Inside Iowa State

Dec. 09, 2005

Faculty Senate endorses temporary P-T proposal

by Dan Kuester

The Faculty Senate approved a proposal Dec. 6 to change Iowa State policy to allow faculty to seek temporary, part-time appointments to take care of family members.

For tenure-eligible faculty, the change would also slow down the tenure clock. Those who wish to take advantage of the change (according to the new language), could do so:

". . . for reasons of balancing work and family for the arrival of a child, the care of a child with special needs, elder care, the care of a partner, or for the personal circumstances related to the health of the faculty member."

For tenured faculty, valid reasons also include professional issues and "work/life balance."

The change does not violate any guidelines of the American Association of University Professors, according to associate provost Susan Carlson.

The proposal will be sent to vice president for academic affairs and provost Benjamin Allen.

The senate also discussed and turned down a resolution presented by David Hopper, chair of the University Library Committee, to recommend to President Gregory Geoffroy that the university increase library spending by a certain percentage annually to keep current on scholarly journals and monographs.

Hopper pointed out that while Iowa State has increased access to electronic journals, the school has not kept pace with books and journals.

"If you don't have the scholarly resources, it is very difficult to do your job," Hopper said.

Others, including senator Arnold Van Der Valk, said that, while the library is important, the senate should not tie the hands of the president's office by asking for a set increase each year.

In a hand count, the resolution was defeated.

The senate also observed a moment of silence for former faculty members who died in 2005, including Charles Drewes, Hazel Lipa, Russell Pounds and Alan Wilt.

A proposal to create temporary, part-time appointments for faculty so they can take care of family members has cleared the Faculty Senate and now goes to provost Benjamin Allen.