November 20, 2007
Faculty Governance News
Vol. 2.6
November 20, 2007
From the UNC-Chapel Hill Office of Faculty Governance
200-204 Carr Building
CB# 9170
UNC Campus
Contact: Anne M. Whisnant (anne_whisnant@unc.edu)
Faculty Council considers priority registration proposal, will vote December 7th
A proposal to create a formal system of priority course registration was introduced at the November 9th Faculty Council meeting and will be taken up for a vote at the December 7th Council meeting. To read the proposal and several additional documents providing contextualizing information, you can visit the special Priority Registration page on the Faculty Governance website. If you’d like to give feedback on the proposal to your Faculty Council representatives, you can find all of them listed here.
University Relations office seeks faculty input about the University’s internal communications mechanisms
The University Relations office is currently surveying faculty (and staff) about how they use print, online and e-mail sources for the information about the University they need and want. This feedback will inform the office’s overall approach to internal communications and will be especially helpful as the staff there think through a redesign of the University Gazette and information for the Gazette’s Web site.
The survey can be acquired by emailing: URSurvey@unc.edu. Please take a few minutes to give your input. When the survey results are compiled, a series of focus groups will seek more in-depth feedback and insight into faculty communication needs. If you have any questions about this effort, please contact Patty Courtright, Gazette editor and Director of Internal Communications, at 919-962-7124 or patty_courtright@unc.edu.
Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF) seeks faculty input about the “ten-semester cap” for graduate students
The Graduate and Professional Student Federal (GPSF) is collecting data about the impact of the “ten-semester cap” on tuition remission and its effects on campus. The “ten-semester cap” refers to the following University policy as outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook:
“No student is eligible for more than a total of ten (10) semesters of tuition remission and/or in-state tuition awards during their enrollment at the University, regardless of rate of remission or award. Students who complete a degree in one academic program and then enroll in another academic program or change academic programs without receiving a degree are only eligible for the maximum semesters of eligibility as noted above during their enrollment at the University.”
This project is a continuation of the research efforts of the Tuition Remission Committee, a select committee of the GPSF. Last year’s survey of 452 graduate and professional students indicated that a significant percentage of doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences face a serious financial crisis at the most important stage of their education and professional development.
Faculty members who would like to give input on this policy may access the survey at: http://tinyurl.com/2btfnp.
The survey will take about ten minutes to complete. Your input will enable the GPSF to develop appropriate policy recommendations to the Faculty Council, the Graduate School, the Board of Trustees, and the UNC Board of Governors. Please direct all queries and comments regarding this survey to the GPSF Tuition Remission Committee at gpsf.trc@gmail.com.
UNC AAUP chapter to meet November 30th
The next meeting of the UNC chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is scheduled for 3-5 pm, Friday, Nov. 30, in the FedEx Global Education Center, Room 2008. Minutes of the previous meeting are available on the web at http://aaup-uncch.org/.
Association of Women Faculty and Professionals to hold leadership seminar November 30th
The Association of Women Faculty and Professionals (AWFP) at UNC will hold a workshop on “Leadership Challenges: Styles and Strategies for Productive Interactions” on Friday, November 30, 2008 from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. in Carroll Hall Room 143. The workshop will be led by Dr. Patricia Parker (associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies who specializes in organizational leadership and communication) and Dr. Jane Thrailkill (associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of English and Comparative Literature).
To learn more about joining AWFP, visit their website here.
Nominees sought for 2009 Honorary Degrees; deadline is January 18th, 2008
Now is the time to nominate people who might receive an honorary degree at commencement in the spring of 2009. The award of an honorary degree recognizes people who have rendered outstanding service to humanity in the world arena, in our nation, in the American South, or our State of North Carolina; people who have made outstanding contributions to knowledge in the world of scholarship; people whose talent and creativity in the world of the arts has enriched our lives; and people whose devotion to and support of our University merits our highest recognition.
Full information on how to make a nomination, along with a list of past recipients, is here.
“Focus the Nation” invites faculty participation in January 31, 2008 teach-in on global warming
Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America is a national initiative to get a thousand colleges, universities, businesses, and other civic organizations in the United States to collaboratively engage in a nationwide, interdisciplinary discussion about solutions to global warming. As one of over 1,000 institutions across the nation signed on to this important initiative, UNC has made the pledge to host a Focus the Nation Day on January 31st, 2008. This initiative has been endorsed by Chancellor Moeser and Student Body President Eve Carson. The day will include many discussion forums to brainstorm new solutions and approaches to Global Warming, as well as performances, political debates, and most importantly– a national teach-in on Global Warming.
The goal is to have every professor, teacher, and teaching assistant in every classroom on January 31st, 2008 (or for MWF classes on Jan 30th or Feb. 1st) spend between 5-10 minutes, if not the entire class time, talking about Global Climate Change and its effect on the topic of each respective class. The idea is to have an interdisciplinary discussion on the effects of Global Climate Change to see how our climate and its warming is changing our world – from health care and peace war & defense, to business and economics.
To help with this teach-in, the campus coordinators for the program have engaged seven interns through UNC’s Institute for the Environment that can assist in planning your curriculum for the day; either by using your present curriculum to see how Climate Change fits in or by creating one from the base up.
If you would like to sign on to participate in the national teach-in, please contact Anslei Foster at afoster@unc.edu.
Have you used the Anne Queen Faculty Commons at the Campus Y? If so, we’d like to know.
For several months now, the Anne Queen Faculty Commons in the renovated Campus Y has been open to provide a place on central campus for informal gatherings, meetings, and programs that encourage faculty exchange. Have you used the room? Met a colleague there for coffee? Convened a lunch group? Reserved the space for a formal event? If so, we’d like to know about how the room has worked for you. Please send your feedback to Anne Whisnant in the Faculty Governance office at anne_whisnant@unc.edu.
For more information on any of these items, please contact Anne Whisnant in the Office of Faculty Governance.
