Senate chair aiming to serve as faculty's voice
September 8, 2014
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Patricia Hart, 2014-15 chair of the University Senate. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons) |
Serving as a spokesperson for Purdue's faculty members -- and advocating on their behalf -- is at the top of Patricia Hart's mind as she begins her term as 2014-15 chair of the University Senate.
Hart, who is professor of Spanish in the School of Languages and Cultures, has been a faculty member at Purdue for 27 years. Her role as chair is an opportunity, she says, to work on several ongoing issues facing Purdue's faculty.
"I'm here to speak for our faculty members and to help them voice their opinions and concerns," Hart says. "It's very important for me to serve as the faculty's voice to Purdue's administrators so that they have a good idea what we're doing and why."
At the top of Hart's to-do list is the continuation of efforts meant to improve Purdue's faculty work environment and family friendliness.
For example, she hopes to work with administrators to continue to address Purdue's child care resources. In the spring, President Mitch Daniels announced that Purdue will add child care capacity for more than 100 children at the West Lafayette campus.
Hart also plans to work to improve the University's partner-hire practices for new faculty members. This issue is particularly timely, Hart says, because the College of Engineering is in the process of increasing its number of faculty by 30 percent.
She lauded Human Resources' Dual Career Assistance Program, which works with spouses and partners seeking faculty and nonfaculty appointments at the University and in the community at large.
"They're doing great things, but we can help them do more," Hart says.
Helping Purdue's students is also high on Hart's priority list. For example, campus safety is an important issue.
Following a fatal shooting on Jan. 21, Hart chaired the University committee that evaluated suggestions and feedback meant to improve Purdue's campus safety at West Lafayette.
As Senate chair, she looks forward to working with the implementation committee to put the best ideas into practice. She also plans to continue the ongoing conversation about campus safety among members of the Senate.
Helping Purdue's international students shore up their English language skills is another of Hart's priorities. She plans to do so by supporting the Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange program (PLaCE), which launched this fall. More information about PLaCE is available in this archived Purdue Today article.
Another issue that interests Hart is making sure that salaries remain competitive.
“It’s important for attracting top talent,” she says.
Overall, Hart says she'd like to emphasize to faculty members the importance of participating in governance and other efforts that directly affect them.
"I really want to exhort faculty members to get involved," she says. "I think it's important for faculty members to have a voice on the issues that affect them most, and the way to do that is to elect senators and become involved."
Writer: Amanda Hamon Kunz, 49-61325, ahamon@purdue.edu
