To open the Faculty Council’s final meeting of the 2001–02 year, held April 16 in 400 Administration, interim Provost Woody Hunter noted two recent—and successful—conferences, each of which dealt with related subjects.

The April 5–7 Sam Nunn Policy Forum, themed “The Commercialization of the Academy,” and the April 15–16 Conference on Philanthropy and the Research University (see story) both examined connections between funding and higher education. Hunter said the two events were “very interesting, in terms of how a research university operates and the different opportunities for external support.”

After congratulating council member Huggy Rao (recently named Charles Howard Candler Professor of Organization and Management in the business school) , Hunter said the Strategic Planning Committee, which he cochairs along with anthropology’s Michelle Lampi, has held town hall meetings with faculty as it examines structures in Arts and Sciences. Hunter said the committee hopes to present a draft report to President Bill Chace by semester’s end.

In year-ending committee reports, James Hughes said the Faculty Hearing Committee had no requests for hearings over the year—good news, he added. Reporting for the Carter Center Liaison Committee, Claire Sterk said the group has not met for three years and the council should consider whether the liaison committee should continue in its present form.

University Research Committee chair Cy Wilcox reported that, during the fall 2001 funding cycle, 58 proposals were funded (out of 86 applications) for a total of nearly $580,000. Grants have not been awarded for the spring cycle, he said, but the committee has received 87 propoals requesting more than $2.1 million.

Following the reports, Allison Adams, managing editor of Academic Exchange, informed the council of an online faculty survey the publication is conducting to assess existing and future projects. All responses to the survey, available at http://AESurvey.cc.emory.edu, will be kept confidential, Adams said.

With chair Frank Vandall’s term coming to end as both council chair and president of University Senate, the task fell to the provost to install the new president. President-elect William Branch, chief of general medicine in the School of Medicine, will not be able to attend the April 23 Senate meeting, so Hunter officially installed him in his new position. Vandall then presented Branch with a gift to aid him over the next year: a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order.

Finally, Chace used his scheduled remarks as an opportunity to call to the council’s attention the final decision regarding employee benefits, which he called “less than radical.” Chace said public discussion of the issue was productive, and even though it occasionally turned contentious, he said, the process served to involve a large number of constituents in the decision making.

To close the meeting, Vandall presented certificates of appreciation to council members whose term is expiring: Oxford’s Ken Anderson, the law school’s Robert Schapiro and Branch, who would have rotated off had he not been named president-elect last year.

The Faculty Council will reconvene in the fall.

If you have a question or concern for Faculty Council, send e-mail to William Branch at william_branch@emoryhealthcare.org.