New faculty and student senators were told last week that their input and advice to administration would be critical over an upcoming, very difficult year.
Speaking at the Faculty Club last Thursday during University Senate Orientation, Ohio State President William “Brit” Kirwan said the university will face many challenging issues in the year ahead and he will need the hard work and collaboration of the University Senate on many of them.
Kirwan said the “triple-whammy” of the downturn in the state’s economy, uncertainty over the school funding issue and the unexpected deficit in the state’s Medicare payment have contributed to the erosion of resources available to OSU.
“I wish I could paint a rosy picture, but we’re going to be challenged in ways we have not seen for some years at this institution,” Kirwan added.
Despite current budget limitations, Kirwan said the structuring of a competitive compensation program for OSU faculty and staff would be his top priority. To accomplish this, he noted that the university would have to find more efficient methods to use its current pool of resources.
In consultation with University Senate leaders, a committee has been formed to develop recommendations on improving faculty and staff compensation. The goal of university administrators and this committee is to fund an average annual salary increase of 5 percent for faculty and staff. The recommendations will be first introduced at October’s University Senate meeting.
Along with briefing the new senators on the current state of the university, Kirwan also offered his thanks and appreciation for their willingness to serve.
“I personally place great importance on the Senate and its role in the effective governance of the university,” Kirwan said. “Decisions should never be taken without consultation with the Senate.”
Marilyn Blackwell, chair of Faculty Council and professor of Germanic languages and literature, also assisted Kirwan in providing an overview of the issues that senators will deliberate on in the coming academic year.
The Senate will be debating the issue of whether OSU should convert to a semester calendar system in the next few weeks, Blackwell said. She added that a final vote on a calendar conversion would occur during the Senate’s November meeting.
Blackwell also noted the a proposal by the Colleges of Law, Business, and Engineering to hire clinical faculty will also require Senate attention. Blackwell defined clinical faculty as instructors who would only teach courses and not be expected to participate in research or service at the university.
“Some see this as a proposal to offer relief to the legitimate staffing needs of some of our colleges, while others see this as an attack on tenure and the erosion of what it means to be a faculty member,” Blackwell said.
Senators were also told to expect a wide range of additional agenda items for discussion this year, including the possible reform of the General Education Curriculum (GEC) requirements, recommendations by the Commission on University Governance, and a report regarding the university’s current Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) system.
The University Senate is a body consisting of 135 members drawn from faculty, students and administrators from around the university. The Senate’s primary role is to establish general academic policy for the university and receives its authority from the university’s Board of Trustees.
