February 20, 2008 - Faculty Governance

Faculty Governance News

vol. 2.10

February 20, 2008

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

Faculty Council and General Faculty to meet February 22

A meeting of the General Faculty and the Faculty Council will be held Friday, February 22, at 3 p.m. in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. Topics for the meeting include consideration of a resolution amending the Faculty Code of University Government to limit the Chair of the Faculty to a single consecutive term.

Membership in the General Faculty and the procedures for amending the Faculty Code are described in Article 1 of the Faculty Code.

Friday’s meeting will also feature an introduction of football coach Butch Davis, a discussion of textbook ordering, several committee reports, and a presentation on the mission and work of the School of Government.

For the complete agenda, see https://facultygov.unc.edu/faculty-council-and-committees/.

January 25 Faculty Council minutes now available

The minutes for the January 25 Faculty Council meeting are now online at https://facultygov.unc.edu/faculty-council-and-committees/.

Elections for Faculty Council, committees April 14-21

Members of the Voting Faculty are encouraged to participate in faculty elections, scheduled for April 14-21. Elections will be conducted electronically, with all members of the Voting Faculty receiving their ballots by email.

The Faculty Nominating Committee will begin work February 27 to develop a slate of candidates for election to several faculty committees and the Faculty Council. A complete schedule for the nominations and elections process may be found at https://facultygov.unc.edu/elections/.

Thomas Jefferson Award nominations being accepted through March 21

Faculty members are invited to submit nominations for the Thomas Jefferson Award. The deadline for submissions is March 21.

The award is presented 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.”

The award will be presented by the chancellor on recommendation of the faculty Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards. Nominations can be sent to the Office of Faculty Governance, Attention: Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards, Campus Box 9170, or emailed to Joseph Ferrell, Secretary of the Faculty, at jsferrel@email.unc.edu.

Complete information on this award, including a list of former recipients, is available here: https://facultygov.unc.edu/awards/thomas-jefferson-award-recipients/

Ideas, politics topic of April 14 discussion in the Faculty Commons

Three UNC faculty members who are the authors of acclaimed new books will come together to discuss the topic, “Do Ideas Matter in American Politics? A Conversation about Transcendentalism, Fundamentalism and Liberalism” on Monday, April 14 at 3:30 p.m. in the Anne Queen Faculty Commons, located in the Campus Y.

The event, sponsored by the Office of Faculty Governance, will feature:

Philip Gura, William S. Newman Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture and author of American Transcendentalism: A History (Hill & Wang, 2007)
Michael Lienesch, Professor of Political Science and author of In the Beginning: Fundamentalism, the Scopes Trial, and the Making of the Antievolution Movement (UNC Press, 2007)
John McGowan, Ruel Tyson Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature and author of American Liberalism: An Interpretation for Our Time (UNC Press, 2007)

All members of the campus community are invited to attend.

Scheduling an event for fall? Why not use the Faculty Commons?

In 2007, the Office of Faculty Governance began managing the Anne Queen Faculty Commons, a beautifully renovated space in the Campus Y, for the faculty’s daily use. Most of the time the room is left open for casual use by faculty members and their guests, with free coffee service (9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) provided through the generosity of the Chancellor’s office.

The room may also be reserved (free of charge) for meetings, lectures, gatherings, receptions, and other special events organized by or for faculty members. The Office of Faculty Governance welcomes vigorous faculty use of the space, and we are booking now for next fall. To read more about the room and to find instructions about reserving the space, please visit: https://facultygov.unc.edu/faculty-commons-at-the-campus-y/.

Chancellor Search Committee will meet February 28

The Chancellor Search Committee will meet next Friday, February 28, in the Faculty Lounge of the Morehead Building. Some business is authorized by the N.C. Open Meetings Law to be conducted in closed session.

For future meeting dates and more information, see http://www.unc.edu/chan/search.

Faculty input sought for UNC Tomorrow response

Faculty should receive a survey within the next week asking for input that will inform the campus response to the UNC system’s UNC Tomorrow initiative.

The survey will ask faculty to “describe the ways in which your teaching, research, or service demonstrates engagement with the state and broader community,” said Provost Bernadette Gray-Little in announcing the campus response.

For more information on UNC Tomorrow, including the UNC Tomorrow Commission’s Final Report, see http://www.nctomorrow.org/.

Former Chair of the Faculty honored with General Alumni Association’s Faculty Service Award

Former Faculty Chair Judith Wegner (2003-06) was honored in January with the GAA’s Faculty Service Award. Established in 1990, the award honors faculty members who have performed outstanding service to the University or the alumni association.

More information about Wegner’s career and the award may be found at http://alumni.unc.edu/article.aspx?sid=5632

Reading Room

An occasional feature highlighting interesting reading about universities, faculties, and governance. This week’s selection:

Ms. Mentor Unmasked: Here’s how Emily Toth accidentally became an academic advice columnist, gentle readers (From Academe, January-February 2008)

For more information on any of these items, please contact Anne Whisnant in the Office of Faculty Governance.