Board of Trustees Remarks

Marianna Walker, Chair of the Faculty

April 17, 2010

Greetings - On behalf of the faculty and Faculty Senate!

We have accomplished a lot this year. Can’t imagine a busier or more successful year.

- Success? Why? –

Foremost - Collaboration and support from the Chancellor, Provost, and VC’s (Academic Council) – Thanks for all your support this year.

- Engagement and work of the faculty

- Structure and productivity of the faculty senate, university academic and appellate committees, faculty advisors, faculty manual steering committee, and other university committees where faculty, administrators, students, and staff collaborate for the university as a whole.

- Productive working relationships between faculty and key administrators. I particularly want to thank Lori Lee, Donna Payne, Austin Bunch, Philip Rogers, Linda Ingalls and Fiona Baxter for all their work with us on the seemingly hundreds of committees working on the “issues” including but certainly not least the University Policy Manual Committee, Strategic Planning and Retention and Graduation task force and other numerous committees.

- Open and honest dialogue between faculty and administrators, where status quo is often challenged, but shared governance is upheld.

- Open communication between the faculty officers and the SGA officers.

- Support from the Board of Trustees and recognition of hard work by the faculty senate, especially in the review/revision of the faculty manual.

Thanks to all in this room, including administrators at all levels, BOT members, deans and directors, my fellow faculty leaders (who are at GA today for a Faculty Assembly meeting: Mark Sprague, Hunt McKinnon and Brenda Killingsworth) and all the faculty who have given many extra hours this year in service, beyond regular hours devoted to teaching, research, and normal service responsibilities.

State of the Faculty Manual - First challenge of the year

- We continue to review/revise, and make recommendations for relocation or removal of items in the faculty manual.

- In March, the faculty senate had a 78 page agenda (primarily relating to the faculty manual) and next week we will continue to review and provide recommendations to major sections in the Faculty Manual.

- The Faculty Governance committee will continue to work over the summer on policies and procedures for tenure and promotion, specifically Appendices C and D, and Parts 12 and 13, in addition to procedures for faculty grievances and hearing/appeals.

- The committees and faculty senate have worked within the schedule outlined on the infamous “matrix” at the beginning of the year.

- I am projecting a December 2010 date for this review/revisions to be completed. Of course, following this initial revision/organization of the manual, it will be formatted in the manner for all policies contained within the University Policy Manual.

- I particularly want to thank the Faculty Manual Steering Committee for their support of this process and for providing advice to the Chancellor relative to the Faculty Manual, following formal recommendations from the senate.

- The collaboration of the members, including Mr. Grezchan, Deans Niswander and Thomas, Former Chairs of the Faculty Bob Morrison, Ken Wilson, Brenda Killingsworth (and Rick Niswander), and other faculty members has been invaluable this year!

State of the Faculty

I could speak all day about the many responsibilities, tasks, initiatives, and roles of the faculty, but I’d like to briefly summarize the “state of the faculty” this year. I believe these adjectives describe the faculty.

Productive – teaching more students (on-campus and distance education), ensuring academic success and quality, developing new coursework and programs, engaging in and mentoring research, obtaining external funding, engaging in different forms of scholarship including engagement, creative activity, and innovation, and participating in service including a role in university shared governance.

Passionate – about all their roles and responsibilities - From revision of the faculty manual, about their lines of research to contribution to the curriculum, to maintaining their role in academia and in the education of undergraduate and graduate students.

Protective - about traditional roles as faculty members and of faculty benefits

Poised and prepared – To take on new initiatives and becoming involved with all university issues including but not limited to strategic planning, retention and graduation challenges, providing formal advice to administrative policies through collaborative exchange, Honors College, the pending SACS reaccreditation.

Positive – Faculty and the faculty senate have been and continue to engage in constructive dialogue, but in a positive and respectful tone with fellow colleagues and administration.

I applaud the over 2000 faculty for their efforts and success this year. There contributions to the myriad of university issues should not go unrecognized.

Thanks again to the Board of Trustees for their support and recognition of all the faculty and faculty senate have done this academic year and for all that you do in support of the greatest university in North Carolina!

We are all here for the same reason. We are one university.

Thank you.