Category: General News

A Provost’s Parting Thoughts

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Earl Lewis addressed the Faculty Council for the final time as Emory provost, before his departure to become president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Lewis identified several “macro-trends” he thinks will rise in significance in higher education in the next ten to thirty years—the durability of tenure and a shift in the profile of types of faculty appointments, the development of diverse leadership, dependence on philanthropy, and the articulation of the university’s value proposition to the broader community. “The overall ways we do business have been called into question,” he said. “I predict that the most selective, elite institutions in the United States may be changed in some fundamental way, but they will survive. What’s going to happen, however, is a whole tier of liberal arts colleges will disappear, and we probably will see mergers of some state institutions as a result of trying to find new ways of delivering education that is ‘affordable.’”

 

Welcome from the Chair

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Welcome to the 2012–13 academic year. This year’s Faculty Council will focus on three themes. The first is a look at Emory as a private research university, and the Council is sponsoring a series of guest speakers who will help us explore this topic. The first speaker is Ron Ehrenberg of Cornell on October 23, and the second, on December 4, is Robert Zemsky from Penn. Look for more details about this series to be announced soon. The second focus is strengthening faculty governance, and to that end the Council has filled its appointed seats with faculty who are governance leaders or respected faculty leaders in their schools. Additionally, the Council has instituted a Policy Committee that will convene for in-depth discussions on issues of particular complexity and importance to the faculty. The first meeting of this committee is scheduled for early October to deliberate the proposed revisions to the Gray Book. Our third focus is on scholarly integrity. As a faculty, we need to explore ways of helping maintain the integrity of this institution. I welcome your ideas on these matters. Please contact me with your thoughts at gcrouse [at] emory [dot] edu.

Faculty Council committees in 2012–13

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At its September meeting, the Faculty Council heard news from each of the standing committees, including the Budget Committee, currently vacant; the Distinguished Fac- ulty Lecture committee, chaired by Debra Houry; the Faculty Counselors Committee, chaired by Erica Brownfield and consisting of faculty who sit on committees of the Board of Trustees; the Faculty Hearing Committee, chaired by James Hughes; the Faculty Life Course Committee, chaired by Michael Kutner; the Learning Outcomes Committee, chaired by Hiram Maxim; and the University Research Committee, chaired by Doug Bowman. Bowman also mentioned that the URC is now administratively housed in the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence and will be exploring avenues for poten- tial collaboration with the CFDE. The Council also voted to eliminate the Carter Center Liaison Committee, which had been inactive for many years.

 

Budget Report for 2012-13

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Provost Earl Lewis and Charlotte Johnson, Senior Vice Provost for Administration, presented a review of the budget process in preparation for fiscal year 2012-13 at the April 17 Faculty Council meeting. “Over the last few years, the academy has witnessed a major structural realignment, both at the macroeconomic level worldwide but also what that means for higher education,” Lewis said, noting the steady decline of net recovery income from tuition as well as the decline of indirect cost recovery from external grants, especially in the health sciences. As a result, the first budget model reviewed showed a $17.1 million operating deficit in all school activities. After working with deans on cost-saving measures, however, that projected deficit was reduced to $3.2 million (on a $741 million revenue budget). “Seven of our schools are now balanced in the model or will be contributing to their operating reserves,” Johnson said. While public health and nursing will be contributing to reserves, the two largest academic units, the college and the medical school, will have operating deficits. The budget will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval on June 8.

 

Gray Book Feedback, Ombuds Office Endorsed

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Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Claire Sterk offered an update and clarification on the proposed revisions to the “Gray Book,” the statement of principles governing faculty relationships with the university, a document “owned by the Board of Trustees,” as she explained. Council members shared feedback gathered from their respective constituen- cies, which will be shared with the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees. Provost Lewis promised to return to the Council to “offer an accounting” of the Board of Trustees’ further deliberations.

The Council also voted unanimously to endorse the recommendations of the ad hoc committee on faculty grievance policies and procedures. The committee recommended an ombuds office to help resolve conflicts that do not involve illegality. It would “provide a listening ear for faculty . . . and also serve as a resource to train university personnel in conflict resolution and about university venues for resolution of various sorts of faculty workplace problems.” The endorsement has been presented to the president and provost for further consideration.

 

Gray Book Undergoing Updates

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Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Claire Sterk spoke with the Council about the process of updating the “Gray Book,” the statement of principles governing faculty relationships with the university. “Except for some minor revisions, we have not substantially revised our Gray Book since 1998,” Sterk said, noting that most of the proposed changes would bring the book into alignment with current practice. “Moving forward the Gray Book will also become a ‘living’ or virtual document,” she added. Aside from minor editorial updates, the proposed changes aim to

  • clarify questions of how limited faculty appointments are made,
  • simplify the plethora of titles currently used around the university for non-ten- ure track faculty, and
  • clarify the meanings of “retirement” and the “emeritus” title.

Sterk requested a Council endorsement of the proposed changes, after which they would be reviewed by the Council of Deans, President’s Cabinet, and Board of Trustees. The Council will consider an endorsement in April.

 

Around Campus: College and Graduate School

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The challenges of securing space for academic programs around the university, the need for sabbaticals for non-tenure-track faculty, and increases in class enrollments were dis- cussed during the February meeting, as part of the practice of asking two council members to report on discussion topics from their schools. Emory College professor Holly York spoke about those issues, prompting Provost Earl Lewis to note that an effort is underway to clarify the use and associated costs of campus spaces. York and Cheryl Crowley also noted a recent rise in the number of students in classes for whom English is not their first language. The ESL program staff will present to the Council in September 2012. Laney Graduate School dean Lisa Tedesco also reported, noting that funding remains a priority action area, and that Emory must sustain competitive financial packages for graduate students and help students become more competitive for tightening job markets.

 

Changes coming to COI rules

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At its January 17 meeting, the Faculty Council heard a report from David Wynes, Vice President for Research Administration, on major changes forthcoming from the government to conflict of interest rules governing individual faculty receiving federal research funding. The new regulations will take effect with grants awarded in August 2012. Among the changes:

  • The threshold for review of interest in outside activity is now $5,000 in combined income and equity;
  • All outside activities related to professional appointment (not just research) must be reported;
  • All travel directly reimbursed to an individual and not funded by an institution of higher education or the government must be reported within 30 days to the institution;
  • The institution is required to either post on a website the names of all individual faculty with a financial conflict of interest or alternatively to provide the information to anyone who requests it within five days;
  • Every faculty member who receives external support must undergo an initial and ongo- ing training every four years in conflict of interest policies.

 

Improved Faculty Access to Emory Clinic

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At the January meeting, Emory Clinic direc- tor Doug Morris presented an overview of options available to Emory faculty for improved access to Emory Healthcare. He first described Emory Employee Health and Wellness and Occupational Medicine, located in the basement of Emory Hospital, room HB53. It is chiefly responsible for occupa- tional injury management but also serves as an employee clinic for minor ailments. Hours are Mon through Fri, by appointment only, but a nurse practitioner is on call 24 hours for work-related injuries at 686-8587. Morris also discussed the Emory Employee Line (8-EVIP), which provides appointment access within 14 days, and the new Patient- Centered Primary Care program, a pilot for a new model of coordinated care between providers, specialists, and other settings such as the ER. Morris urged faculty to enroll in this new program by contacting 8-2050 or visiting emoryhealthcare.org/pilot.

Around Campus: Law School & Emeritus College

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The inherent tensions between the changing economic environment of the practice of law and the aims of a legal education were discussed at length during the January meeting, in keeping with the new practice of asking one or two council members per meeting to report on discussion topics from his or her school. Law professor Barbara Woodhouse spoke about that issue, as well as desires to increase diversity among law school faculty and students, expand university support for cross-departmental collaborations, and iden- tify the school’s areas of strength and distinction. Emerita professor Yung-Fong Sung also presented an overview of Emeritus College concerns, emphasizing its goals of doubling membership by next year, developing a research fellowship, expanding its mentoring programs, creating guided excursions and tours of other institutions’ emeritus colleges, and hosting an annual meeting of such organizations in the near future.