Month: April 2014

Faculty Dining Room Future Discussed

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At its April 15 meeting, Dave Furhman, senior director of food services administration, reported to the Council on plans to convert the Faculty Dining Room in the Dobbs University Center over the summer into a “campus convenience store.” The dining room currently serves “a small group of repeat customers of about 40 to 45 folks,” Fuhrman said. “It does not provide a great service to the wider community.” He added that the Faculty Dining Room operates at a loss of more than $100,000 per year, a loss that is subsidized by student meal plans. “We have seen a decline in the quality and service in our student meal plan program at the DUC in part because of this and some other subsidies we’ve had to finance over the years,” Furhman said. He cited several factors that have come together to instigate this change, including recommendations from the Committee on Class and Labor to eliminate exclusive spaces on campus; an expressed student desire for more informal interaction with faculty; student feedback requesting more dining variety on campus during evenings and weekends; the need to eliminate the financial loss; and the opportunity to test a new retail option as a new student center is being designed. The new store will provide high quality deli sandwiches as well as some speciality products, such as gluten-free, halal, and kosher foods.

 

Council Chair Reflects on Year’s Work

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Outgoing Faculty Council chair Deb Houry took several minutes of the final meeting of 2013-14 to review the Council’s work throughout the year. Among the highlights:

  • In early fall, the Council conducted a faculty governance survey based on the AAUP  “Indicators of Sound Governance” instrument.
  • The Faculty Handbook was thoroughly reviewed and revised with an approval vote from the Council in September.
  •  In January, following a review of the conflict of commitment policy outlined in the Emory Faculty Handbook, the Council voted to revise the policy.
  •  The Council also reviewed and approved an update to its own bylaws, as well as accepting a proposal from the School of Nursing to change their representation  to the Council to allow any member of the faculty (and not only a tenured faculty member) serve as a representative.

Campuswide Faculty Grievance & Hearing Processes Considered

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James Hughes, chair of the Faculty Hearing Committee, reported on his review of grievance processes across the university, from school-based processes and policies to the purview of the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs. While a 2012 committee recommended the appointment of a university ombudsperson to mediate grievances that “fall through the cracks,” Hughes concluded that the mechanisms on campus relating specifically to termination, suspension, or transfer of employment are “fairly robust.” The problem, he added, is the challenge of locating this information: “We haven’t done a good job of letting folks know about school-level grievance policies,” as well as existing resources to manage minor conflicts. The Faculty Council website offers a list of appointment, tenure, and promotion appeals and other grievance mechanisms at the school level, though the list may not be complete.

 

College Considers New Governance Structure

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At its March 18 meeting, the Faculty Council heard a report on two committees addressing faculty governance currently in the college. In the wake of the restructuring of several departments and programs announced in fall 2012, the College formed one committee to review the processes leading to those decisions (Process Review Committee) and a second to review faculty governance structures in the college (Shared Governance Committee). “There were three basic findings” in the report of the first committee, Kristin Wendland said: “One is that the bylaws in the college are unclear and don’t have specific guidelines about how to change or reorganize departments and programs. The second was that the deans did not violate any of the college bylaws in their decisions to reduce the departments and reallocate funds. The third was that there were problems in communication between the college administration and the affected departments.” This committee recommended a reexamination of the college bylaws, a strengthened appeals process, improved communications, and an updated vision of the liberal arts mission. Two key recommendations that came out of the Shared Governance Committee, according to Wendland: “To change the bylaws to provide for a representative college senate, and to endorse a clear set of guidelines for the ongoing evaluations of programs and departments.”

 

Seeking Feedback on Emory Barnes & Noble Bookstore

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In March, Bruce Covey, senior director of campus life technology and bookstore relations, along with Paul Byrnes, director of business services, solicited the Council’s feedback on Emory’s bookstores. Covey reported that the bookstore space in the Oxford Road building has gotten “rave reviews,” especially in student surveys. Sales are up in every area but textbooks, but, he added, “we haven’t received a textbook complaint from a faculty member that has reached my office in more than three years,” compared to more than 10 complaints per year in the past.

Covey continued, “The challenge is that we are in an industry that is changing rapidly. As we continue to enhance our relationship with Barnes & Noble, we also need to look 5 to 10 years into the future to think about how the bookstore will affect our community.” As students continue to purchase textbooks from other sources, he added, the bookstores are repositioning themselves by extending their range of services. Currently, the bookstore offers campus office delivery on purchases, faculty/staff discounts, and a computer repair center.

Graduate School Executive Council Chair Reports on Priorities

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As the newly appointed chair of the Executive Council of the Laney Graduate School, Professor of Environmental Health Barry Ryan presented a report on the current status of the graduate school. In his overview, he mentioned that the school presently enrolls some 1900 students, that it offers more than 40 degree programs, and that its faculty includes nearly 1000 scholars and researchers from Emory schools as well as partner institutions elsewhere. He went on to identify four key priorities for the school: academic identity, diversity and inclusion, professionalization, and internationalization. He also noted the major competitive pressures on the school, including areas in which the school must remain competitive (stipends, student health insurance, career preparation, recruitment, and student services) as well as national issues, such as funding and the need for a renewed national agenda that shows the value of graduate training.