March 14, 2012 - Faculty Governance

Faculty Governance News

Issue 6.7
March 14, 2012

From the Office of Faculty Governance
200-04 Carr Building, UNC-CH CB# 9170
Phone (919) 962-2146
Fax (919) 962-5479
Contact: Anne Whisnant

The Office of Faculty Governance publishes Faculty Governance News monthly. Send information to be considered for inclusion to Anne Whisnant on Monday before an issue is scheduled to appear (see 2011-12 publication dates). For immediate news, “Like” our page on Facebook or “Follow Us” on Twitter (@UNCFacGov).

‘Changing Landscape of Textbooks’ at Council 3/16

All faculty members are welcome to attend the next Faculty Council meeting, which will be held Friday, March 16, from 3-5pm in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. The agenda features a panel discussion about “the changing landscape of textbooks,” that will include attention to the challenges and opportunities of e-textbooks, the changing economics and logistics of textbook purchasing, and other textbook-related issues raised by Faculty Council members.

The Council will also hear annual reports from the Administrative Board of the Library, the Committee on Copyright, the Buildings and Grounds Committee, the Committee on the Status of Women, and the Committee on University Government. A resolution from the Committee on Student Conduct will be presented, along with two proposed Faculty Code amendments from University Government. The Provost will provide a progress update on the Academic Plan implementation, and Chancellor Thorp will update the Council in the wake of the release of the NCAA’s sanctions on Monday.

The full agenda is available here. If you cannot attend, you can follow and join in on our live Twitter stream using the hashtag #FacCouncil.

Faculty Elections Coming, April 16-23

The annual elections for Faculty Council and eleven facultywide standing committees will be conducted April 16-23 via email survey sent to each member of the Voting Faculty. Although there is no election this year for Chair of the Faculty, there will be important elections for crucial policymaking bodies including Faculty Council; the Educational Policy Committee; Faculty Athletics Committee; campus-level Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure Committee; and Faculty Executive Committee. We’ll have our annual Voter Guide available in early April, both on the web and in the University Gazette. Then, watch your email on April 16th for the link to your individualized ballot. Faculty participation in elections has been creeping upward in recent years – let’s keep that trend going!

New Procedures for Booking Campus Y Faculty Commons

In the interest of simplifying the reservation process for the Campus Y Faculty Commons room, the Office of Faculty Governance has an updated policies page with a new, shorter downloadable reservation form, and a room calendar. To book the room, simply find an open time/date and send the reservation form to the appropriate office. We will contact you to confirm your reservation. Those who are interested in keeping up with events that take place in the AQ Faculty Commons can subscribe to the Outlook calendar. These changes were made possible by faculty responses to the survey issued earlier this year. We appreciate your participation.

As a reminder, the Office of Faculty Governance is responsible for booking the room Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm. Reservations that fall on evenings and weekends should be directed to Jill Wuenschel at the Campus Y at 919-962-2333.

Campus Site License for Qualtrics Web Survey Research Tool

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, the Odum Institute, and ITS have recently announced that we now have a campus site license for Qualtrics, a web-based survey research tool. Previously, Odum’s license covered only some campus units, but beginning March 1, 2012, access is available free of charge to anyone with an Onyen. Qualtrics has also now been approved by UNC for studies that collect sensitive information (including PHI) from a respondent. Users are reminded that all research involving human subjects must be reviewed by the UNC IRB prior to contact with subjects.

More information about Qualtrics’ capabilities is available on the UNC Qualtrics website: http://qualtrics.unc.edu.

Campus-Wide Events and Award deadlines

Big-Time Sports and the University: A Conversation with Joe Nocera, Tonight!

Joe Nocera, a celebrated New York Times opinion columnist and an outspoken critic of the NCAA, will present his thoughts on reform in collegiate athletics and take questions from the audience tonight, Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 5:30 pm in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center Theater, UNC-CH . The conversation is free and open to the public. For further information click here.

Nominate a Faculty Colleague for the Thomas Jefferson Award

The faculty Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards invites your nominations for the 2012 Thomas Jefferson Award. Established in 1961, this award is given annually to “that member of the academic community who through personal influence and performance of duty in teaching, writing, and scholarship has best exemplified the ideals and objectives of Thomas Jefferson.” Any active member of the faculty is eligible, including those participating in the phased-retirement program. Full information about the award (including a list of past recipients and directions for how to submit a nomination) is available here on the Faculty Governance website. The deadline for nominations is this Friday, March 16, 2012. The award will be presented at the September, 2012 Faculty Council meeting.

Faculty/Grad Instructor Open Forum on Honor System, March 15th

An open forum on the Honor System will be held tomorrow (Thursday, March 15th) from 4:00-6:00 pm in Union 3505. A short presentation from Honor System leadership will be followed by a time for questions and open discussion. Honor System student leaders also wish to hear instructor feedback on our system as a whole as well as on a few recent initiatives the Honor System is launching. Light refreshments will be provided. For information, contact Morgan Bolling (Honor System Outreach Coordinator), at hsoc@unc.edu.

Apples Offers Support for Service-Learning Course Development

Ueltschi Service-Learning Course Development Grants due March 23, 2012

APPLES is soliciting proposals for $8,000 service-learning course development grants and $1,500 service-learning mini-grants to support undergraduate courses in Academic and Health Affairs. APPLES seeks to award five $8,000 grants and three $1,500 grants to instructors to develop courses that successfully integrate community-based service into the curriculum and promote the pedagogy of service-learning at UNC. Applications are due March 23 at 11:59 p.m.; for more information on eligibility and grant details please visit www.unc.edu/apples. The application is available at www.unc.edu/ccps/portal.

Course Support and Enhancement Grants

Faculty and instructors currently teaching an APPLES course may apply for additional funding to support an existing course. Awards are up to $1000 and are accepted on a rolling basis once the semester begins. Please apply at http://www.unc.edu/apples/

Q&A Session for Online IRB Submissions, March 16th

The Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE), which is responsible for ethical and regulatory oversight of research at UNC-Chapel Hill that involves human subjects, will be offering open-ended discussions on online submissions to the Internal Review Board (IRB). The next one will be held March 16 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in G100 Bondurant Hall.

In addition, OHRE has a standing series of training sessions to introduce users to the online IRB application and process. The March 16 discussion is designed, in part, to give the Office of Human Research Ethics informed feedback on the online application process. For more information, please contact Daniel Nelson at daniel_nelson@unc.edu.

Findings of the Provost’s Salary-Equity Task Force To Be Discussed

The Association for Women Faculty and Professionals invites the campus community to attend the third in a series of brown bag lunch discussions that will provide an informal opportunity to learn about issues important to women on our campus. On March 21 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm in the Pleasants Room at Wilson Library, AWFP will hold a conversation about the Provost’s Salary Equity Task Force’s findings with Prof. Laurie McNeil, Task Force Chair. Cookies and drinks will be provided. Please register in advance.