Faculty Senate
Senate approves resolution on posting of notes on commercial websites
Editor's note: For more information, include meeting minutes, visit the Faculty Senate website.
1:29 p.m., Nov. 12, 2012--The University of Delaware Faculty Senate approved a resolution stating that students who post notes on commercial websites based on classroom lectures against the stated wishes of individual faculty members as expressed on the course syllabus will be in violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
The resolution to amend the Student Code of Conduct was approved by a 51-3 vote during the regular meeting of the UD Faculty Senate, held Monday, Nov. 5, in Gore Hall.
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The resolution is in response to complaints from some faculty members that students in their classes had entered into agreements with commercial websites such as Notehall.
During a meeting of the senate held on Feb. 6, Larry White, UD vice president and general counsel, discussed faculty options concerning such unauthorized postings. More information, including takedown templates, are available at this website.
Other senate action
Senators also unanimously approved a resolution restricting service as Faculty Senate officers and committee chairs to full-time voting faculty not appointed to serve in an official UD administrative capacity.
Also unanimously passed was a resolution to amend the UD Faculty Constitution to provide that the deputy provost is a member of the senate in lieu of the position/title previously held by the former vice provost for academic programs and planning.
The measure generating the most discussion among senators was a resolution recommending that the provost search and other high-level administrative searches, including deans, be conducted in “a reasonably open manner, and that the short-listed candidates be announced and brought to campus where our students, faculty and other concerned members of the University community may engage them and provide feedback before a finalist is selected.”
The resolution was approved by a 43-9 vote, with two senators abstaining.
Hurricane Sandy class rescheduling
Because a Faculty Senate resolution calling for 65 days of class instruction could not be met due to the three days UD was closed for Hurricane Sandy, the following rescheduling was noted by Faculty Senate President Sheldon Pollack.
- Thursday, Dec. 6 — Monday classes will meet on this date;
- Friday, Dec. 7 — Reading Day (no exams scheduled);
- Saturday, Dec. 8 — First day of final exams (those previously scheduled for Friday, Dec. 7);
- Sunday, Dec. 9 — Reading Day (no exams scheduled); and
- Monday, Dec. 10-Friday, Dec. 14 — Final exams held as previously scheduled.
Provost’s report
Nancy Brickhouse, interim provost, updated senators on the status of several capital building projects at UD, including the new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory, slated for opening in spring 2013.
The $140 million ISE Lab facility is slated to open in May 2013, with formal opening ceremonies scheduled for October, Brickhouse said.
“This is a specially designed building to minimize vibrations and provide a tightly controlled research environment,” Brickhouse said. “This facility will allow us to compete for grants that we have not been able to compete for before.”
Items for future consideration
Pollack said that the Ad Hoc Committee on Responsibility Based Budgeting (RBB), chaired by James Morrison, professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, is continuing its work and will report to the senate during the spring semester.
The committee was appointed during the April 12 regular meeting of the Faculty Senate to investigate the impact that RBB is having on faculty governance and academic quality at UD.
“The committee is planning to meet with different faculty groups, including newer deans who are not familiar with the working of the old system,” Pollack said. “For that reason, the committee also will be talking to different administrators with the focus on people who understood both the old and new systems.”
Pollack also noted that next semester the Faculty Senate will commence discussions on how to improve the system of promotion and tenure at the University. In recent years, flaws in the current system have caused problems in promotion and tenure decisions. The goal is to create a fair system for faculty and at the same time advance the mission of the University as a national research and educational institution.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held at 4 p.m., Monday, Dec. 3, in 104 Gore Hall.
Article by Jerry Rhodes