Inside Iowa State

Feb. 13, 2009

Geoffroy visits senate

by Erin Rosacker

President Gregory Geoffroy talked about budget challenges and the development of ISU's strategic plan as part of his Feb. 10 address to the Faculty Senate.

He told senators that faculty recruitment remains a high priority despite the economic downturn, a point he said the deans are aware of.

"We are in a unique position right now. A lot of states have frozen faculty searches, and eliminated funding for faculty positions," Geoffroy said. "Our philosophy is that we are in a buyer's market and we need to take advantage of our position. If we see outstanding faculty candidates, we need to go after them."

Planning for 2050

The state Board of Regents is developing its strategic plan this year, which Geoffroy said ISU will use as a "general framework" for its own strategic plan, due out next year. Executive vice president and provost Elizabeth Hoffman has been charged with developing ISU's plan, and is assembling teams to work on specific areas.

"I gave some general guidance that I think is very important," Geoffroy said. "We need to try to envision where we want to be in 2050 and outline actions we need to start taking now to achieve that long-term vision."

To accomplish that goal, he said Iowa State will need to:

• Attract outstanding students
• Attract outstanding faculty
• Have a significant impact on addressing issues affecting the world
• Provide outstanding service to Iowa, Iowans and the nation

Geoffroy said one of the reasons he chose the 2050 target date is that it would reflect the scope of "the productive lifetimes of the careers" of today's students.

Promotion and tenure policy

Two policies dealing with promotion and tenure external reviews were up for a vote, but time constraints forced one to be postponed.

Senators added language to the policy on selection of external reviewers, allowing candidates to submit a list of people in their fields to exclude as reviewers. An amendment to change the number of exclusions from five to three was approved, but an amendment to require reasoning behind the exclusions was defeated. The policy, as amended, passed with a single no vote.

The second policy, which deals with content of external letters, will be debated March 10.

Other business

Citing budget restraints, Geoffroy put a hold on the modified duties policy approved at last month's meeting. Hoffman said the state's council of provosts hopes to take the measure to the regents next year, with an eye on the budget.

A checklist, developed by the college and departmental document review committee, was passed unanimously. Colleges and departments will use the checklist to help ensure their governance documents are in compliance with the Faculty Handbook.

New business that was introduced and will be eligible for a vote at the next meeting included:

• Discontinuation of the master's of science degree in veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine
• Approval of the "Protection of Children in the Workplace" policy, which would reside in the Policy Library

"We need to try to envision where we want to be in 2050 and outline actions we need to start taking now to achieve that long-term vision."

Gregory Geoffroy