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Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate » December 2008 Recap

Faculty Senate Recap

To: OSU Faculty
From: Lynda Ciuffetti, Faculty Senate President
Re: Faculty Senate Communications

During the fall faculty forums participants indicated a desire to be better informed of Faculty Senate actions and discussions. In an effort to better communicate with faculty, a message will be sent monthly containing a link to a recap of the previous Faculty Senate meeting and possibly tentative agenda items for the upcoming meeting.

Faculty Senate meetings are open to the public and occur on the second Thursday of the month, October through June, from 3-5 PM. Please check the monthly agenda, which can be accessed online at http://oregonstate.edu/senate/agen/, to determine the location. 

Every faculty member is represented on the Faculty Senate by an elected Senator, with whom we encourage you to communicate. To determine your representative(s), you may access the Senate membership at http://oregonstate.edu/senate/membership/.  

You may contact Vickie Nunnemaker if you have questions related to the Faculty Senate.


December 2008 Faculty Senate Meeting Recap

ACTION ITEMS
Faculty Senate Election Results – President-Elect, Leslie Davis Burns; Interinstitutional Faculty Senate Senator, B. Starr McMullen; and Executive Committee – Kate Halischak, Joe Hoff, and Kim McAlexander.

REPORTS
Strategic Plan Revisions
Provost Sabah Randhawa presented draft revisions to the 2004 OSU Strategic Plan that are intended to refine, focus and define strategies for the next five years. Several forums will be scheduled to discuss the proposed revisions and gather input. Provost Randhawa will accept input through February 12; the draft can be accessed online at http://oregonstate.edu/senate/agen/2008/12/SP%20Ph2.pdf. The process is expected to be completed in February.

Proposed Parking Permit Increases
Vincent Martorello, Facilities Services Director, presented information regarding proposed parking permit increases effective fall 2009. Online attachments included:

Interinstitutional Faculty Senate Report
Kate Hunter-Zaworski, Senior IFS Senator, recapped the December IFS meeting in Portland. Topics discussed included: sustainability, budgets and curriculum.

INFORMATION ITEM
Awards Solicitations
The Faculty Recognition and Awards Committee is accepting nominations through February 27, 2009 for the below awards; information regarding the below awards is online at http://oregonstate.edu/senate/awards/nom/; nominations will be accepted. For further information, contact Vickie Nunnemaker at vickie.nunnemaker@oregonstate.edu.

  • Richard M. Bressler Senior Faculty Teaching Award
  • International Service Award 
  • D. Curtis Mumford Faculty Service Award
  • OSU Academic Advising Award
  • OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award
  • OSU Extended Education Faculty Achievement Award
  • OSU Faculty Teaching Excellence Award
  • OSU Professional Faculty Excellence Award
  • Outstanding Faculty Research Assistant Award
  • Dar Reese Excellence in Advising Award
  • Elizabeth P. Ritchie Distinguished Professor Award
  • Student Learning and Success Teamwork Award

REPORT FROM THE PROVOST
Provost Randhawa’s report included the following:

  • Budgets – OSU will experience a 1.2% reduction during the current fiscal year; due to the lateness of the notification, the cuts will be across the board. Funding for the next biennium is unclear – possibly a 5-10% decrease.
  • OSU-Cascades Leadership – Becky Johnson, vice provost for academic affairs and international programs, has assumed the OSU-Cascades Campus leadership position on an interim basis. Becky Warner is Johnson’s interim replacement on the Corvallis campus. An announcement regarding the transition is online at http://www.osucascades.edu/news/osu-announces-leadership-transition-osu-cascades-campus.

REPORT FROM THE FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT
President Lynda Ciuffetti’s report included the following:

  • Baccalaureate Core Ad Hoc Review Committee – The committee has begun meeting and forums will be held to gather input.
  • Retirement Options –The Executive Committee is in a fact-finding mode to determine options because it is evident that faculty did not have a clear understanding of their benefits and changes related to retirement plans after 2003. It is anticipated that a presentation to the Faculty Senate regarding the available options will occur in February.
  • Professorial and Professional Faculty Forums Recap – The input received was useful; the needs and desires of both groups have some overlap, but there are many differences; and some concerns will require discussion by the Executive Committee to determine how best to address. The two main points expressed by both groups were: 1) faculty are not aware of the process to bring issues forward to the Faculty Senate; and 2) there is a lack of communication between the Faculty Senate and faculty – the Executive Committee will attempt to design ways for communication to be more visible and transparent.

January 8, 2009 Faculty Senate Meeting – Agenda Items

The agenda is online at http://oregonstate.edu/senate/agen/2009/01.html

ACTION ITEMS
SPECIAL REPORTS      
  • Representative Sara Gelser
  • Senator Frank Morse
DISCUSSION ITEM
  • OSU Strategic Plan - Phase II