Larry Ragsdale, chair of the Committee on the Environment, said the statement is intended to encourage Emory to take steps such as replacing conventional showerheads and toilets with low-flow showerheads and low-flush toilets; preventing sediment run-off from construction sites and reducing the number of cars on campus to reduce the amount of oil leaking from those cars; and carefully considering the possible impact of future construction on flood-prone areas both on campus and downstream.
"We are not asking the University to take any specific actions," Ragsdale said. "This is a statement in principle."
In other business, the Senate voted to table a proposal from the Library Policy Committee stating that, "Members of Emory University should have appropriate access to the information resources offered by all Emory Libraries."
Committee chair Gray Crouse said the proposal addresses a problem created by the structure of the Emory library system. Woodruff Library is funded by Emory College and the Graduate School, while the other libraries are funded by the individual schools they support. "The problems [with that structure] have become apparent as multi-disciplinary work at Emory has increased," Crouse said. "There are more and more scholars using libraries outside their home schools. This proposals says that scholars shouldn't be handicapped in accessing library information because of their school affiliation."
Crouse used The Carter Center and the biology department as examples. He said The Carter Center has scholars and fellows conducting research in the areas of law, theology and public health. Yet none of the libraries at Emory is structured to provide information access and support services to a Carter Center researcher because The Carter Center does not fund any of the libraries.
The biology department is part of Emory College, which is served by Woodruff Library. Crouse said that because Woodruff Library has few resources that are useful to biology faculty, those faculty routinely turn to the Health Sciences Center Library. He said the Health Sciences Center Library staff do what they can to provide information access and support services to biology faculty, but have no obligation to do so.
Several Senate members, along with a group of librarians who attended the meeting, pointed out that adopting the proposal could have significant financial implications for the individual libraries, whose first priority must be to serve the faculty and students of the school or college that provides the library's budget.
Joan Gotwals, vice provost and director of University Libraries, encouraged the idea of creating a University-wide fund to provide information access and support services to faculty, students and other scholars who need access to both printed and electronic information in more than one campus library.
The Senate voted to table the proposal to allow the Library Policy Committee and campus librarians to meet and discuss their concerns. The proposal will be on the Senate's February agenda.
Cliff Cockerham, director of Alumni University, also asked the commission to provide a panel from among its membership to participate in the conference, which is being sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission. Cockerham said the conference, which will be held at Emory July 21-23, will have a special emphasis on finding ways for colleges and universities to incorporate community service projects into their King holiday observance activities.
The Commission voted unanimously to support Emory's role as conference host and to provide a panel for the conference.
Cockerham also encouraged Commission members to participate in the forthcoming Alumni Assembly set for March 23-25. The theme of the event is "Emory in the 21st Century: Melting Pot to Mosaic."
Pat Marsteller, chair of the Student Concerns Committee, asked the Commission's Faculty Concerns Committee to collaborate in planning a forum on minorities in the professoriate. Marsteller said she envisions a forum with minority faculty panelists from Emory and the Atlanta University Center that would enable minority students "to hear about the benefits of becoming a professor." She said more details on the event will be available as the semester progresses.
Connie George of the Staff Concerns Committee said the group continues to work on the issues of sponsoring a staff mentoring program, increasing the minimum amount that Emory reimburses employees under the Tuition Reimbursement program, and including Georgia State University courses under the Courtesy Scholarship program. --Dan Treadaway