Recap of University Senate's Nov. 17 meeting

November 24, 2014  


Here is a recap of the University Senate's meeting held Nov. 17.

Child care announcement

President Mitch Daniels announced that a child care facility with capacity for 116 children will open on the west side of campus by fall 2016.

The additional capacity will bring Purdue to the midpoint of child care capacity available at other Big Ten and peer institutions, Daniels said, and will improve the University's reputation as a family-friendly work environment.

Upcoming COACHE survey

In January, Purdue's faculty will be invited to take part in a survey addressing workplace experience, job satisfaction and career development, said Laurel Weldon, interim vice provost for faculty affairs and professor of political science.

The Collaborative on Academic Careers on Higher Education (COACHE), which is based at Harvard, will conduct the survey. Purdue is a COACHE member institution.

Purdue's faculty participated in its first COACHE survey in 2012, when it found that faculty members perceive several areas of satisfaction at the University, including opportunities for interdisciplinary work and collaboration as well as support for research. More information about the survey's results is here.

Among the administrative steps taken in response to the 2012 COACHE survey results were the allocation of $3.7 million in recurring funds for faculty pay increases; the formation of a Promotion and Tenure Task Force, resulting in a promotions policy under consideration in the Senate's Faculty Affairs Committee; and the creation of the Child Care Task Force, which recommended the new facility that will be open by fall 2016.

Weldon's full presentation to the Senate is available here.

Sexual violence presentation

Alysa Christmas Rollock, vice president for ethics and compliance and Title IX coordinator, gave a presentation about sexual violence on campus. She spoke about the University's commitment to maintaining an environment that recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of every person, that is free from discrimination and harassment, and that enforces its policies of equal access and equal opportunity.

Her presentation included information about how to report alleged violations of Title IX and the responsibilities of mandatory reporters. Rollock's full presentation is available here.

Digital Measures database project

Steve Hare, project manager in the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment and Effectiveness, gave a presentation about the University's ongoing work with Digital Measures, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, firm that specializes in faculty activities reporting.

Purdue has been working with Digital Measures since spring 2012 to create a database to help faculty manage and track their activities. The database aims to help faculty improve their ability to respond to activities data requests throughout the year, including for awards and honors, publications and research grants, engagement and other purposes. The database also facilitates departmental, college and University-level reporting specific to their needs and interests, Hare said.

So far, data has been entered for more than 2,300 tenured and tenure-track faculty, research faculty, clinical faculty and state-wide technology faculty from all colleges and Purdue University Libraries. In 2015, Hare's office hopes that the database will support numerous departments and colleages across campus with various reporting requirements, including annual activity reports, and that short video guides will be created to help faculty use Digital Measures' tools.

Hare's full presentation is available here. An information sheet about Digital Measures is available here.

Annual reapportionment

The Senate approved its annual reapportionment during the meeting.

It will have one more senator from the College of Agriculture, and one less senator from the College of Technology. Representation among all other schools and colleges did not change.

The number of senators representing each area is based on the number of faculty members within each unit. University Senate is composed of 102 members. 

Writer: Amanda Hamon Kunz, 49-61325, ahamon@purdue.edu 

Faculty-Staff News

More News

Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, (765) 494-4600

© 2014-18 Purdue University | An equal access/equal opportunity university | Integrity Statement | Copyright Complaints | Brand Toolkit | Maintained by Marketing and Media

Trouble with this page? Disability-related accessibility issue? Please contact us at online@purdue.edu so we can help.