The Faculty Senate met on Feb. 9. Below are bullets from the meeting. The complete minutes of the February meeting and previous meetings can be found at:
www.uthscsa.edu/facultygovt/.
University Topics: Steven Wartman, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for academic and health affairs, School of Medicine.
● Dr. Wartman offered some insights and observations based on his experiences at the Health Science Center. He will be departing at the end of April to begin his new position as President of the Association for Academic Health Centers in Washington, DC.
Chair’s Update: Keith Krolick, Ph.D., chair, Faculty Senate
● Report on Faculty Compensation Committee: As requested by the U.T. System, President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., has created and charged a committee to discuss relationships between rank and tenure, and base salary, and the identification of that portion of a tenured faculty member’s salary that is considered “not-at-risk” (i.e., base salary). The committee is composed of a diverse group, including members of both the faculty and the administration. Discussions are at very early stages of development.
● Ombudsman recommendation: A recommendation has been forwarded to Dr. Cigarroa that there is a need for an Office of the Ombudsman to be created on our campus.
● Institutional COC: The Senate was asked to encourage their colleagues to participate in the University committee system since it represents not only a way to demonstrate service, but also as another opportunity to voice their views regarding issues and activities that affect them. The deadline for submitting the "interest questionnaire," found online at https://secure.uthscsa.edu/coc/index-fac.asp, is Feb. 25th.
● Senate Committee Reports: Future reports from the standing committees of the Senate are scheduled as follows: February, Academic Affairs; March, Faculty Status/Welfare; April, Scholarly Activities/Service; May, Faculty Governance.
● Senate Bylaws review: The latest draft of the revised Senate Bylaws has been distributed to the full Senate. Following Senate review and further revision, the Bylaws are to be distributed to the Faculty-at-Large. The goal is to seek re-ratification of the bylaws by the end of the spring semester.
● Amendment to minutes of January Senate meeting: With regard to comments made by Bonnie Blankmeyer, Ph.D., concerning Health Science Center grievance policies and reported in the minutes of the Senate’s January meeting, an amendment to those minutes was approved by the Senate at the February meeting indicating that policies may need to be revised in the future to comply with new policies in Regent’s Rules.
Staff Advisory Council (SAC): Diana Barrera, representative, University of Texas Employee Advisory Council and Health Science Center Staff Advisory Council
● Barrera presented an overview of her activities associated with the UT System Employees Advisory Council(
www.utsystem.edu/eac/), and with the current development of the Health Science Center Staff Advisory Council. Dr. Krolick encouraged the building of bridges between the SAC and the Faculty Senate.
Student Government Association (SGA): D. Craig Seager, DSII, President, UTHSCSA Student Government Association
● Seager presented an overview of activities associated with the UTHSCSA Student Government Association. Dr. Krolick invited increased communication between the SGA and the Faculty Senate.
(
studentservices.uthscsa.edu/StudentLife/StudentGov.html)
UT System Student Advisory Council; UT Serve Program: Benjamin DuBois, MSIII, Representative, UT Student Advisory Council
● DuBois presented an overview of activities associated with the UT System Student Advisory Council (http://www.utsystem.edu/sac/), and with one current project of the Student Advisory Council, "United To Serve". UTServe is a system-wide volunteer initiative involving UT System students, administrators, faculty and staff who hope to engage and mobilize thousands of volunteers in the more than 15 communities where campuses are located. This volunteer effort is currently highlighted on the OneStar Foundation website. The OneStar Foundation is the vision of Governor Rick Perry and serves as a conduit for Texas volunteerism. Individuals interested in participating in these efforts are encouraged to contacted DuBois. The local UT Serve website can be found at:
www.uthscsa.edu/univrel/utserve/Senate Committee Report: Dr. Deborah Baruch-Bienen, chair, Academic Affairs Committee
● The Academic Affairs Committee has reviewed and supports the proposed Academic Integrity Policy which is being developed in the office of Teresa Chiang, E.D.D., associate vice president for academic affairs. The committee will be holding another meeting this spring.
