Orientation to the Faculty Assembly and Senate Council University of Pittsburgh

We are all the Senate The University Senate includes:  Everyone with a full-time academic appt  All part-time tenured faculty  All full-time faculty librarians  All other members of the Senate Council Certain administrators, staff and students  Untenured faculty teaching at least six credits  Retired faculty who ask to be included

Function of the Senate: Shared governance Review university policies Foster discussion Maintain adequate communication among  Students  Staff  Faculty  Administrative Officers  Board of Trustees

Structures of the Senate Faculty Assembly Senate Council  Executive Officers Standing Committees Also:  Ad Hoc Committees  Elections Committee Involvement may also lead to opportunities to serve on administrative and BOT committees

Who are the current officers of the Senate Executive Committee? Michael B. Spring, President Irene Frieze, Vice President Linda Frank, Secretary Thomas Smitherman, MD, Past President

The Senate Office All Senate business is supported by the Senate Office  Lori Molinaro   1234 Cathedral of Learning

Who are the elected members? Faculty Assembly  Elected to 3-year terms by their Academic Units  One-third of terms expire each year Senate Council  2 nd and 3 rd year members of Faculty Assembly  Various appointed constituents (details to follow) Executive Officers  Elected to 1-year terms by the University Senate Standing Committees  Elected to 3-year terms by the Faculty Assembly

More on membership Faculty Assembly  Elected members (62 people)  Chairs of Standing Committees (15 people) Senate Council  2 nd and 3 rd year members of Faculty Assembly (~40 people)  Appointed administrators (the Chancellor and 8 others)  Appointed staff (2 or 3 people)  Elected students (between 5 and 8 attendees, usually) Standing Committees  Elected members (9)  Senate Officer liaison (1)  Administrative liaisons (usually 1 or 2)  Pro-Tem members (up to the Chair)  Appointed staff and students (1 staff and 4 students)

What does Faculty Assembly do? Meets monthly  Usually the first Tuesday of the month Brings up business Refers matters to committee Reviews committee reports Votes on recommendations

What does Senate Council do? Meets monthly  Usually the second Wednesday, (after FA) Hears regular reports  Chancellor, Senate President, Staff Council, and students Acts on matters brought by FA  Hears Committee reports and acts on recommendations passed by FA Makes recommendations to the Administration and the Board of Trustees

What do Standing Committees do? Meet monthly Consider policy matters brought up in FA Consider policy matters brought by the administration Make recommendations to FA

What do Executive Officers do? Preside over FA and SC meetings Meet monthly with senior administration Serve as committee liaisons Facilitate Plenaries Respond to other requests

Faculty Assembly: Who can vote and run? Any member of the University Senate (that is, any faculty member) can run  Full-time faculty  Part-time tenured faculty  Full-time librarians who primarily teach or conduct research Each academic unit holds its own election – each unit votes for their own representatives

FA Unit representation School of Arts and Sciences  Humanities (5)  Natural Sciences (5)  Social Sciences (5) Professional Schools  Law (2)  Public Health (2)  Social Work (2)  Business (2)  GSPIA (2)  Education (2)  Engineering (3)  University Librarians (2) Health Sciences  School of Medicine (9)  Dental School (2)  GSPH (2)  Nursing (2)  Pharmacy (2)  SHRS(2)  Librarians (2) Regional Campuses  Johnstown (2)  Bradford (2)  Greensburg (2)  Titusville (2)

Faculty Assembly attendees Voting members  Elected members Senate Officers  A member of each Standing Committee  Usually the chair, but this is not required Observers  Senate Office, The University News and Magazine, University Times, The Pitt News, Provost designee  Open meetings Attendance is taken and reported  If you are not able to attend, inform the Senate Office

FA: Typical meeting Most attendees are faculty members Discussion can be quite free-wheeling Ideas brought from the floor are discussed and usually referred to committee Ideal place to bring up your concerns or those brought to you by colleagues

FA: Sample Agenda Call to Order Approval of Faculty Assembly Minutes from previous meeting Introduction of Items of New Business Report of the President, Dr. Thomas Smitherman Reports by and Announcements of Special and Standing Committees of the Senate Unfinished Business and/or New Business Announcements Adjournment

Senate Council attendees Voting members  2 nd and 3 rd year FA members  Senate Officers  Chancellor and 8 designated administrators  Three members of Staff Association Council  Representatives of student groups Observers  Press  The University News and Magazine, University Times and The Pitt News  Open meetings, but more formal than FA

Student Representatives of SC Four members of UG Student Government Board (SGB) Graduate student representatives from:  Arts and Sciences  Non-health professional schools  Health Sciences  Graduate and Professional Students Association  College of General Studies Each student group reports

SC: Typical meeting Attendees balanced between faculty and administration Meeting emphasizes formal reports  Chancellor, Senate President, SAC, students  Great place to hear what’s going on SC votes are the University Senate’s [that is, the faculty’s] final recommendations to the Administration and the Board of Trustees

SC: Sample Agenda Call to Order Approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting Introduction of Items of New Business Report of the Chancellor of the University, Mark A. Nordenberg Report of the President of the Senate, Thomas C. Smitherman Report of Student Members of Senate Council Report of the President of the Staff Association Council, Deborah Walker Reports by and Announcements of Standing and Special Committees of the Senate Unfinished Business and/or New Business Announcements Adjournment

Standing Committee elections Any member of the University Senate (any faculty member) can run Only Faculty Assembly members vote Terms are three years Term limits  Members may serve one unexpired term plus two consecutively elected terms Service limited to one elected committee membership at a time  Pro Tem memberships are not limited

Standing Committees Responsible for much FA/SC work The primary setting for policy discussions Meetings are less formal than FA/SC

Standing Senate Committees  Admissions & Student Aid  Anti-discriminatory Policies  Athletics  Benefits and Welfare  Budget Policies  Bylaws and Procedures  Commonwealth Relations  Community Relations  Computer Usage  Educational Policies  Library  Plant Utilization and Planning  Student Affairs  Tenure and Academic Freedom  University Press

Standing Committee meetings: Attendees Voting  9 members elected by the Faculty Assembly  1 Staff Association Council (SAC) appointee  4 student appointees  2 Student Government Board (SGB)  1 Assembly of the Graduate/Prof Students Association  1 College of General Studies Non-voting  Senate Executive Officer Liaison  Chancellor-designated administrative liaisons  Pro-tem members

Standing committee: Typical meeting Discuss and act on matters raised in FA Review/discuss policy initiatives brought by the administration  Standing committees are a primary way faculty have input into University policies Discuss and act on matters of concern to committee members

Examples Act on matters from FA  Education Policies Committee acted on concern raised by FA member regarding decrease in student civility Review administrative policies  Education Policies Committee reviewed policies related to documenting unit outcomes Act on concerns of committee members  Student Affairs committee considered University withdrawal policies

Senate Officer elections Officer elections  All members of the University Senate (all faculty) are eligible to run for office, and to vote for officers Terms are one year Term limits  Three successive terms in one office

Senate Officers: The Executive Committee Members  President (elected)  Vice President (elected)  Secretary (elected)  Immediate Past President (voting ex officio)  Director of the Senate Office (non-voting ex officio) Duties  Meet monthly with senior administration  Serve as liaisons to standing committees  Plan Plenaries  Deal with business/requests as matters come up

Elected Officers and their duties President  Presides over FA and SC meetings Vice President  Facilitates “Senate Matters” column Secretary  Takes minutes Immediate Past President  Chairs Elections Committee These are the “voting members” (decisions are usually by consensus)

Senate Plenaries Bylaws mandate at least one Plenary each year  Typically in the fall  Sometimes a spring Plenary is also planned Organized by a committee Primary audience is faculty  Open to the entire university community The Chancellor and Senior administration participate Often timely topics, which include a keynote speaker, panel discussion and Q&A Receives wonderful press coverage in the U-Times Held in the WPU, typically from 12-3 p.m.

“Senate Matters” Regular column in University Times Facilitated by Senate Council VP word opinion pieces written by members of the Senate A great way to express your views or alert university community about your senate-related work

Other Committees Types of other committees  Senate Ad Hoc Committees  Elections Committee  Administrative Advisory Committees  e.g. Research Advisory Committee  Others, including Board of Trustee committees

Senate Ad-Hoc Committees Formed for important matters outside purview of Standing Committees Consist of Chair and members Created for a limited duration  Not to exceed two years

Elections Committee Immediate Past President serves as chair Deans appoint faculty members who serve for two year terms, not to exceed four consecutive years Unit-appointed faculty member responsible recruiting FA candidates Committee is responsible for Officer slate

Advisory and BOT committees Faculty input is also sought through Administrative Advisory Committees Membership is usually appointed Examples of committees  PACWC  Mid-Atlantic accreditation advisory committee Members of FA/SC may be invited

Summary of Senate Operations Faculty Assembly  Raises issues  Refers matters to committee  Votes on committee recommendations Committees  Discuss faculty concerns and ideas  Review Administration’s policies Committee chairs  Present committee reports/recommendations to FA and SC Senate Council  Votes on FA recommendations, makes recommendations to Administration and the Board of Trustees Executive officers  Facilitate communication