Faculty Senate will vote tonight on several resolutions about Intercollegiate Athletics, as well as continue its discussion of how new schools and centers within Ohio University should be represented within the senate.
The Finance and Facilities Committee has three athletics-oriented resolutions on the agenda for tonight, including two up for vote: the first on faculty participation in governing Intercollegiate Athletics and the second encouraging state and national university leaders to reform the way college athletics is funded.
There really is sort of a systemic problem in place ... and that's not something that's the fault of anybody at Ohio University or even the MAC Conference
said committee Chairman Scott Titsworth. We thought it was important for us as a faculty to say something about that.
Titsworth said he was not sure upper administrators would support the statements, but added he hopes everyone on campus can agree with some parts of each resolution.
I hope these resolutions have moved past an us-versus-them mentality he said.
Senators also will discuss a new resolution this month that calls specifically on OU President Roderick McDavis to discuss the sustainability of Intercollegiate Athletics programs with state leaders, as well as charge OU's Intercollegiate Athletics Committee with producing a report on the pros and cons of staying a Division I/Football Bowl Subdivision school.
In addition to the athletics discussions, senators also will vote tonight on how to give faculty in the Voinovich School representation in senate. Faculty discussed the resolution last month, and several senators raised concerns about setting a precedent that could give faculty in schools and centers disproportionate representation.
Faculty in general were already concerned about the way centers and schools, such as the Voinovich School and the Walter School of Strategic Leadership, have been formed, according to Professional Relations Committee Chairwoman Sherrie Gradin.
Because of the frustration about the process faculty are feeling quite a bit of irritation toward having to even be worried about representation
etc.
Gradin explained in an e-mail.
The questions about the process and what that would mean for senate in the future led to a new resolution the Professional Relations Committee will introduce tonight. It would require administrators to go through the University Curriculum Council, ethics committees and faculty groups to establish new schools that are not housed in existing colleges.
I think the question about size of the academic unit and the number of senators is a legit question folks have whether or not the ... process was a problem
Gradin wrote. And
people wonder how we should handle this given there are likely to be other alternative structures in the future
since adding a senator every time would have consequences.
Senate will also vote on several resolutions regarding the switch to semesters tonight, as well as elect its executives for next year.
1
News
