February 6, 2008
Faculty Governance News
vol. 2.9
February 6, 2008
From the UNC Office of Faculty Governance
200-204 Carr Building
UNC-CH Campus
Contact: Anne M. Whisnant (anne_whisnant@unc.edu)
Voting Faculty receive survey on interest in committee service; responses due February 11
All members of the Voting Faculty should have received an email survey this week asking for interest in serving on one of the 11 elected or 13 appointed faculty committees in the upcoming year. Responses are due by 5 p.m. Monday February 11th.
Expressing interest in a committee does not commit you to serving. The Nominating Committee will use the lists of names to develop slates of candidates for each committee in February and March.
The annual elections for Faculty Council and faculty committees will be held April 14-21. Please mark your calendars and plan to vote!
Faculty Council approves faculty sabbatical program resolution
At its January 25 meeting, the Faculty Council passed a resolution calling for funding of a faculty sabbatical program to be a high priority in the next capital campaign.
The Faculty Research Committee, which sponsored the resolution, commented that a sabbatical program would enhance research productivity and further Chancellor Moeser’s stated goal of generating at least $1 billion in annual external funding for faculty research by 2015.
The Committee also noted that most of UNC’s peer institutions have regular sabbatical programs accessible to most of their faculty, and that Carolina’s relatively small number of leaves puts the university at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting excellent faculty.
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.
Chancellor Search Committee will meet February 14
The Chancellor Search Committee will meet next Friday, February 14, 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.
AAUP meets February 12
The UNC chapter of the American Association of University Professors invites all faculty members (tenure-track and fixed-term) and graduate students to become members of the national AAUP and take part in local meetings.
Interested faculty members are invited to attend the group’s next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Anne Queen Faculty Commons in the Campus Y. The agenda includes an update of current AAUP activities (including the state conference scheduled for April 4 – 5 at the FedEx Global Education Center) and recruitment of new members, who are eligible for reduced membership dues this year. For more information, see http://www.nctomorrow.org/triangle-j-council-of-governments/.
The Farm holds membership drive
The Farm, UNC’s Faculty-Staff Recreation Association, is holding a membership drive from now through the end of September. During this time, the initiation fee has been reduced from $600 to $400.
The Farm’s expansive property off Barbee Chapel Road houses a beautiful outdoor pool complex, abundant tennis courts, and attractive picnic and clubhouse facilities. The Association sponsors many programs including yoga and fitness classes, tennis tournaments, summer swimming and diving teams, and summer day camps for children.
For more information, call 962-FARM or send an email to uncfarm@hotmail.com.
Institute for Arts and Humanities holds humanities grants workshop February 27
The Institute for the Arts and Humanities will hold a workshop on applying for grants in the humanities February 27 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in Hyde Hall. This workshop will focus on applications for individual grants from NEH, ACLS, the National Humanities, Guggenheim and similar organizations.
There will be a panel of senior colleagues who have served on the review committees for such grants, and a workshop will be held on two actual proposals.
Please RSVP to Martha Marks at mmarks@email.unc.edu if you would like to attend. Space is limited.
Nominations accepted for University Awards for the Advancement of Women
The Carolina Women’s Center is accepting nominations for the 2008 University Awards for the Advancement of Women. Each year, one faculty member, one staff member and one undergraduate/graduate student/postdoctoral scholar are selected. The faculty and staff recipients each receive $5,000, and the undergraduate/graduate student/postdoctoral scholar recipient receives $2,500.
To submit a nomination, use the online form at http://www.unc.edu/oira/public/women_nomination.html. The deadline for nominations is February 27.
For more information, call Dr. Donna Bickford, Director of the Carolina Women’s Center, at 962-3805, or email her at dbickford@unc.edu.
Reading Room
An occasional feature highlighting interesting reading about universities, faculties, and governance. This week’s selection:
- Colleges Face Ominous New Pressures on Academic Freedom by Robert M. O’Neil (Chronicle of Higher Education, February 8, 2008). This essay is adapted from Academic Freedom in a Wired World, published this month by Harvard University Press.
For more information on any of these items, please contact Anne Whisnant in the Office of Faculty Governance.
