Issues in Progress
Employee Council
After the final meeting for the 1997-98 Employee Council was called to
order, Patricia Chebat, who represents the council on the University Senate's
parking committee, reminded members the cost for street parking will increase
about 32 percent next year. She wanted to make sure employees were aware
of the increase well before it takes effect.
Erik Oliver, president, reviewed the council's annual report. He was
"pleased with what the council had done," in the past year, Oliver
said. The council had a more public profile than in years past, partly due
to the unprecedented five events it hosted, which included town halls, open
houses and brown bag lunches.
Oliver also talked about the significant impact the council had on the
United Way campaign conducted in '97 but added it would take several years
to see if the changes had a lasting effect.
After he finished reviewing the council's accomplishments and discussing
ongoing issues the 1998-99 council would continue to work on, Oliver thanked
council members and paid special tribute to those who would not be returning
and to his executive committee. He welcomed new members in attendance and
then inducted the new officers.
Ron Foust, '98-99 president, told Oliver that the council would miss
his efforts to bring the main campus together with satellite locations.
He promised the council would continue to work on uniting all parts of the
University, and he told members the council must "carry a full load
to maintain Erik's goal." He then thanked Oliver for his leadership
and work on behalf of the council.
-Scott Barker
President's Commission on the
Status of Minority Concerns
After calling for approval of minutes at the March 23 meeting, chair
Bob Lee passed out for commission members' review copies of a Chronicle
of Higher Education article about a federal court decision awarding four
white students $1 each in damages plus $776,000 in legal fees in their suit
against the University of Texas law school for considering race in its admissions
policy.
The commission then discussed a planned march on April 1 as part of a
national effort to support President Bill Clinton's Initiative on Race.
Shirley Rivadeneira is organizing an on-campus demonstration sometime the
afternoon of April 1, and she asked for volunteers to deliver public speeches.
The commission voted to sponsor a showing of an abridged version of "Shattering
the Silences" the evening of April 2 and provide a forum for discussion
afterward.
The symposium on diversity, which had been postponed from April until
the fall, will now be held Monday, Sept. 28. Lee said the delay gives the
commission more time to organize a "top-tier" lineup of speakers,
and the program will most likely feature presentations from outside speakers
followed by responses from Emory people. Lee said the budget for the symposium
should fall somewhere between $8,800 and $12,000, depending on the honoraria
paid to speakers. He said the commission's executive committee will meet
to settle on a short list of desired participants.
The commission discussed ways to solicit volunteers to serve next year
and planned to invite deans and directors to nominate candidates and also
to invite people to nominate themselves.
David Patton suggested the commission sponsor an essay contest or call
for papers on issues relating to minority concerns. The commission decided
to plan two contests, one to be decided over the summer and offering the
winners a chance to deliver their work at the fall symposium, and the other
to take place over the next academic year.
-Michael Terrazas
Faculty Council
Chair Bill Cody convened the meeting March 17 and after approval of minutes
introduced John Bugge, associate professor of English, who spoke on the
subject of faculty governance.
Bugge, who represents the Emory chapter of the American Association of
University Professors, said faculty governance is central to the success
of premier universities, and Emory should be no different. He added faculty
governance is "unthinkable without tenure" but that the tenure
process is under attack in the United States. Bugge said the phenomenon
is more common in state schools; as these institutions begin to pay more
attention to bottom lines, faculty governance is often seen as a cumbersome
process and an impediment to quick adaptation in a world of change.
Bugge said Emory was "largely free" from those concerns. Indeed,
he added, the problem at Emory is often that faculty are reluctant to exercise
the amount of influence they have. He suggested a number of measures that
could be taken to enhance faculty governance, including tenuring more faculty,
establishing a faculty mentoring program and establishing some kind of assembly
body in each school. Bugge answered questions after his presentation.
The Faculty Mediation Committee presented a set of guidelines for a mediation
process to settle disputes within schools. The council debated details such
as the level of participancy at which these disputes must take place-between
professors and deans, between professors and department heads, etc.-to warrant
mediation and also the difference between mediation and arbitration. Committee
chair Rich Freer said he would take the comments and revise the document,
possibly to submit for a vote at the April meeting.
David Pacini of the ad hoc committee on disabilities and learning presented
a revised resolution stating the Faculty Council's interest in viewing students'
learning disabilities as a teaching issue and encouraging professors to
take an active role in helping learning disabled students receive the help
they need. Bob Ethridge of the Equal Opportunity Programs office voiced
his support for the resolution, which passed by a majority vote.
-Michael Terrazas
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