February 25, 2010 - Faculty Governance

Faculty Governance News

vol. 4.10

February 25, 2010

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

Office of Faculty Governance reducing paper use; Chair of the Faculty encourages faculty to do so, too

With our transition several years ago to electronic ballots in the annual faculty elections, the Office of Faculty Governance has been gradually reducing our paper use, and we’ll be doing even more in the coming months as we phase out distribution of large numbers of paper copies of faculty committee reports at the Faculty Council meetings (all reports have for many years been available on our website). Faculty Chair McKay Coble is spurring us on in this direction, and, she has sent along the following message with suggestions about how to reduce paper use in your courses:

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

I would like to call your attention to a thoughtful document recently presented to the Faculty Executive Committee by senior student Conor Farese and first year students Sophie Yang and Kunlin Wang on behalf of the the Environmental Affairs Committee of Student Government.

The document outlines some facts and suggestions that can save Carolina money and preserve many trees. By a few simple adjustments to term paper formatting requirements, we can move away from our current paper use of over 500 tons a year, which will result in positive impacts on UNC’s waste management and on the environment.

The document does not represent a resolution or mandate.

Please consider the suggestions and help keep Carolina green.

Best regards, McKay

Faculty Council/General Faculty meeting Friday, Feb. 26; will consider resolution to amend Faculty Code sections on the Administrative Board of the Library

The Faculty Council will meet in joint session with the General Faculty tomorrow, Friday, February 26, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in the Hitchcock Room at the Stone Center. All faculty are invited and encouraged to attend, especially since the meeting will feature the first reading and vote on a proposed amendment to the Faculty Code changing the composition of the Administrative Board of the Library. The resolution is being put forth by the Committee on University Government.

Also on tap for the Council meeting is a presentation on the Carolina Covenant program, which has since 2003 offered youth from low-income families the opportunity to attend Carolina and earn a baccalaureate degree debt-free.

The Faculty Council agenda and all supporting reports and the resolution may be viewed online here.

Thomas Jefferson Award nominations now being accepted (deadline is March 31)

The Committee on Honorary Degrees and Special Awards is now accepting invitations for the 2010 Thomas Jefferson Award. The deadline for nominations is March 31.

The Thomas Jefferson Award was established in 1961 and 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 at the April 23 Faculty Council meeting. 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, including a list of former recipients, is available here.

Association for Women Faculty and Professionals sponsors talk on gender equality by Law School professor Maxine Eichner , March 23

The UNC Association for Women Faculty and Professionals invites you to an upcoming free event:

Women, Work, and Family: Prospects for Gender Equality in a Challenging Economy, a talk featuring Dr. Maxine Eichner, UNC School of Law
March 23, 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Pleasants Family Room
Wilson Library
Claims that gender equality has been achieved now abound. “It’s a Woman’s Nation and that changes everything,” Maria Shriver recently declared. Women now constitute more than half of the American work force, and the vast majority of women contribute income to the family economy. Indeed, the recession is accelerating this trend as women attempt to mitigate job losses mostly experienced by men. But has the gender playing field really been leveled? This talk will examine the status of gender equality and explore the continuing dynamics among work, gender, and families. It will compare, as well, the United States’ approach to these issues with those of other countries. Please feel free to bring your lunch.

Carolina Center for Public Service sponsors Engaged Scholarship and Promotion and Tenure Workshop, March 3

Faculty for the Engaged Campus Co-Director Cathy Jordan (University of Minnesota) will lead a workshop on “Making the Case for Promotion and Tenure as a Community-Engaged Scholar” on March 3, 2010 from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, in Toy Lounge. The event will provide guidance for faculty and administrators on how to approach engaged scholarship as it relates to promotion and tenure. Faculty, chairs, department heads, and deans are all encouraged to attend this interactive session on how to evaluate the rigor, contributions and scholarship of engagement. Please RSVP to ccps@unc.edu by Monday, March 1.

Diversity and Multicultural Affairs office seeks faculty assistance with “Decision Days” on-campus event for newly admitted students, March 26

Dr. Cookie Newsom in the office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs has asked us to put out a call for faculty members who would like to assist with an on-campus event for newly admitted students. Diversity and Multicultural Affairs sponsors Decision Days, which provide a first-hand Carolina experience for new students and parents. They would like to find faculty who are willing to meet with student(s) to discuss your particular academic area. Please email Terri Houston at thouston@email.unc.edu or Dr. M. Cookie Newsom at newsom@email.unc.edu if you would be interested in doing this on Friday March 26, 2010. Dr. Newsom reports that students typically inquire about choosing a major, adapting to the rigor of Carolina academics and the overall academic experience. If you volunteer to help, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs staff will verify times and students name/interests with you. Students will be escorted to your office for a 50-minute Q& A at a time convenient for your schedule.

Custom UNC academic regalia on sale through February 26 at Student Stores, just in time for spring commencement

UNC Student Stores is having a Custom Regalia Sale through tomorrow, February 26. This is an opportunity for faculty to be personally fitted for custom-made regalia and receive a 10% discount. A representative from Oak Hall Cap & Gown Company will be available from 9am to 4pm tomorrow, and samples will be on display. Please visit http://store107.collegestoreonline.com/ePOS/form=cat.html&cat=125&store=107 for details or contact Eve Bradshaw at ebradsha@email.unc.edu or 919-962-2427.

Bull’s Head compiling new list of recent and upcoming faculty titles; send your title in now

The Bull’s Head is once again compiling a new list of recently released and upcoming UNC faculty works. If you’ve had a book that has recently been released for the first time or have a book that will be published soon, please let them know! Email fiveiron@email.unc.edu and they will gladly carry your book in the store and put it in the Spring Semester edition of their Faculty Titles newsletter. If your book is coming out after August 1st it will be in the Fall Semester edition of the newsletter.

Eligibility guidelines for University Research Council Small Grant Program modified to open grants to adjuncts, lecturers and instructors; deadline extended to March 8

Effective immediately, the eligibility requirements for University Research Council (URC) awards have been expanded to include instructors, lecturers, and adjunct faculty who are university employees. Due to this change in eligibility, the deadline for the spring term has been extended two weeks. The new deadline for URC Applications will be 5:00 PM on Monday, March 8, 2010. For more information about the small grant program or to download the application for research or publication, please visit the following link: http://research.unc.edu/red/internal.php.

University seeks applicants for Mellon Foundation Emeritus Fellowships program; internal deadline is March 5

The University has received an invitation to submit three proposals for consideration to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Emeritus Fellowships program. The Emeritus Fellowships provide support for research by outstanding scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences, who at the time of taking up the fellowship, will be officially retired but remain active and productive researchers. The Mellon Foundation has requested the University decide on proposals to submit through an internal process and has set a May 3, 2010 deadline.

The Office of Research Development (ORD) now invites pre-proposals from the academic community for consideration for submission to the Mellon Foundation. Please see the internal call for nominations at the link here: http://research.unc.edu/ord/limited/Mellon/Emeritus/cfn20102.pdf

To allow time for a possible internal review ORD must receive Emeritus internal proposals by Friday, March 5, 2010. If you have questions, please contact Regina Bartolone, Ph.D., Associate Director, Office of Research Development, at regina_bartolone@unc.edu or 962-7503.

Other award and grant deadlines . . . faculty are eligible for all:

Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement by Young Faculty (nominations deadline is March 5). $5000 prize for junior tenure-track and tenured faculty.
Social Science “Seed” Grant for Multidisciplinary Research (Odum Institute, deadline is May 3). Up to $15,000 will be awarded to support the development of a research proposal by a multidisciplinary team of social science faculty.
University Diversity Award s (nominations due March 1). Recognizes support and furtherance of diversity on campus and in the community.
University Research Council (URC) Small Grant Program (see above; deadline extended until March 8). Grants up to $5000 support research and publication by university employees holding a faculty rank (tenure, tenure-track, research professorial or clinical ranks, adjunct professors, lecturers, or instructors) OR professional librarians in the analogous librarian ranks.
Women’s Advocacy Award (nominations due March 1). Recognizes contributions to gender equity and advocacy for women.

Faculty Governance Resource Room

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

Diversity in Higher Education Conference: Reframing the Diversity Imperative in Academe: Challenges & Opportunities in the 21st Century (Duke University, April 7-8, 2010). Join higher education leaders, corporate diversity practitioners, researchers and policy experts to explore and examine concepts and practices of diversity within colleges and universities in the 21st
century.

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 2009-10 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.