The Faculty Council invites all to the sixteenth Distinguish Faculty Lecture, to be delivered by Professor of Nursing Ora Lea Strickland on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, at 4:00 in the Winship Ballroom of the Dobbs University Center. Professor Strickland will speak on “The Women’s Health Initiative: Scientific and Sociopolitical Lessons Learned.” Prior to the implementation of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), there had been very few large prospective trials examining the benefits and risks of therapeutic interventions in diseases with significant morbidity and mortality that are common to women. This exclusion was premised on an assumption that results obtained in men could be extrapolated to women. Several social, political, and medical research issues contributed to the decision to conduct the WHI, which included 168,000 women from 40 sites around the United States. Although the WHI resulted in many important results related to women’s health, it also resulted in many lessons learned for its teams of investigators and for the care of women. This presentation will address those issues and lessons. A reception will follow the lecture.
Category: General News
Exploring New Revenue Streams
The Faculty Council heard a brief presentation in January from University General Counsel Steve Sencer and Sarah O’Brien, a consultant brought in for three months to identify, evaluate, and implement new opportunities to generate revenue for the uni- versity. A Goizueta Executive MBA alumna, O’Brien and her team are focusing on two general areas: 1) non-degree professional education and certificate programs and 2) digital learning initiatives. O’Brien is serving as a resource to schools looking for help identifying and prioritizing revenue-generating ideas, as well as with implementation. O’Brien said she is already working closely with the Candler School of Theology, the Laney Graduate School, Emory College, and the Center for Lifelong Learning. “We want to generate revenue, but it has to intersect with the [University’s] mission,” O’Brien said. “We want to make sure we move forward the educational mission but at the same time have an opportunity to improve the recognition of Emory globally.”
Possible Federal Changes to Individual Conflict of Interest Rules
In a presentation to the Faculty Council on the work of his office, Vice President for Research Administration David Wynes described pending federal regulation that would dramatically overhaul the federal conflict of interest regulations for individual faculty. Among the major proposed changes:
- The threshold for review for conflict of interest in outside activity would be reduced from $10,000 in stock or income to $5,000 combined;
- Threshold for review for interest in a private company set at zero equity;
- Requirement that the university post a website listing all faculty with conflicts of interest, even if the conflict is managed; and
- Requirement that every faculty member take continuing education in conflict of interest.
Wynes said a final ruling on the proposed changes was expected in late winter 2011.
Emory Dual Career Network Launched
The Faculty Council heard a brief presentation in November from Jennifer Jeffries-Gal- lagher, manager of the newly created Emory Dual Career Network. This new endeavor, launched as a partnership between Human Resources and the Office of the Provost, springs out of the initiative of the Work/Life Committee concerning dual couple recruit- ment recommendations. “We benchmarked with our peer organizations to see how they handled dual career recruitment issues,” Gallagher said, “and we found that almost all of them had dedicated staff or offices for this process.” The goal of the network is to provide job search information and assistance—both within and beyond Emory—free of charge to dual career spouses or partners beginning early in the recruitment process and extending for a year or until the individual is employed. In-depth information about the network, including eligibility and the process, is available at http://www.hr.emory.edu/emorydualcareernetwork/.
Four Areas of Focus for Council in ‘10-’11
During the opening meeting of the Faculty Council for 2010-11, on September 21, president Steve Everett identified four areas of focus for the Council this year:
- Faculty involvement in teaching and research (during the year, the Council will hear reports from various officials in research administration on specific issues and policies);
- Faculty development (assisting colleagues in career development and putting some focused support in place);
- Faculty governance at large (evolving out of discussions last spring on the ways faculty governance is structured in the university); and
- Grievance policies and processes (see above post for more details).
Throughout the year, the Council will be taking a focused look at these four areas of development. “I’m hoping that we can find some progress in these areas,” Everett said.
From Your Faculty Council
Welcome to the first post of Council Concerns, an electronic-only update of activities and issues before the Emory University Faculty Council. The Faculty Council comprises elected and appointed members representing all schools of the university. The Council is the main governance body for issues around academic affairs and faculty concerns. It provides faculty comment and perspective to the administrators responsible for a broad range of work in the university. Several committees of the Council address particular matters of interest to the faculty.
Please click here to view the .pdf version of Council Concerns. This new regular briefing document—which will circulate shortly after the monthly meetings of the Council—aims to keep Emory faculty members informed of issues and concerns before the Council and to encourage feedback to the Council from the faculty it represents. Please direct your questions and comments to a Council representative from your school (roster listed in right hand column).