for
the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts
Feb.
23, 2001
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Senate stresses faculty voice in decisions
by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff  he
Faculty Senate last week approved a motion calling upon the president
and trustees "to ensure that there will be a meaningful and constructive
consultative process" that includes faculty during the upcoming
decisions about the campus's future, including its leadership.The motion about faculty involvement in upcoming decisions, introduced by Program and Budget Council chair Craig Moore, asks that the President's Office and the Board of Trustees give particular consideration to preserving the campus's ability to deliver a high-quality curriculum to its 24,000 students. "We're very concerned that the faculty are part of a collegial process that develops a plan from the grass roots that reflects the faculty's point of view, the administrators' point of view, the University and campus community's point of view," Moore said at the Feb. 15 meeting. "This is really to emphasize the fact that there needs to be an open and collegial process that the faculty plays an integral, positive role in, not just a reactive one." The Program and Budget Council has been holding meetings with the senate's Executive Committee to help faculty leaders better understand the budget process and thereby enhance their ability to contribute meaningfully to the discussions of the campus's future, budget priorities, and the profile of the next chancellor, according to senate secretary Ernest May. The Executive Committee is an advisory group comprising the Rules Committee and the chairs of the senate's other councils and committees. Another motion approved changed the bylaws to add student representation to the Council on University Service, Public Service and Outreach. Two motions concerning exchanges with foreign universities passed: an agreement for an exchange of faculty and students with the University of Windsor in Ontario, and a memorandum of understanding for the hosting of research students from Mahidol University in Thailand. Five three-credit undergraduate courses and two three-credit graduate courses were also approved: AFROAM 238, "The Arts and Cultural Identity"; COMLIT 385, "Russian Themes in World Cinema"; ECON 178, "Introduction to Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Economic Issues"; PHYSIC 125, "Seeing the Light"; POLSCI 345, "Revolutionary Nationalism and Imperialism in the Caribbean"; PUB P&A 607, "Policy Methods"; and PUB P&A 610, "Capstone Seminar in Public Policy and Administration." |
