September 12, 2008
Meeting of the General Faculty and the Faculty Council
Friday, September 12, 2008
3:00 p.m.
Hitchcock Multipurpose Room
Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History
Chancellor Holden Thorp and
Professor Joe Templeton, Chair of the Faculty, presiding
Agenda
3:00 Chancellor’s Remarks and Question Period
- Chancellor Holden Thorp
3:20 Recognition of Hettleman Award Winners
- Chancellor Holden Thorp
3:25 Provost’s Remarks and Question Period
- Provost Bernadette Gray-Little
3:40 Remarks from the Student Body President
- Ms. J. J. Raynor, Student Body President
3:45 Remarks from the Graduate and Professional Students Federation
- Mr. David Montgomerie, GPSF Chief of Staff and Faculty Council Liaison
3:50 Remarks from the Employee Forum
- Mr. Tommy Griffin, President
4:00 An Overview of the School of Nursing
- Prof. Linda R. Cronenwett, Dean
4:30 Discussion: Faculty Council Protocols and Work Plan for 2008-09
- Secretary of the Faculty Joe Ferrell
- Chair of the Faculty Joe Templeton
5:00 Adjourn
Minutes
The General Faculty and Faculty Council of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill convened at 3:00 p.m. in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.
The following 56 members of the Council attended: Aaron, Adamson, Ashby, Bagnell, Bechtel, Bickford, Blackburn, Blalock, Blocher, Bloom, Jane Brown, Pauline Brown, Conway, Copenhaver, Cornell, Earp, Gerber, Gulledge, Guskiewicz, Halloran, Hightow, Hodges, Katznelson, Kelly, Kendall, Kirsch, Kramer, Lee, LeFebvre, Lopez, Maffly-Kipp, Melamut, Morris-Natschke, Moss, O’Connell-Edwards, Orth, Papanikolas, Paquette, Parsons, Pruvost, Renner, Rodgers, Saunders, Shomaker, Stein, Stotts, Sweeney, Threadgill, Tobin, Toews, Visser, Wallace, Wasik, Weinberg, Whisnant, and Williams.
The following 28 members were granted excused absences: Andrews, Binotti, Boukhelifa, Brice, Campbell, Chin, Coleman, Desaix, Egan, Ernst, Hartnett, Heenan, Hendrick, Hobbs, Koroluk, Leonard, Lesneski, Mauro, Oatley, Rhodes, Richardson, Schoenfisch, Sheldon, Sweet, Temple, Van Tilburg, Verkerk, and Wilder.
The following 9 members were absent without excuse: Adler, Broome, Catellier, Dilworth-Anders, McCombs, Meade, Rosamond, Thorp, and Vernon-Feagans.
Call to Order
Prof. Joseph Templeton, Chair of the Faculty, called the meeting to order and introduced Chancellor Holden Thorp.
Chancellor’s Remarks
Chancellor Thorp introduced Matthew Hendren who will be serving this year as Chancellor’s Office Intern. Mr. Hendren will be focused on matters related to student life.
The chancellor briefly reviewed campus security measures and introduced Jeff McCracken, Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police.
The chancellor reported that Carolina received $678.2 million in research grants last year, thus dramatically outperforming peer institutions. He said that while the dollar numbers are impressive, the important thing is the work that this funding supports.
Prof. Donna LeFebvre (Political Science), referring to the public safety discussion, asked what faculty members should do if a siren alert sounds during class. Chief McCracken replied that his office has developed training programs for faculty and students and is working on how best to disseminate them. He said that there are three basic responses to an event that would trigger the warning sirens: (1) leave the area, (2) hide, or (3) fight back. The appropriate response would depend on the circumstances.
Prof. Gregory Copenhaver (Biology) asked whether the ITS “red phones” in classrooms could be equipped with a “911” button. Chief McCracken replied that this idea had been researched and found to be impractical.
Prof. Valerie Pruvost (Romance Languages) observed that some classrooms are in locations where the sirens would probably not be heard. She asked whether the red phones could be programmed to ring when a siren alert is sounded. Chief McCracken replied that this idea has also been researched and found to be impossible. He added that he doubted that many classrooms are in locations where the sirens would not be heard.
Prof. Jessica Katznelson (Pediatrics) asked whether the alert system is interconnected with the hospital. Chief McCracken said that UNC Hospitals will be using their own alert system.
Hettleman Awards
Chancellor Thorp announced the winners of the 2008 Philip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement by Young Faculty. They are Jason D. Lieb, Associate Professor of Biology; Milada A. Vachudova, Associate Professor of Political Science; Joshua M. Knobe, Associate Professor of Philosophy; and Blossom A. Damania, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology.
Provost’s Remarks
Provost Bernadette Gray-Little introduced Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Bruce Carney and Executive Associate Provost Ron Strauss.
The provost announced that at least ten new University-wide distinguished professorships will be awarded this year. These are distinguished chairs that are not permanently assigned to a particular department. Chairs included are the Kenans, William Rand Kenans, Sarah Graham Kenans, Boshamers, and Burton Craigs (limited to Political Science and Law). The selection committee will include current holders of those chairs. The provost invited nominations for these distinctions.
The provost announced that she would be appointing a task force to undertake a review of the Trustee Regulations Governing Academic Tenure. This review responds to a call by the Board of Governors to review tenure regulations in light of recommendations of the UNC Tomorrow report, but that other issues may be addressed as well.
The provost concluded her remarks by saying how pleased she is that Carolina has experienced only a slight reduction in our state appropriations while other peer institutions are facing devastating cuts this year. She said that at a recent meeting of AAU provosts she learned that we are doing very well in deed in comparison with other state flagship institutions.
Greetings from the Graduate and Professional Students Federation
David Montgomerie brought greetings from the Graduate and Professional Students Federation on behalf of President Cindy Spurlock, who was unable to attend.
Greetings from the Employee Forum
Tommy Griffin, Chair of the Employee Forum, brought greetings on behalf of the Forum. He spoke briefly about the role and structure of the Employee Form and said that the Forum’s goals for this year are to build trust among the various campus constituencies, to work for improvement of health insurance coverage, to continue to foster sustainability, and to address parking and commuting issues.
Overview of the School of Nursing
Dean Linda Cronenwett presented an overview of the School of Nursing. Her PowerPoint presentation will be found here.
Faculty Council Protocols
Prof. Joseph Ferrell, Secretary of the Faculty, spoke briefly about the expectations and procedures of service on Faculty Council.
Adjournment
Its business having been completed, the Council adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Joseph S. Ferrell
Secretary of the Faculty
