Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

January 16, 2004

Senate completes reorganization proposal for academic units

by Linda Charles
A newly developed Faculty Senate policy for reorganizing academic units ensures that the opinion of faculty affected by the change is relayed with the proposed plan. The policy was approved by the senate Jan. 13 and now goes to President Gregory Geoffroy for approval.

The policy consists of three phases: discussion, planning and review.

The discussion phase allows for the free flow of ideas to address a problem or opportunity.

The planning phase begins once the appropriate administrator (dean, provost or president) decides to pursue the reorganization. This phase includes development of an academic plan for reorganization, an implementation plan detailing needed resources and a timeframe for implementing the change.

The final phase, review, calls for a formal vote on the plan by the faculty affected by the reorganization. This vote, whether positive or negative, is forwarded with the plan as it goes to the provost, then the senate and finally the president.

The provost, after receiving the plan, can send the plan back to the affected units for revision, forward it to the senate with a recommendation it be approved, or terminate the reorganization, leaving things as they are.

When the senate receives the plan, it may return the plan to the provost with the recommendation to revise or reject it, or forward the plan to the president with a recommendation that it be approved.

The university president may send the plan back for further revision, terminate the plan or forward it to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

In other business, the senate elected Claudia Baldwin, veterinary clinical sciences, as president-elect. She will assume office in May.

The senate also discussed a resolution calling on academic departments to review how the promotion and tenure policy implemented four years ago is working. Departments would be asked to examine how they define and evaluate scholarship, how the position responsibility statement figures into the promotion and tenure process, and the value of non-scholarship accomplishments.

The senate is expected to vote on the resolution during its Feb. 10 meeting. It begins at 7:30 p.m. at The Hotel at Gateway Center.