In December the Senate was able to postpone the threat to shared governance from Chuck Triplett and Doug Park’s policy power-grab. That policy will come up again at the Trustees meeting in March.
Meanwhile John Bonine (Law)has set up an independent process for making sense of the existing policies and determining which have academic import, without relying on Triplett’s “trust me” plan. The Senate will take action today on cleaning up a host of important policies.
Senate Meeting Agenda – January 14, 2015
115 Lawrence, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
3:00 pm 1. Call to Order
1.1 Structure of Senate Meetings
1.2 2015 Senate Agenda: Overview
3:05 pm 2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 December 3, 2014
3:10 pm 3. State of the University
3.1 Remarks by Interim President Coltrane with questions:
Sexual Assault Prevention: Will develop “comprehensive plan”, based on 3 reports: Gott Review Panel, SL, Senate Task Force. Lots of overlap. Already implementing: 2 campus climate surveys, admin advisory group on these “includes Senate members”. Cooperate with EPD, new staff, self defense classes, student conduct code.
Shoutout to Bonine for his work on policies and policy on policies. “Collaborative process with Senate and Susan Gary, etc.” “Everybody is volunteering to help with this,” except of course AVP Chuck Triplett who’s pretty well paid. Public meetings, etc, assuming BOT agrees.
Launched search for new GC, will post info on President’s website. Search committee has been appointed… Doug Park has done an incredible job… Coltrane then describes qualifications of the GC’s latest 4 hires – info which Park and Geller have refused to hand over in response to PR requests. Latest hire is Greg Ashford.
Strategic Plan: Check Provost’s site: http://provost.uoregon.edu/strategicplan
Q: If there was another situation such as the March 8-9 basketball rape allegations, would you do anything differently than Gottfredson did? A: Not really.
Q: Will you share new financial information about athletics ESPN revenues with the Senate? A: Maybe.
3:30 pm 4. New Business
4.1 Motion (Policy Adoption): Repeal and Adoption of Faculty Records Rules; Senate Executive Committee
Bonine’s on this. Very thorough. Check out his spreadsheet: http://senate.uoregon.edu/sites/senate.uoregon.edu/files/Policies%20of%20Senate%20interest%20-%20tabbed%2C%20ver.%201.1%20Jan%2012%202015.xls
This one’s a keeper, I hope:
BOARD STATEMENT (1933)
(Made inescapable and inviolable policy of the Oregon State Board of Higher
Education, Meeting #40, October 16, 1933, pp. 72-73.)
First. The people of Oregon have dowered the Board with plenary powers in the field of higher
education and the Board must honorably and courageously execute this sacred and important
trust.
Second. In the exercise of that trust, the Board has selected a Chancellor who is amenable at all
times to the Board, but who is the Board’s chosen and trusted chief administrative officer. The
Board has the right to ask, and will demand, full and unequivocal loyalty from those who, in
turn, serve under the Chancellor’s direction. This does not involve the loss of cherished
academic freedom; it does not limit or abolish open and fair discussion, but it means the
elimination of subversive tactics.
The educational institutions should have their faculty councils. Moreover and better still, there
should be interinstitutional councils, in which the Chancellor’s presence and participation
should promote understanding and mutual confidence. The scope and content of their
proceedings should be constructive and helpful and should leave no room for the type of
devious undermining and sapping that endangers the successful operation of the sane and
wholesome System created by the will of the people of this state.
Intelligent and fair-minded men will recognize that this does not involve subserviency to the
personality or identity of any specific Chancellor who may hold official tenure, but it does mean
that the Board regards the subtle negation of his efforts, and attempts to weaken, minimize,
and impair his efficiency, as inevitably tending to defeat achievement of the purposes of the
Board that is responsible for him, and to which he is responsible. Unreasoning and
irreconcilable feudists should, accordingly, be relegated to theatres of combat beyond the walls
of the institutions whose permanency and growth is a matter of such vital concern to the
Commonwealth.
4.2 Motion (Policy Adoption): Repeal and Adoption of Student Records Rules; Senate Executive Committee
4.3 Motion (Resolution): UO Foundation Fossil Fuel Divestment; Jane Cramer (Senator, Political Science); John Davidson (Senator, Political Science); Helena Schlegel (Senator; Undergraduate, Spanish)
4.4 Motion (Legislation): Change of Membership for the Graduate Council; Joe Lowndes, Professor (Political Science) & Graduate Council Chair
4.5 Motion (Resolution): Senate Support to Uphold and Implement a Confidential Ombuds Program and Office; Committee on Respectful Workplace (Carla McNelly, Chair), UO Ombuds Search Committee (Carol Silverman, Chair), UO Senate Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support (Carol Stabile and Randy Sullivan, Co-Chairs), Officer of Administration Council (Teri Rowe, President)
4:55 pm 5. Open Discussion
4:55 pm 6. Reports
4:55 pm 7. Notice(s) of Motion
4:55 pm 8. Other Business
5:00 pm 9. Adjournment
kudos again, for faculty participation in governance in general and for Jon Bonine, in particular. JH and UO BOT need to demonstrate that they both understand that working proactively with the senate and governance structure IS the most ‘efficient’ way to get things done right.