Courtney Hessenauer • For The Post
Faculty Senate's Executive Committee proposed a list of priorities for senate last night, but some senators were concerned about the message the list would send.
The resolution contained five goals and areas for the senate to focus on in order to establish what it hopes to accomplish this year, said Joe McLaughlin, the senate chairman.
The resolution names improving faculty compensation and adding more tenure-track faculty its top priorities. The other goals deal with student quality, research and shared governance.
Some senators were concerned about how it would look for senate to be so focused on salaries in such difficult economic times.
I don't disagree with any of these things
but the bigger issue is - from my point of view - that we want Ohio University's central mission to be carried on as an educational institution for our students because that's what we got into this for said Steve Hays, arts and sciences senator.
While members of the Executive Committee acknowledged Hays' concern, they said the document was meant to focus the senate rather than serve as a mission statement.
This was very much being talked about as a smaller organizational statement ... to sort of have a shorter-term checklist said John Gilliom, arts and sciences senator.
Hays said he had less of a problem with it if the resolution is meant to serve as an internal working document.
But other senators hoped to better identify senate's purpose with the resolution. College of Communication Senator Joe Bernt reminded senate that former Provost Kathy Krendl had accused the body of overstepping its authority when it dealt with issues outside of academic programming, promotion and tenure. Bernt thought this resolution would more clearly establish a broader role for senate, adding there was no other way to handle some of the current debates on campus.
If it's seen by [the community] as inappropriate at this particular time
then I don't know how we respond to what's going on in the athletic department or what's happened to our health care benefits
he said. I don't think that it is whining to establish the function of this body as protecting the faculty position.
McLaughlin asked senators to discuss the resolution with their constituents before it is up for a vote next month.
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Emily Grannis
