. The American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) named professors Blossom Damania (Microbiology and Immunology), Marcey Waters (Chemistry) and Mark Zylka (Cell Biology and Physiology) 2017 fellows. At the close of 2017, Samuel Odom is resigning from his position as director of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, where he served for 11 years. Stephen Hooper, a fellow at the Institute, will serve as interim director.
Chancellor Folt said UNC-Chapel Hill is one of the first universities in the United States to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year marks the 35th anniversary of this celebration. The University is introducing a new round of named scholarships. The first round of scholarships were named after Noteworthy Firsts. This round will be named after Bridge Builders, people whose work, advocacy and personal example helped forge a more inclusive, unified and aspirational Carolina community. The Bridge Builders were selected from nominations by the campus community and the public. The launch of the Arts Everywhere website and the opening of the Carolina Performing Arts Center will take place at the end of January.
Ms. Natalie Vizuete, director of content development, and Ms. Amy Kaufmann, manager of public records operations, gave a demonstration of the new design of UNC-Chapel Hill’s website (unc.edu). The site has three main naviagtion features “Discover,” “Navigate” and “Search.” It is designed to be functional and to tell the great stories of the University, giving users a full sense of what we do at Carolina and who we are as a Univeristy. The site has an improved search feature and the homepage will display a “story experience,” which is a thematic story that focuses on topics related to the University. None of the content on the current unc.edu website will be lost when the new version is launched.
Chancellor Folt commemorated the recent passing of Mr. Leroy Fraiser, who along with Mr. John Lewis Brandon and Mr. Ralph Frazier were the first African Americans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill’s undergraduate program. They were named as three of the pioneers in the University’s pioneer scholarship.
Provost’s remarks
Provost Blouin wished everyone a happy New Year. He hopes it is a very productive year and looks forward to working with Faculty Council. The launch of the new budget model and Carolina Services is still on hold. There were nearly 40 proposals submitted for the Creativity Hub Pilot Award, involving ten schools and over 140 faculty collaborators. Professor Terry Magnuson (Genetics) launched this initiative. Provost Blouin thanked all faculty who participated.
Faculty Assembly Delegation annual report and update
Professor Alice Ammerman (Nutrition), chair of the Faculty Assembly Delegation, gave a presentation on the structure and function of the Faculty Assembly. This academic year, the Faculty Assembly passed resolutions on free speech, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), guns on campuses, faculty compensation and other actions of the Board of Governors (BOG) and NC General Assembly. The Faculty Assembly has worked closely with the Faculty Executive Committee on a number of resolutions. The Assembly will continue to focus on student success, faculty salaries, shared governance, working with President Spellings and the UNC System Office, legislative actions that influence the University and communicating with their faculty constituents.
Professor Tim Ives (Pharmacy), vice chair of the Faculty Assembly, said the Assembly will focus on transparency in chancellor searches and other administrative searches, and student, faculty and staff mental health this academic semester.
Secretary of the Faculty Vin Steponaitis asked about the degree of communication between the BOG and the Faculty Assembly.
Professor Ives said communication has improved over the past year, but there still needs to be improvement. Faculty Assembly members were invited to join various BOG committees and share their perspectives. New members of the BOG are utilizing the Faculty Assembly in ways that are more beneficial. The BOG meetings are open to the public, except during closed sessions. Most meetings take place in the Friday Center for Continuing Education or at the Spangler Center in Chapel Hill.
Chancellor’s Advisory Committee annual report
Professor Lloyd Kramer (History), chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, said that unlike other committees, this committee does not vote or take official action. They share ideas and express their concerns with Chancellor Folt. The committee meets once a month to provide the Chancellor with information on how faculty view key issues, and the Chancellor updates the committee on issues developing within the University. The Chancellor’s Advisory Committee is responsible for nominating candidates to be chair of the faculty. The committee has focused on the following issues this academic year: the NCAA investigation, SACS accreditation, Silent Sam, the Blueprint for Next and the launch of the Campaign for Carolina. In order to improve their effectiveness, the committee brought in an outside consultant who gave them advice on how to streamline their conversations and reorganize their meetings. Over the past two months, their focus has been on faculty morale. They identified the need for a culture of recognition so people feel they are listened to and respected.
Professor Kramer asked Faculty Council members to identify ways to enhance faculty morale. Faculty Council members shared the following ideas: salaries and salary equality that takes into account fair market value and salary compression and increased workloads due to staff attrition; labeled parking; improving the function of the Office of Sponsored Research; fixed-term faculty security; research leaves; a stronger public stance in favor of truth; support for academic freedom; and better staff support within departments for faculty initiatives.
Office of Ethics Education and Policy Management update: Creating a climate of shared responsibility
Professor Kim Strom-Gottfried (Social Work), director of the Office of Ethics Education and Policy Management, gave a presentation on the history of her office, approaches they are taking on the issues of integrity and resources for reporting. Professor Strom-Gottfried also gave a demonstration of Carolina Ethics Line, the new reporting software for ethics compliance. Navex, a third-party provider, who does compliance for 1,000 university campuses, hosts Carolina Ethics Line. Both online and phone reporting options are available. There are nine reporting categories and 85 subcategories. There is an option to choose a password for each report submitted. This allows the reporter to track their case and the Office of Ethics Education and Policy Management to communicate with the reporter.
Professor Maria Savasta-Kennedy (Law) asked about the obligation of the Office of Ethics Education and Policy Management once they receive a report.
Professor Strom-Gottfried said Navex sends a case report alert to Ms. Phyllis Petree, Ms. Kristen Lewis, Mr. Joe Deem or herself when a report is submitted to Carolina Ethics Line. The administrators then acknowledge that the report has been received and send a thank you message to the reporter. This message includes resources for the reporter and asks the reporter about additional information needed by the administrators. Then the case is assigned to one of the 25 incident managers who investigate the situation. They report the outcome to Professor Strom-Gottfried, whose role is to compile and report aggregate data and trends and identify required policy or structural changes.
Professor Savasta-Kennedy said anonymity is crucial to the reporting process. She asked if there is data on safeguards that can be used to prevent misuse of Carolina Ethics Line.
Professor Strom-Gottfried said there is a low frequency of fraudulent reports. Data from Navex and peer institutions follow the same pattern.
Chancellor Folt said there are certain issues the University is required to act upon even if the reporter is anonymous. On the other hand, there are issues in which the University cannot act upon if the reporter is anonymous. Anonymity is important, but there has to be safety and trust, so reporters will identify themselves, which allows the University to take action.
The Chancellor’s Ethics and Integrity Working Group recommended that a faculty member have a voice at the top level of administration. Chancellor Folt thanked Professor Strom-Gottfried for accepting this role, her work on Carolina Ethics Line and in investigating over 3,000 policies.
Professor Florence Babb (Anthropology) asked if Carolina Ethics Line is where faculty, students and staff report sexual and gender-based harassment and violence. She also asked if reporters would be made aware of resources on campus that can offer them support.
Professor Strom-Gottfried said she would refer people who report sexual and gender-based harassment and violence to safe.unc.edu. This web portal is the primary space for understanding their options and recognizing the importance of an identified complainant versus an anonymous complainant, in terms of investigation. The Office of Ethics Education and Policy Management wants to be clear on their limitations if they receive reports on this issue.
Vice Chancellor Felicia Washington, said the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office (EOC) investigates elements of discrimination and harassment. Procedures related to investigations and relaying outcomes are detailed on their website. Carolina Ethics Line has an anonymous element, but they want to have enough information to be as proactive, corrective and educational as necessary, in the context of sexual and gender-based harassment and violence.
Professor Muge Calikoglu (Medicine) said some fixed-term faculty might not feel comfortable coming forward with concerns because of the time limits on their employment. She asked if other institutions have seen differences in the number of reports made by tenured faculty and fixed-term faculty.
Professor Strom-Gottfried said EthicsPoint data does not separate faculty based on rank. Carolina Ethics Line does not have enough data to report on this trend. Navex reports that the highest percent of anonymous complaints across industries are in higher education.
Professor Elizabeth Mayer-Davis (Nutrition) said that in academia, there are many issues that relate to power dynamics. She asked if Carolina Ethics Line would be marketed to let people know they can report issues related to power.
Professor Strom-Gottfried said yes, because they want to be as broad as possible in the cases reported. Data from Carolina Ethics Line is used to identify trends and required policy or structural changes.
Professor Strom-Gottfried asked Faculty Council members what it means to have a culture of integrity at Carolina. Faculty Council members submitted the following responses to the Poll Everywhere application: respect, transparency, honesty, freedom, fairness, support, value, responsibility, scholarship, consensus, empathy, integrity, accountability, credibility and openness.
Professor Strom-Gottfried asked Faculty Council members what challenges impede our ability to maintain a culture of integrity. Faculty Council members reported their answers to the Poll Everywhere application and voted on the responses. The top responses included: power differences; worries about the consequences if making an accusation; protection of turf; limited resources; and power dynamics, hierarchy, fear, and stereotypes about what people in power will think about issues.
Professor Strom-Gottfried asked Faculty Council members what recommendations they have for strengthening the culture of integrity at the University. The top responses included: more opportunities for small group dialogue; holding people in power accountable; and better systems for accountability and valuing that accountability.
Buildings and Grounds Committee annual report
The Buildings and Grounds Committee annual report was accepted by title. There were no questions for Professor David Owens (Government), chair of the committee.
Adjournment
Its business having concluded, the Faculty Council adjourned at 4:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kadejah Murray
University Program Associate
Office of Faculty Governance
Vin Steponaitis
Secretary of the Faculty
