September 15, 2011 - Faculty Governance

Faculty Governance News

vol. 6.1

September 15, 2011

From the UNC Office of Faculty Governance
200-204 Carr Building
UNC-CH Campus Box 9170
Contact: Anne M. Whisnant (anne_whisnant@unc.edu)

Faculty Council and General Faculty to meet Friday, September 16

The first Faculty Council meeting of the 2011-12 year will take place tomorrow, Friday, September 16, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Hitchcock Room at the Stone Center. The meeting is also one of two yearly meetings of the “General Faculty.” All faculty members are invited to this and every Faculty Council meeting. Click here for the agenda. Chair of the Faculty Jan Boxill will be introducing a new, more participatory format to the Council for this academic year. Work to launch the new format began at our Faculty Council retreat last Friday, when Council members engaged in discussion about the Council’s role and presented suggestions about Faculty Council’s involvement in hot topics identified by the Faculty Council survey results (see below).

Faculty Council Celebrates 60th Anniversary in 2011!

The UNC Faculty Council held its first meeting on January 5, 1951. The Council at that time included 52 elected members based on a ratio of representation of one member to every seven faculty members. Today, there are approximately 70 elected members, with a ratio of representation of approximately one member to every 52 faculty members!

2011-2012 Faculty Council Survey

At the end of August, the Office of Faculty Governance surveyed Faculty Council members about the Council’s role, process, and agenda topics for the coming year. Faculty identified some of the key issues they hope to focus on this year: budget cuts, athletics, the honor system, faculty retention and morale, tenure and promotion, and technological changes and data security. The full survey results are online here.

Faculty Invited to University Day Processional, October 12.

Chair of the Faculty Jan Boxill invites all faculty to participate in this year’s University Day processional and ceremony, which will be held October 12 at 11:00 a.m. in Memorial Hall. The faculty processional will assemble at the Old Well beginning at 10:30 a.m. Faculty are encouraged (but certainly not required) to wear their academic regalia. Read Boxill’s full invitation to the faculty here.

Faculty Honor System Advisory Committee to be Reconstituted

As part of the faculty’s commitment to academic integrity, Chair of the Faculty Jan Boxill will soon reconstitute the Faculty Honor System Advisory Committee, which is provided for in the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, but which has been dormant. Five faculty members who have “experience with legal systems, knowledge of undergraduate and graduate-level issues, experience with instructional development, and awareness concerning the operation of the Honor System” will soon be appointed.

Prof. Jay Smith (History) has been leading a subcommittee of the faculty’s Educational Policy Committee that will release a full report on the honor system in the coming weeks. Look for discussion of this report’s recommendations at an upcoming Faculty Council meeting.

Faculty Council “Goes Green” with Carolina Catering

As a result of the Faculty Council survey, the Office of Faculty Governance has switched to Carolina Catering and is “going green” at Faculty Council events. According to Carolina Catering’s Sustainability Philosophy, “all uneaten food [leftover from events] is either composted or donated to local groups such as Inter-Faith Council.” Carolina Catering also uses compostable napkins and cutlery and reusable table linens, and buys local food and beverages whenever possible.

These changes enhance our ongoing efforts to “go paperless” by providing Faculty Council agendas and materials online, to order drinks by the gallon for catered events, and to switch from styrofoam and paper cups in our office to reusable mugs.

Campus-Wide Award Deadlines and Events:

2012 Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Awards

The Faculty Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards is soliciting nominations for the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Awards until September 30, 2011. Five awards are presented each University Day (October 12^th) to alumni who have “made an outstanding contribution to humanity in any walk of life.” More information about the award with instructions for submitting a nomination is online here.

University Teaching Awards

The University Committee on Teaching Awards encourages you to nominate deserving faculty members and graduate teaching assistants for any of six different distinguished teaching awards. Nominations are due October 1, 2011, and details about all awards are online here.

2012 University Awards for the Advancement of Women

This award recognizes contributions to the advancement of women at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by one faculty member, one staff member, and one undergraduate/graduate student/postdoctoral scholar. Nominations are due November 18, 2011. Details on the award and instructions on how to nominate are online.

Junior Faculty Development Awards

The Office of the Provost is now accepting applications for Junior Faculty Development awards for 2012. To apply, please email FRSL.Provost@unc.edu requesting access to the Sakai-based application site, and be sure to include your onyen and/or UNC email address. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2011. Contact Gordon Joyner in the Provost’s Office at Gordon@unc.edu or 962-7061 with questions.

Senior Faculty Competitive Research and Scholarly Leaves

The University is accepting applications this fall for competitive Senior Faculty Research and Scholarly Leaves to be taken during Fall Semester 2012, Spring Semester 2013, or Academic Year 2012-2013. To apply, please email your ONYEN and/or UNC email address to FRSL.Provost@unc.edu requesting access to the Sakai-based application site. Please contact Gordon Joyner in the Provost’s Office at Gordon@unc.edu or 962-7061 if you have any questions. The application deadline is October 21, 2011.

Institute for Arts and Humanities Opportunities

The Institute for Arts and Humanities announces several opportunities:

Mellon-funded Creative Campus grant opportunities. The IAH is partnering with Carolina Performing Arts on two funding opportunities from a Mellon Foundation grant awarded to CPA to celebrate “The Rite of Spring at 100” in 2012-13. Deadlines for both are September 30:

Four faculty fellowships are available to provide UNC faculty on-campus semester leaves at the IAH to work on projects for publication, exhibition, composition or performance related to the fine arts and modernism. More info.
Course development grants are available for integrating material relevant to “The Rite of Spring at 100” project into existing courses. More info.

2012-13 IAH Faculty Fellowships (deadline Sept. 30): Faculty Fellowships provide semester-long fellowships on campus for faculty to pursue research and projects for publication, exhibition, composition and performance related to the arts, humanities or qualitative social sciences. More info.

2012-2013 Academic Leadership Program (deadline Nov. 1): The ALP helps participants develop leadership skills, clarify career commitments, build a leadership network within the campus and extend their contacts to other leaders beyond the university. Eight Fellows are selected annually. More info.

Workshop and Events

The following just a sample of the workshops and events sponsored by the Center for Faculty Excellence. Click here for more information about each event, a list of additional events, and instructions on registering.

September 20: Avoiding a Mid-Career Crisis: Helping Faculty Manage Their Careers
September 21: Let’s Talk About Grant Writing
September 22: Ask for it! Women and the Power of Negotiation
September 23: Engaged Scholar Seminar Series
September 27: Myers Briggs Type Inventory
September 30: Give Your Research a VOICE: Crafting a Compelling Message That Works for Your Career

Other events of interest include:

September 20: Parr Center’s Lunch & Learn: The Arms Race in College Athletics
October 3: Faculty/Staff Haven Training
November 2: Faculty/Staff Haven Training

Faculty Resource Room

Articles, books, or other resources of interest to faculty.

AAUP sponsors “Shared Governance Conference and Workshops,” Washington, DC, November 11-13, 2011. Registration open now.
“The Shame of College Sports,” by Taylor Branch, The Atlantic Monthly, Oct. 2011
“What Faculty Members Should Know about Teaching Athletes,” Inside Higher Ed, 9/14/11
“Is It Plagiarism? iParadigms Walks Both Sides of the Question” in The Scholarly Kitchen, 9/12/11
“Faculty Oversight of Sports Falls Short, Survey Finds,” Chronicle of Higher Education, 8/31/11
“A Graduate Student Burden,” Inside Higher Ed, 8/17/11
“Athletic Disarmament Talks?” Inside Higher Ed, 8/11/2011
“Forum: The Future of Faculty Unions,” Chronicle of Higher Education, 7/24/11
“In Athletics, Ambitions Compete With Costs,” Chronicle of Higher Education, 6/26/11

Faculty Governance on Facebook and Twitter!

The Office of Faculty Governance is now on Facebook and Twitter (@uncfacgov). “Like” our page or “Follow Us” for more faculty governance-related news and links to articles and resources like the ones above.