Morris Levy, Chairperson University Senate
I am honored to serve as Chair of the University Senate for the 2011-12 academic year. The Senate serves to represent the faculty and is empowered to determine academic policy. It also serves in an advisory role to the administration regarding policies that sustain Purdue's missions in learning, discovery and engagement. An integral part of that advice concerns how to optimize the working environment for faculty, staff and students. To best serve these functions the Senate must promote the flow and exchange of accurate and timely information throughout the Purdue community.
In the past two years the Senate has worked closely with the administration to inform Purdue staff and faculty about several compensation and benefits issues as well as important academic policies. Senate leadership has also been active in collaborating with student and graduate student organizations on issues important to their education and their life experience. Encouraging these partnerships is essential for progress and to let all sectors of the Purdue community know that their opinions and ideas are valued.
We have a very full and important Senate agenda this year. Some highlights include Senate action on the Medical Amnesty Proposal (Purdue Cares), the Student Admissions Policy, the Faculty Grievance Policy and the Revised Policy on Research Faculty. We also will have public reports dealing with the status of establishing the Core Curriculum and developing plans for Employee Health Insurance and Benefits, as well as information from the Board of Trustees regarding the search for our new President. Additionally, we will host the annual meeting of the Senate Leadership of all of the CIC institutions, including our latest colleagues from the University of Nebraska.
The Senate also will instigate Joint Task Forces to deal with two long ignored challenges: 1) Expanding Child Day Care Facilities at Purdue: This is an investment that is essential for recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty and staff, as well as graduate students with families, and, 2) Revision of the On-Line Course and Teaching Evaluation System: Both faculty and students find the current system to be unsatisfying and unsuccessful in its purposes to foster improvements in and evaluations of teaching success. Representatives from the Senate, faculty, staff, administration and student government organizations will be involved in both Task Forces.
The Senate's success will depend, in large part, on the participation of all sectors of the Purdue community for informing our deliberations and, whenever appropriate, lending their expertise to our committees. We encourage everyone to let us know your concerns and ideas. Please feel free to contact me, or any member of the Senate leadership listed below.
University Senate Leadership:
Chair — Morris Levy
Vice Chair — J. Paul Robinson
Secretary of Faculties — Joe Camp
Steering Committee Chair — Timothy Folta
Faculty Affairs Committee Chair — David Williams
University Resources Policy Committee Chair — A. Paul Schwab
Educational Policy Committee — Teri Reed-Rhoads
Student Affairs Committee — Sally Hastings & Thomas J. Templin
Nominating Committee — Natalie Carroll
Advisory Committee — Morris Levy
We look forward to an interesting and productive year.