Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Committee - 2014

The UNL Faculty Senate convenes once a month September through April at 2:30 p.m. on either City Campus or East Campus. Preceding the Faculty Senate meetings, Vice Chancellor Green and other IANR administrators meet with IANR Faculty Senators over lunch. The Vice Chancellor’s office pays travel mileage for the IANR senators to attend Faculty Senate.

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee meets every Wednesday during the academic year and every other week during the summer. The Extension Representative on the Faculty Senate Committee sends the minutes of these meetings to the Extension Educator and Specialists listservs.

Faculty Senate Mission

The Faculty Senate strives to support, by our actions, strong communication among the Senate, faculty, and administration.

Faculty Senate 2014-15 Goals

1. Conduct a follow-up survey of non-tenure track faculty members and develop a set of best practices and recommendations for departments regarding the rights and responsibilities of these faculty members.

2. Work with the administration to articulate a long term plan to move UNL’s median salaries to the mid-point of our peers.

3. Survey the faculty about their experience(s) and view on distance education. Ensure that faculty compensation is not negatively impacted by the mode by which their courses are transmitted/distributed.

4. Educate the faculty on academic freedom and their rights and responsibilities as faculty members. Develop a summary of these rights which will be available on the Faculty Senate webpage.

5. Partner with administration to improve retention rates, emphasizing tutoring services on campus.

6. Work in conjunction with the Chancellor’s Office to make suggested revisions to the UNL Bylaws. Work on revising the Faculty Senate Bylaws.

7. Try to increase participation from all districts in the Senate by filling available seats.

8. Provide all faculty with a one-page President’s Newsletter to be distributed before each Faculty Senate meeting.

9. Update the duties of Senate officers, Senate committees, and the chairs of Senate committees on the Faculty Senate website.

For more information on the UNL Faculty Senate, please go this website: http://www.unl.edu/facultysenate/welcome.htm

Accomplishments:

The UNL Faculty Senate successfully campaigned in May 2014 to stop a change to the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska that would have impacted campus searches for appointing chancellors, vice chancellors, and deans by reducing our involvement in the selection of these top officials. According to the Bylaws, the elected heads of faculty and student governments are to provide lists of faculty and students for administrators to choose from when creating advisory committees to select candidates for campus administrative posts. The proposal eliminated that provision. Thank you to those of you who contacted your Regent to object to the proposed change. UNL Extension made a difference!

Recommendations:

1. Continue to inform members via email regarding updates on various issues including benefits, budget issues, regulations, resolutions, rules, and related faculty governance issues.

2. Continue to inform members via email who is representing them on Faculty Senate and Faculty Senate Executive Committee and that issues can be brought forth to the Faculty Senate.

3. Continue to contribute $1,100 to Faculty Senate operational funds.

Extension Faculty Senators:

*Current NCEA members.