During the October meeting, the Faculty Council heard from each of its standing commit- tees on plans for the 2011-12 year. Gray Crouse announced that the 2012 Distinguished Faculty Lecture would take place on February 6, and an announcement of the presenter is forthcoming. Speaking as chair of the Faculty Counselors to the Board of Trustees, Steve Everett introduced this year’s roster (found at this link). Pat Marsteller, co-chairing the Faculty Life Course Committee with Michael Kutner of public health, described plans to examine various faculty mentoring initiatives around campus. Ken Anderson of the Oxford faculty, chairing the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee, described efforts to review school-based assessment plans and develop best practices that shape the culture of assessment at Emory, in particular examining the university’s strategic plan with a view to learning outcomes. Doug Bowman, chair of the University Research Committee, discussed its small, short-term research grants to Emory faculty, with attention to reaching out to junior faculty, tracking results, and external publicity for funded projects.
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Joint Session with Senate on Student Arrests
On September 20, the Faculty Council and the University Senate held their first meeting of the 2011-12 academic year as a single joint session devoted entirely to the allegations of Students and Workers in Solidarity (SWS) about subcontracted worker mistreatment against the Sodexo food service provider at Emory and the arrest of several students protesting on the Quad on April 25, 2011. Representatives from Sodexo, SWS, and the Emory administra- tion each spoke, followed by a question-and-answer period with the Senate. Two representa- tives from Sodexo, Tom Mackall, Vice President for Employee and Corporate Relations, and Joe Mitchell, the district manager who oversees the Emory contract, spoke in defense of the corporation’s international human rights record and its employee relations on this campus. “We are recognized as an industry leader in creating a great place to work . . . ,” Mackall said. “Our employee retention rates are far above industry norms.”
Next to speak was Eric Bymaster, assistant vice president of finance and operations in Emory’s Campus Life division, detailing a response to SWS’s allegations and demands relating to Sodexo, including clarifications of contract employee hearing mechanisms, transportation access, and due diligence in reviewing contracted vendors’ human rights records. “We are sat- isfied with the overall comprehensive package of benefits that Sodexo provides its employees,” he added. “It’s not only competitive in the market but it’s affordable for their employees.”
Several members of SWS then presented statements. Meghan Jordan, an Emory College student, read from testimonials said to be provided by Sodexo workers on campus. She read from a testimonial she said was from Ms. Clara Greene: “ ‘I earn $10.50 an hour and have worked at Emory for four years. I have nothing to save after bills and health insurance. I don’t know how I’m going to pay for car insurance and get a tag and groceries.’ ” Jordan added, “The crux of this issue is the administration’s tendency to dehumanize the issue and instead present it as an issue of retention rates and other quantitative data.”
University President James Wagner followed with an update on the student arrests, explaining that Emory had offered to seek dismissal of the charges if the charged students would agree to honor university policy on use of facilities and grounds and not to initiate civil proceedings against the university. That offer, he said, still stands.
Following the Q&A, Faculty Council/University Senate Chair Brownfield announced the formation of an ad hoc committee to further examine and make recommendations to the Senate on whether the University should continue its contract with Sodexo.
Welcome from the Chair
Welcome to the 2011-2012 academic year! I am excited to serve as chair of the Faculty Council and welcome your thoughts and suggestions as we continue to refine the Council’s role and effectiveness as the main governance body for issues around academic affairs and faculty concerns. The Council’s Executive Committee has been busy over the summer meeting with various faculty mem- bers and leaders across campus and generat- ing ideas and enthusiasm for this year. We look forward to updates from last year’s rec-
ommendations such as Open Access, faculty grievance policies and procedures, and class and labor at Emory. We also look forward to new discussion topics such as the life cycle of a faculty member, the future of liberal arts and research universities, and topics that will give the Council an opportunity to further engage academic deans across campus. I look forward to serving you this year!
– Erica Brownfield, Chair, Faculty Council, Associate Professor of Medicine
Open Access Policy Support
This spring, the Faculty Council voted to support an open access policy that would enable immediate, unfettered access to Emory faculty authored scholarly articles. The vote re- sulted from almost two years of campuswide conversation requested by the Library Policy Committee (LPC) of the Council and facilitated by the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence with the Office of Intellectual Property Rights. The LPC presented a draft to the Council in October 2010, triggering a series of revisions that resulted in a unanimas vote of support on March 15. This vote expresses the Council’s support for the principle of open access as official University policy. Pending administrative approval of the proposed policy, the library staff will assess Emory’s existing Electronic Theses and Dissertations system for its readiness to be adapted for the new repository, as well as evaluate other open- source products for potential use. A prototype for the project would then be developed for testing.
Examining Grievance Policies Across Campus
In fall 2010, the Council formed an ad-hoc subcommittee to examine faculty grievance policies and procedures in place in the various schools within the university. Noting that the Faculty Hearing Committee, a subcommittee of the Council, examines disputes concerning contract terminations only, the Council began the examination because clear information on resolving disputes that do not fall into that category is not easily or readily available. Professor of Law William Buzbee chairs the subcommittee, which is charged with identifying existing resources and policies at Emory and options for a possible mediation process or ombuds role for faculty. The subcommittee, which aims to report to the Council in mid-fall 2011 with research results and recommendations, includes Cheryl Crowley (Russian and East Asian Languages and Culture), Steve Everett (Music), Sharon Lewis (Psychology, Oxford), and Randy Strahan (Political Science).
Faculty Voice in Governance Structures
In 2010-2011, the Council worked to improve faculty representation in administrative and governance structures around campus. As a result, Council representatives were appointed to the Business Process Improvement Governing Board, an effort to improve campuswide administrative efficiency and productivity led by the Office of the Associate Vice President for Administration. Also, the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee, initially appointed by Provost Earl Lewis to provide faculty oversight of the university’s assessment plans, became an open-ended ad-hoc committee of the Council. And finally, a new Faculty Advisory Committee was formed to offer guidance for the executive vice president for finance and administration on potential changes in practice and policy and in areas of focus that support faculty work, and to serve as a communication channel between the finance division and the faculty. This committee will include at least three members of the current Council.
Faculty Feedback for Finance EVP
Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Mike Mandl reported to the Faculty Council at its April 19 meeting that a new Faculty Advisory Committee is currently being formed to provide feedback for his areas of responsibility. This new advisory body results from yearlong conversations between Mandl and the Executive Commitee of the Council. The committee, which will consist of eight to ten faculty members with at least three from the current Council, will offer guidance on potential changes in practice and policy, advise on priority areas of focus that support faculty in their work, and provide channels of communication between the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and the larger Emory faculty community. Particular areas of consideration include human resources, finance, campus services, master plan, internal audit, investment management, and two areas of shared responsibility with the provost and EVP for health affairs, information technology and research administration. The committee, now being populated, will meet four to six times per year beginning next year.
President Serves on University-Government Panel Examining Research Funding Relationships
At the April meeting, President James Wagner discussed his service on an American Association of Universities committee to advise a National Research Council study on university-government research partnerships. “We were asked for a list of suggestions that are budget neutral but that would improve our access to funds or our ability to carry out the national science agenda,” he said. “We’ve identified a handful of policies that have accreted over the years that cost us money and do no one any good.” For example, he said, there may now be some traction for eliminating NIH effort reporting while allowing universities to retain related funds. Also being reconsidered, however, is the calculation of indirect costs, so that the percentage provided in federal research support to cover facilities and administrative costs would be uniformly applied to all universities, Wagner explained. “We have a negotiated rate in the neighborhood of 55 percent,” but with uniform application, that rate could be significantly adjusted, affecting university research support. President Wagner added that he would like to identify a faculty group to “become experts” on this issue.
Other Reports: URC, Emory Healthcare and St. Joseph’s
From other reports the Faculty Council heard at its April meeting:
- Professor of Marketing Doug Bowman reported that the University Research Committee had allocated more than $1 million in short-term grants to 38 faculty in 2010-11.
- Wright Caughman, executive vice president of health affairs and CEO of the Woodruff Health Science Center, updated the Council on the agreement between Emory Healthcare and St. Joseph’s Hospital to form a joint operating company. “We put forth a partnership in which Emory Healthcare would have controlling interest . . . but it would be a partnership to operate St. Joseph’s as a part of Emory Healthcare,” Caughman said. “There will be lots of planning over the summer, but the contractual relationship will not be finalized until after Labor Day.” Caughman also noted that the “core assets” and strategic direction of Emory Healthcare and the Woodruff Health Sciences Center would not be compromised, but “only enhanced in terms of education and translational research.”
Council Supports Open Access
At its March 15 meeting, the Faculty Council unanimously voted to adopt a statement in support of a Universitywide open access policy to enable immediate, unfettered access to Emory faculty authored scholarly articles. This vote expresses the Council’s support for the principle of open access as official University policy. It calls for the creation of a digital repository for Emory scholarship, including an “opt-in” approach to faculty participation and a commit- ment to minimizing administrative burden by “harvesting” Emory faculty work already available in existing repositories. Pending administrative approval of the principle expressed in
the statement, according to Rick Luce, director of the university libraries, library staff would require some four months to review Emory’s existing Electronic Theses and Dissertations system and assess how it might be adapted for the new repository, as well as evaluate other open-source products that might also be used. A prototype for the project would then be developed for testing.
This vote represents almost two years of Universitywide conversation requested by the Library Policy Committee and facilitated by the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence in collaboration with the Office of Intellectual Property Rights
Click here to read all Council Concerns reports on Open Access Scholarship.