Senate Highlights, February 2011

I am happy to let you know that Senate unanimously approved the Proposed New Promotion and Tenure Policy. To update everyone, after the Drafting Subcommittee finalized the draft following the Special Meeting, we reviewed all changes with the administration. All changes proposed by the Drafting Subcommittee were accepted, and the draft was forwarded to all Senators and faculty prior to the Senate meeting for their review. We should all congratulate ourselves for a job well done. I believe that the quality of our policy is an attestation of the hard work of the Faculty Task Force, which I would like to acknowledge again in these highlights.

Senate would also like to thank Vice Provost Kathleen Walsh and President Nivine Megahed for their invaluable contributions, their willingness to engage and consider all viewpoints thoughtfully, and their high standards of excellence. Senate owes gratitude to the NCE and CAS faculty, and their chairs, for allowing us to use part of their meeting times in order to hold the Faculty Association meeting in a timely and efficient manner. Senate also thanks Dr. Tom Heaney for acting as chair during a portion of the Faculty Association meeting. Of course, Senate also thanks the faculty for its high attendance, active participation at the meeting and throughout the whole process, and deep interest in ensuring that this policy is fair and appropriate.

NLU's new provost, Dr. Christine Quinn, was warmly welcomed by Senate. Dr. Quinn has been getting to know NLU and the faculty even before coming here, and commented positively on meetings she held with groups of faculty last month. Dr. Quinn and Dr. Megahed will oversee the strategic planning process, which will begin with an all-day retreat on March 2. Senate will be invited to participate in this event as will ULC.

Vice Provost Kathy Walsh reported that the Chicago area commencement will take place at the Arie Crown Theater. There will be two ceremonies, one undergraduate and one graduate. Vice Provost Walsh believes that the faculty will be seated on the stage for our graduates' special day. Dr. Claudia Pitts will represent faculty on the Commencement Committee.

Senators brought up the faculty concern that recently some policy changes have been made without any faculty consultation. Provost Quinn indicated that this issue had been brought up during the campus road shows and, as an issue, will be addressed.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Kent Kay reported that the university continues to anticipate losses for the winter quarter and the entire year. Mr. Kay and Marty Mickey are working with budget heads to draft their proposals for next fiscal year's budget. Mr. Kay also reported that the renovation of the second floor of the Chicago campus will begin in May and is projected to end in November. The atrium, therefore, will not be available for events during that time. Architectural drawings of the improvements will be presented to the community when they are available. This renovation is paid for by funds from the state awarded to the university.

Senate passed a revised English language proficiency requirement for admission. NLU will now accept scores from standardized assessments such as TOEFL and IELTS for admission. Dr Carol Melnick informed Senate that administration will be bringing a number of new academic policy changes to Senate and its committee in the near future, including a review of all admission requirements to undergraduate programs. Senate indicated that it will support fast, efficient review of these changes by appropriate faculty committees and faculty members within the programs. The purpose of the review is to make the requirements as uniform as possible to facilitate the work of the enrollment and admissions groups, without eliminating necessary requirements for individual programs or departments.

Faculty Welfare and Compensation committee reported that it is working on ensuring a fair transition to the new credit hour system as it rolls out. Senate is seeking a representative from Senate Curriculum Committee to serve on the calendar conversion project. FWCC and the Senate chair will continue to work with administration to ensure that policies that affect faculty welfare and compensation are brought forward to the committee appropriately. The Senate Chair and past chair will be particularly proactive to ensure that there will be no surprise announcements that grow out of the run-up to the Board of Trustees meeting. FWCC will also begin to consider discrepancies in salary between newly hired faculty and faculty who have been her for many years.

These highlights are provided as an informal update to faculty, and do not replace the official approved minutes, which will be forwarded to all faculty in the emailed version of these highlights. Minutes from the Special Faculty Association Meeting and the September Faculty Association Meeting will be approved at the Spring Faculty Association meeting.