May 7, 2009

Faculty Governance News

vol. 3.16

May 7, 2009

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

2009 faculty elections results posted

The complete 2009 faculty elections results are now online.  Nine hundred twenty-five ballots were cast for a response rate of 26%, the highest participation rate since the early 2000s.  Thanks to all who voted this year!  McKay Coble, Professor of Design and Chair of the Department of Dramatic Art, was elected Chair of the Faculty.  She will take office July 1st, succeeding current Chair Joe Templeton. 

Faculty Council considers numerous substantive reports, April 24

The minutes from the April 24 meeting of the Faculty Council and General Faculty are now online here.  A number of important and substantive reports were presented at this meeting, including

• a report from the Faculty Council Committee on Fixed-Term Faculty;
• a detailed analysis on grading trends at the University from the Educational Policy Committee;
• an update on the efficiency study being conducted for the University by Bain & Company;
• a draft report from the Provost’s Task Force on Future Promotion and Tenure Policies; and
• a preview of an exciting new research collaboration tool presented by the Faculty Research Committee. 

Two days left to get Inclement Weather Tickets for Commencement on May 10

Faculty members who hope to participate in the faculty processional for Commencement on May 10 have until 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, to obtain an Inclement Weather Ticket that will admit you to the Smith Center in the event that rain causes the ceremony to be relocated from Kenan Stadium.  Contact David Thompson in the Faculty Governance Office to request your ticket.  He can be reached at dthomps3@email.unc.edu or at 962-2147.

The Doctoral Hooding ceremony will be held May 9 at 10 a.m. in the Dean Smith Center. Dr. Adron Harris, professor at the University of Texas in Austin, will be the guest speaker. Non-hooding faculty members should assemble in the Press Room at the Smith by 9:30 a.m., for the processional.

University Commencement will be held May 10 at 9:30 a.m. in Kenan Stadium (or, in the event of bad weather, the Dean E. Smith Center).  This year’s speaker is Archbishop Emeritus Desmond M. Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and renowned South African anti-apartheid campaigner.  Faculty are asked to gather at the old Kenan Field House at 9 a.m. Faculty Marshal Trudier Harris will lead the faculty processional.  Parking will be available in the Craige Deck. 

Anyone not able to be at Commencement can view the ceremony streamed live over the Web.

Gil recommended as College of Arts and Sciences dean

Word has come today that Dr. Karen M. Gil, Lee G. Pedersen Distinguished Professor of Psychology and professor of psychiatry here at UNC, will be recommended to the Board of Trustees as the next dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  See full story here.

Faculty Commons coffee service to be suspended for summer at the end of May

The free coffee service in the Faculty Commons at the Campus Y will be suspended for the summer at the end of May.  It will resume in August when classes begin, although on a reduced schedule due to budget constraints.  More information to come.

Institute for Arts and Humanities accepting applications for fellowships

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities is offering UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members a unique opportunity: a semester-long, on-campus fellowship to work on projects for publication, exhibition, composition or performance. The fellowship centers on a weekly three-hour seminar at Hyde Hall where Fellows engage in conversation with eight to 12 peers from various disciplines. Faculty may apply for either the fall or spring semester. Two fellowships are available: IAH Faculty Fellowships (applications due Sept. 23, 2009), for faculty undertaking projects in the arts and humanities, and Chapman Family Faculty Fellowships (applications due Oct. 21, 2009), for outstanding teachers who regularly teach undergraduate students. For more information, including eligibility and application information, visit http://iah.unc.edu/news/newsarchive/2009/fellowship-announcement.

Faculty invited to keynote addresses by Ray Kurzweil, Dana Gioia at ThinkTank conference, June 2

Faculty are invited to attend keynote addresses by “ultimate thinking machine” Ray Kurzweil and National Endowment for the Arts Chair Dana Gioia on Tuesday, June 2 at the 12th Annual ThinkTank conference.  Gioia will speak at 9 a.m. and Kurzweil at 1 p.m. in Carroll Hall auditorium.  The ThinkTank conference is a gathering of colleges, universities and K-12 institutions from around the world that participate in 1:1 student computing programs.  Institutions of all sizes, both public and private, will share best practices that showcase experiences, academic implementations, innovations and expertise in all aspects of academic technology.

If you wish to attend the keynote addresses, please RSVP to thinktank09@esg.us with the subject line “UNC Faculty attending keynote at ThinkTank.” Faculty will need to show their One Card for admittance.  The keynotes are free for UNC faculty and staff.  If you are interested in participating fully in the conference or learning more about ThinkTank please visit http://thinktank.esg.us/.

Faculty Governance Reading Room

Articles, books, or other resources of interest to faculty. This week’s selection:

• “The Universities in Trouble” by Andrew Delbanco (Levi Professor in the Humanities and Director of American Studies at Columbia University)
  From the New York Review of Books, 14 May 2009.  This article reviews the following books on the financial structure of higher education.  Not quite summer poolside reading, but important topics nonetheless:
• Pioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment by David F. Swensen
• Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education by Peter Sacks
• Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites by Mitchell L. Stevens
• Fulfilling the Commitment: Recommendations for Reforming Federal Student Aid in Brief by Sandy Baum, Michael McPherson, and others
• Trends in College Spending: Where Does the Money Come From? Where Does It Go? by Jane V. Wellman and others

Faculty Governance News takes summer break

This is the final issue of the Faculty Governance News for the 2008-09 academic year. We will return in late August. Look for our publication schedule for 2009-10 to be posted soon. Have a wonderful summer!

About Faculty Governance News

The Faculty Governance News is published every two weeks throughout the academic year by the Office of Faculty Governance.  Archived issues and the publication schedule for 2008-09 are available online here.  Information to be considered for inclusion should be sent to Anne Whisnant (anne_whisnant@unc.edu) by Monday before an issue is scheduled to appear.

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