The Feb. 15 meeting of the Faculty Senate picked up where it left off two weeks ago: addressing the issue originally called “unprofessional faculty departures.” Most of the meeting involved debating the wording and amending the motion that had called for the Faculty Success Committee (FSC) to analyze the departures of faculty members shortly before or after semesters began.
Faculty Senate President Josh Butler opened the meeting by reminding senators their meetings are open to the public, including the press. He stated that senators should, therefore, be judicious about the words they use.
This reminder came on the heels of rumors that some faculty senators were uncomfortable following the coverage of their last meeting in The Criterion article “Unprofessional faculty departures.”
The motion that allegedly made some faculty senators nervous about speaking in the meetings and had been the center of controversy two weeks ago was removed from the table now that senators had been given the chance to speak to their departments about it.
Butler opened the conversation by saying he had received an email suggesting that “untimely” would be better wording than “unprofessional” as it pertained to the faculty departures in question.
“My department felt uncomfortable even talking about it because of The Crite and us being recorded without knowing that we were, so my department didn’t want to say anything,” Meredith Lyons, representing the Theatre Arts department, said.
Physical and Environmental Sciences Senator Jared Workman reminded Lyons that a member of The Criterion has been recording and reporting on the meetings consistently. Butler restated the meetings are open to the public.
When coverage of the Faculty Senate began during the fall semester, Butler announced to the Senate that a member of the press was present and would be reporting on their activity.
“Overwhelmingly in my department, the faculty were uncomfortable with the original wording,” Social and Behavioral Sciences Senator Sarah Swedberg said.
Swedberg told the Senate she had received a lot of responses from faculty and that many of them felt it was a retention issue. She pointed out that Colorado Mesa University has been concerned with student retention but hasn’t applied the same methods to faculty.
“What is a better exit procedure?” Pam Holder, representing EMS, asked. Holder pointed out the fire department had a detailed exit procedure that helped to avoid similar issues to the one facing CMU.
Center for Teacher Education Senator Lisa Friel-Redifer asked if the question was about the exit process or why faculty was leaving in the first place. Biological Sciences Senator, Tom Walla, felt it was about both.
“I think there’s things on both sides that can be evaluated,” Walla said. “I think that it would help faculty in a lot of ways.”
Butler asked the senators how to phrase a charge to look at both issues. Swedberg read aloud a suggestion of wording based on input she had received from her department. Her suggestion removed the word “unprofessional” and called for the FSC to research retention among faculty and make recommendations for improving faculty retention.
Walla and Workman expressed a belief that there needed to be wording about untimely departures in the motion.
After several moments of debating wording, the amended wording read as follows: motion to charge the Faculty Success Committee to research retention among faculty, possible causes of short notice faculty departures, and make recommendations for improving faculty retention and exit procedures.
A motion to formally amend the original motion passed unanimously and the amended motion subsequently passed unanimously.
In other action:
Vice President James Ayers presented information on researching open education resources.
Associated Student Government President Ben Linzey provided an update on ASG activity. He explained the progress on constitutional changes and reallocating senate seats. Linzey also said ASG is getting ready for the budget review process next year.
In the wake of the school shooting that took place in Florida, Butler said he’d received an email about school shooting training and asked if there was interest. Lyons said her department was interested and asked for contact information. Swedberg raised concerns about the lack of locks on doors in the event of a shooting.
Kinesiology Senator Elizabeth Sharp thought it might be worth having another safety presentation. Butler said he’d request John Marshall to speak to the Senate about safety procedures.
