January%202007 ( .pdf )

A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida Pubished by the Faculty Senate
w\ry 2007


Chair's Message:



By: Danaya Wright Faculty Senate Chair
Welcome back from an exciting
holiday season. Winning a national
championship is just the beginning of
what should be a very successful year.
You should have heard by now that
the Faculty Senate approved a recom-
mendation to the administration to
Danraa Wrght adopt minus grades for the entire
University. The recommendation was
to have a symmetric (1/3) split for minus and plus
grades (i.e. A=4.0, A-=3.67, B+=3.33, B=3.0) with
adoption as soon as possible. The recommendation is
awaiting the President's approval and it will take some
time to implement since it requires reprogramming the
registrar's computer system. It is unlikely to be ready
by summer of 2007, and because of different con-
cerns in colleges stemming from different entering
classes and course distribution, the ideal implementa-
tion time is likely to be in the summer. That means it
is most likely not to be implemented before the
summer of 2008, but we leave that to the President,
the Provost, and the Registrar. Students are under-
standably leery of the change and would appreciate
as much information as possible about how faculty
will change their individual course grading policies.
For faculty concerned about the situation in the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences we can report
that the new interim dean, Joe Glover, has taken over
the reins and is actively seeking faculty input on ways
see Wrght, pg. 2


Hot Topics:
UF is a Leader in Campus Sustainability

American College and University Presidents'
Climate Commitment

President Machen was one of three inaugural
signers of the ACUP Climate Commitment an initia-
tive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to
become climate neutral as soon as possible. The
initiative commits UF to developing an institutional
plan which sets a target date for climate neutrality,
includes interim targets, makes climate neutrality and
sustainability a part of the curriculum and other
educational experience for all students, and facilitates
research or other efforts necessary to achieve climate
neutrality. The initiative also includes establishing
policies that all new campus construction will be built
to at least the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED
Silver standard or equivalent; that all new appliances
will meet Energy Star criteria; that greenhouse gas
emissions generated by travel of faculty will be offset
by on-campus policies; and that 15 percent of our
electricity will be produced from renewable sources.
The UF Sustainability Committee is also working on
"Focus the Nation," which is an ambitious educational
initiative that will culminate in national symposia held
simultaneously at over a thousand colleges, universi-
ties, high schools and other institutions on January 31,
2008. The Committee is hoping that each college will
create a program to focus on global warming solu-
tions. It should be interesting to attend an event
sponsored by the College of Fine Arts about how we
can use art to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
see Climate, pg. 2


a-


CONTENTS


Announcements

Council in Review


Faculty Senate News











A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida Pubished by the Faculty Senate
w\ry 2007


Chair's Message:



By: Danaya Wright Faculty Senate Chair
Welcome back from an exciting
holiday season. Winning a national
championship is just the beginning of
what should be a very successful year.
You should have heard by now that
the Faculty Senate approved a recom-
mendation to the administration to
Danraa Wrght adopt minus grades for the entire
University. The recommendation was
to have a symmetric (1/3) split for minus and plus
grades (i.e. A=4.0, A-=3.67, B+=3.33, B=3.0) with
adoption as soon as possible. The recommendation is
awaiting the President's approval and it will take some
time to implement since it requires reprogramming the
registrar's computer system. It is unlikely to be ready
by summer of 2007, and because of different con-
cerns in colleges stemming from different entering
classes and course distribution, the ideal implementa-
tion time is likely to be in the summer. That means it
is most likely not to be implemented before the
summer of 2008, but we leave that to the President,
the Provost, and the Registrar. Students are under-
standably leery of the change and would appreciate
as much information as possible about how faculty
will change their individual course grading policies.
For faculty concerned about the situation in the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences we can report
that the new interim dean, Joe Glover, has taken over
the reins and is actively seeking faculty input on ways
see Wrght, pg. 2


Hot Topics:
UF is a Leader in Campus Sustainability

American College and University Presidents'
Climate Commitment

President Machen was one of three inaugural
signers of the ACUP Climate Commitment an initia-
tive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to
become climate neutral as soon as possible. The
initiative commits UF to developing an institutional
plan which sets a target date for climate neutrality,
includes interim targets, makes climate neutrality and
sustainability a part of the curriculum and other
educational experience for all students, and facilitates
research or other efforts necessary to achieve climate
neutrality. The initiative also includes establishing
policies that all new campus construction will be built
to at least the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED
Silver standard or equivalent; that all new appliances
will meet Energy Star criteria; that greenhouse gas
emissions generated by travel of faculty will be offset
by on-campus policies; and that 15 percent of our
electricity will be produced from renewable sources.
The UF Sustainability Committee is also working on
"Focus the Nation," which is an ambitious educational
initiative that will culminate in national symposia held
simultaneously at over a thousand colleges, universi-
ties, high schools and other institutions on January 31,
2008. The Committee is hoping that each college will
create a program to focus on global warming solu-
tions. It should be interesting to attend an event
sponsored by the College of Fine Arts about how we
can use art to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
see Climate, pg. 2


a-


CONTENTS


Announcements

Council in Review


Faculty Senate News






ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


Wrightfrom, pg. 1
to deal with the budget issue. The faculty of the
College voted to create a financial advisory committee
that has been working diligently to understand the
rather unintelligible spreadsheets that have been used
to justify the 5-year plan. The faculty assembly also
voted last week to approve constitutional changes to
create a faculty advisory committee and to ensure
greater opportunities for faculty input at numerous
decision-making stages. We have high expectations
that good recommendations will be coming out of
these groups soon.
Rick Yost (Senate Chair-Elect) and I met with Chan-
cellor Mark Rosenberg two weeks ago to learn about
the Board of Governor's legislative agenda. The
Board is strongly in favor of President Machen's
Academic Enhancement Program which should allow
for the hiring of 200 additional tenure-track faculty
and 100 new advisors. The Board also supports a
new student technology fee that will be used to
improve IT on campus, primarily as it affects students
(electronic registration, better support for web-based
courses, etc.) but that should free additional funds for
better support of faculty IT as well. The Board inde-
pendently hired a consultant, The Pappas Group, to
report on the state of the University System and make
recommendations on how to plan intelligently for
population growth and education needs in the next
10-20 years. Ideally, the Board would like to see a
coherent State University System, not the current
hodge-podge of universities with different missions
and different visions. The Report is available on the
Senate Web site at www.senate.ufl.edu. I believe you
will find it to be very interesting reading.
I would like to commend President Machen for his
leadership role in the visionary American College and
University Presidents Climate Commitment initiative.
President Machen has committed UF to making sig-
nificant reductions in its emissions of greenhouse
gases by developing a comprehensive plan to achieve
climate neutrality as soon as possible. The Office of
Sustainability, http://sustainability.ufl.edu/, is also
working on an initiative to "Focus the Nation" on
global warming. As part of these initiatives, the
Senate received a report by Allan Preston of PPD on


the new flexcar rental car program and the taxi
service that is still in its pilot phase. These look to be
important steps to reduce traffic (and gas emissions)
on campus, ease the parking situation, and move us
toward responsible resource use. Please, consider
riding your bicycle, carpooling, or riding the bus
whenever possible. For more information, go to:
http://www.flexcar.com/
Inside Academics we have a call for nominations
for Senate and Joint committees and Councils. Please
take a moment to find something that you care about
at UF and volunteer to help move forward our aca-
demic and community mission. Also, three important
searches are currently underway for Dean of the
Graduate School, Dean of the I l .1.111,-, and Associate
Provost for Undergraduate Education. More informa-
tion is inside on how you can meet the candidates.
And finally, don't hit that delete button too quickly.
The President's Faculty Climate Survey will be coming
out soon and he needs to hear from all of us about
how we can make UF a better place to spend so
much of our time and energy.
I hope you all have a good semester.

Climate from, pg. 1
or by the College of Business on business solutions
to make the United States a more responsible energy
user. If you are interested in how your unit can help,
please contact Eva Czarnecka-Verner, the chair of the
sustainability committee, go to: http://
www.focusthenation.org/, or the UF Su.'i.iiiul 'l1i
website at: http://www.sustainability.ufl.edu/, where
you can find more details about what you can do to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help make UF
a sustainable workplace.
Now what is it going to take to get recycling bins
inside campus buildings?


ACADEMICS 2






ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


January Announcements


Nominations for Committees and Councils
MEMORANDUM
TO: University of Florida Faculty, Administrators and
Staff
FROM: Carol Ritzen Kem, Chair Senate Nominating
Committee
RE: University Committee Nominations 2007-2008
Each year the University of Florida offers employees
the opportunity to participate in its governance
through various university committees, boards, and
councils. Faculty, Administrators and Staff are all
encouraged to serve as a member of one or more of
these entities. All nominations will receive due con-
sideration.
The Senate Nominating Committee invites recom-
mendations for nominations to fill these vacancies.
We encourage self-nominations. If you choose to
nominate a colleague, please be sure to verify their
willingness to serve before completing the nomination
form.
The nomination form is posted to the Senate Web
site at http://www.senate.ufl.edu/. We ask you to fill
out the form completely before submitting it. Please
check to see that you meet the requirements, if
any, to serve for the committees you are interested
in and rank up to four preferences on the nomina-
tion form with "1" as your first preference, etc. If
you are willing to serve on any committee that
has a need, please mark the form in the box
provided. Submit the completed form by January 26,
2007.
If you have any questions concerning these com-
mittees, you may call or send an email to any of the
following members of the Senate Nominating Com-
mittee:
Cenzer, Douglas 392-0281 x262 cenzer@ufl.edu
Eaverly, Mary Ann 392-2075 eaverly@classics.ufl.edu
Katovich, Michael 392-3292 katovich@cop.ufl.edu
Kern, Carol Ritzen 392-4919 x 1731 carokem@ufl.edu


Sasnett-Stauffer, Gail 392-0421 sasnett@law.ufl.edu
Swaminathan, Sankar 846-1151 sswamina@ufl.edu
Turner, R. Elaine 392-1991 x224 returner@ufl.edu
We hope that you will use this opportunity to
become more active in our university. Thank you for
your participation.

Ongoing Searches
More information about each candidate can be
found at:
http://www.aa.ufl.edu/searchcommittees/


Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education
Public Seminars will be held on the following days:
Dr. Smith, January 29, 9:30-10:30 AM, S201A Criser
Dr. Wubah, February 1, 9:30-10:30 AM, S201A Criser


Dean of the Libraries
Public Talks will be held on the following days:
Dr. Smith, January 25, 1:30-2:30 PM, 284 JWRU
Dr. Pitschmann, January 29, 1:30-2:30, 100 Library
East
Dr. Russell, February 1, 1:30-2:30, 100 Library East
Dr. Carlson, February 5, 1:15-2:15, 100 Library East


ACADEMICS 3






ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


Council in Review:

Senate Council on Research and Scholarship Policy


By: Mary Ann Burg, Council Chair
SCORS congratulates the 2006 UF Gator National
Champion Football team! Excellence in sports contrib-
utes to a culture of enthusiasm and striving for
excellence in all other missions of the university,
including research and scholarship.
The responsibility of SCORS is threefold: to estab-
lish policies and procedures for research and
scholarship in cooperation with UF Faculty Senate and
the President of the University; to coordinate the work
of Senate, Joint and Presidential committees that
contribute to the research and scholarship activities of
the campus community; and to evaluate new Univer-
sity-wide research or scholarship initiatives and
strategies.
Our council has worked intently on several projects
over the last two years, including: (1) working with
campus administration to bring more transparency to
how indirect costs from research grants are accumu-
lated and distributed across campus departments,
centers and colleges; (2) formulating policy to con-
form with 1-UF to standardize IDC distribution
practices across campus and to reinforce the inviola-
bility of the principal investigators' share of IDCs; (3)
reviewing policies for the creation and sun-setting of
UF centers and institutes; (4) working with the univer-
sity comptroller's office in producing effort-reporting
forms and processes that are relevant and user-
friendly for faculty. Council objectives for 2007
include exploring regulatory processes in research
(e.g., human and animal studies review processes)
and ways to make them less intrusive on faculty
productivity, and exploring avenues for bringing more
attention and opportunity to faculty scholarship on
campus. We are currently participating in reviewing
the candidates for the position of Dean of the Gradu-
ate School.
SCORS welcomes input from all UF faculty on ways
we can support your efforts to be more productive in
research and scholarship in 2007.


Contributing Committees:


The chair of each of these committees (or an
elected faculty member) is a member of the Research
and Scholarship Policy Council:
Graduate Council
The Graduate Council shall assist the dean in ex-
ecuting the policies of the Graduate Faculty in matters
related to graduate study and associated research.
Research Policy Committee
The Research Policy Committee shall advise the
Vice President for Research on matters of University-
wide policies related to the promotion and
development of the University's research program.


Grants for Philosophers, Linguists, Classicists,
and more!
You may not realize it, but many of our colleagues
here at UF have to fund research materials out of their
own pockets; they have to buy their own computers
because those provided by their colleges cannot do
the work they need to do; they hire outside t.l.,_!ii' h-
ers or assistants because they have inadequate
administrative support; and they pay for their own
travel to conferences or to collect data. Although the
Senate Policy Council on Research and Scholarship
aims to support scholarship, broadly defined, faculty
in Fine Arts, the arts and humanities, Journalism, Law,
and others often do not have even the few hundred
dollars they need to fund their basic research. Well,
at least one University has seen the importance of
supporting their humanities faculty. Stanford is now
offering $5,000 to every humanities professor. See
http://www.insidehighered.com/index.php/news/
2006/12/29/stanford


ACADEMICS 4






ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


Faculty Senate News:Meeting Outcomes


12.14.06 Meeting Outcomes
Chair's Report:
Danaya Wright reported that nominations for com-
mittees will open in January and elections will be held
in April. Dr. Wright also noted that she is beginning to
look into ways to increase student involvement on
committees and councils. The Alligator has created an
ombudsman position.
Action Items:
Graduate Council Items
Ken Gerhardt, Interim Dean Graduate School
Proposal to move the concentration Entrepreneur-
ship under the Master of Science with a major in
Business Administration to a Master of Science with a
major in Entrepreneurship
Proposal to sunset the International Relations PhD
program in the Political Science Department
Both items were approved.
Constitution Items
Tim Taylor, Constitution Committee Chair
Compensation Committee Language
Eric Wachsman moved to amend the presented
language of the compensation committee. The motion
to amend the language was approved. The Senate will
vote on the amended language in January.
Nominating Committee Language
The nominating committee language was approved.


Minus Grades Recommendations
Anita Spring, Academic Policy Council Chair
Anita Spring presented a minus grades resolution
from the Academic Policy Council.
The resolution passed with only 15 opposing votes.


1.18.07 Meeting Outcomes
Dispute Resolutions Officer Approved Recom-
mended Language:

The Academic Freedom, Tenure, Professional Rela-
tions and Standards Committee unanimously requests
that the Faculty Senate approve the following recom-
mendation to hire a Dispute Resolution Officer
(DRO):
The University of Florida shall hire a Dispute Reso-
lution Officer whose primary duties will be to assist in
the resolution of faculty disputes, grievances, and
concerns by providing information to faculty about
grievance and dispute resolution processes a. .iil !,-:
at the University and to assist the faculty and adminis-
tration in resolving disputes before formal grievance
procedures are initiated. The DRO shall have faculty
status (either as a current tenured faculty member or a
newly-hired employee with faculty credentials) and
shall report to the Vice President for Human Re-
sources. The AFTPRS Committee shall participate in
the search for the DRO through membership on the
search committee and must approve the slate of
candidates from whom the final choice will be made.
The Vice President for Human Resources and the
AFTPRS Committee shall jointly evaluate the DRO's
performance on an annual basis, or bi-annually if the
parties so agree. If more than one DRO is hired, the
conditions of appointment and evaluation shall be as
stated above for each DRO hired.
It is understood by the AFTPRS Committee and the
Faculty Senate that the DRO shall be as neutral as
possible in the administration of his or her duties,
shall assist in the resolution of disputes before formal
action becomes necessary, and that no oral and
written communications made in the DRO process -
prior to the grievance actually going forward could
be used in the grievance process. It is also under-
stood that when a faculty member contacts the DRO
with regard to a potential dispute, the time limit for
filing grievances under any University policy shall be
followed.


ACADEMICS 5

PAGE 1

Announcements 3 Council in Review 4 F aculty Senate Ne ws 5 J an uar y 2007By: Danaya Wright , Faculty Senate Chair Chair’ s Message: Danaya Wright Hot T opics: W elcome back from an e x citing holiday season. Winning a nationalchampionship is just the beginning ofwhat should be a v er y successful y ear . Y ou should ha v e heard b y no w that the Faculty Senate approved a recom-mendation to the administration toadopt minus grades for the entireUniv ersity . The recommendation w as to have a symmetric (1/3) split for minus and plusgrades (i.e. A=4.0, A-=3.67, B+=3.33, B=3.0) withadoption as soon as possible. The recommendation isaw aiting the President’ s appro v al and it w ill tak e some time to implement since it requires reprogramming theregistr ar’ s computer system. It is unlik ely to be ready by summer of 2007, and because of different con-cerns in colleges stemming from different enteringclasses and course distribution, the ideal implementa-tion time is lik ely to be in the summer . That means it is most likely not to be implemented before thesummer of 2008, but we leave that to the President,the Pro v ost, and the R egistr ar . Students are under standably leery of the change and would appreciateas much information as possible about how facultywill change their individual course grading policies. For faculty concerned about the situation in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences we can reportthat the ne w interim dean, Joe Glo v er , has tak en o v er the reins and is actively seeking faculty input on ways see Wrght, pg. 2 President Machen was one of three inaugural signers of the A CUP Climate Commitment – an initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tobecome climate neutral as soon as possible. Theinitiative commits UF to developing an institutionalplan which sets a tar get date f or climate neutr ality , includes interim targets, makes climate neutrality andsustainability a part of the curriculum and othereducational experience for all students, and facilitatesresearch or other efforts necessary to achieve climateneutr ality . The initiativ e also includes establishing policies that all new campus construction will be builtto at least the U.S. Green Building Council’ s LEED Silver standard or equivalent; that all new applianceswill meet Energy Star criteria; that greenhouse gasemissions generated by travel of faculty will be offsetby on-campus policies; and that 15 percent of ourelectricity will be produced from renewable sources. The UF Sustainability Committee is also working on “F ocus the Nation, ” which is an ambitious educational initiative that will culminate in national symposia heldsimultaneously at over a thousand colleges, universi-ties, high schools and other institutions on January 31,2008. The Committee is hoping that each college willcreate a program to focus on global warming solu-tions. It should be interesting to attend an eventsponsored by the College of Fine Arts about how wecan use art to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, UF is a Leader in Campus Sustainability Amer ican College and Uni v ersity Presidents’ Climate Commitment see Climate, pg. 2

PAGE 2

2 to deal with the budget issue. The faculty of the College voted to create a financial advisory committeethat has been working diligently to understand therather unintelligible spreadsheets that have been usedto justify the 5-year plan. The faculty assembly alsovoted last week to approve constitutional changes tocreate a faculty advisory committee and to ensuregreater opportunities for faculty input at numerousdecision-making stages. W e ha v e high e xpec tations that good recommendations will be coming out ofthese groups soon. R ick Y ost (Senate Chair -Elec t) and I met w ith Chancellor Mark Rosenberg two weeks ago to learn aboutthe Board of Go v er nor’ s legislativ e agenda. The Board is strongly in fa v or of President Machen’ s Academic Enhancement Program which should allowfor the hiring of 200 additional tenure-track facultyand 100 new advisors. The Board also supports anew student technology fee that will be used toimprove IT on campus, primarily as it affects students(electronic registration, better support for web-basedcourses, etc.) but that should free additional funds forbetter support of faculty IT as well. The Board inde-pendently hired a consultant, The Pappas Group, toreport on the state of the University System and makerecommendations on how to plan intelligently forpopulation growth and education needs in the next10-20 y ears. Ideally , the Board w ould lik e to see a coherent State University System, not the currenthodge-podge of universities with different missionsand different visions. The Report is available on theSenate W eb site at www .senate.ufl.edu . I belie v e y ou will find it to be very interesting reading. I would like to commend President Machen for his leadership role in the visionary American College andUniversity Presidents Climate Commitment initiative.President Machen has committed UF to making sig-nificant reductions in its emissions of greenhousegases by developing a comprehensive plan to achieveclimate neutrality as soon as possible. The Office ofSustainability , http://sustainability .ufl.edu/ , is also w orking on an initiativ e to “F ocus the Nation” on global warming. As part of these initiatives, theSenate received a report by Allan Preston of PPD on Wright from, pg. 1the new flexcar rental car program and the taxi service that is still in its pilot phase. These look to beimportant steps to reduce traffic (and gas emissions)on campus, ease the parking situation, and move ustoward responsible resource use. Please, considerriding your bicycle, carpooling, or riding the buswhenever possible. For more information, go to: http://www .fle x car .com/ Inside Academics we have a call for nominations for Senate and Joint committees and Councils. Pleasetake a moment to find something that you care aboutat UF and volunteer to help move forward our aca-demic and community mission. Also, three importantsearches are currently underway for Dean of theGraduate School, Dean of the Libraries, and AssociateProvost for Undergraduate Education. More informa-tion is inside on how you can meet the candidates. And finally , don’t hit that delete button too quickly . The President’ s Faculty Climate Sur ve y w ill be coming out soon and he needs to hear from all of us abouthow we can make UF a better place to spend somuch of our time and ener gy . I hope y ou all ha v e a good semester . or by the College of Business on business solutions to make the United States a more responsible energyuser . If y ou are interested in ho w y our unit can help, please contac t Ev a Czar necka-V er ner , the chair of the sustainability committee, go to: http:// www .f ocusthenation.or g/ , or the UF Sustainability w ebsite at: http://www .sustainability .ufl.edu/ , where you can find more details about what you can do toreduce greenhouse gas emissions and help make UFa sustainable workplace. Now what is it going to take to get recycling bins inside campus buildings? Climate from, pg. 1

PAGE 3

3 J anuar y Announcements Nominations for Committees and Councils Nominations for Committees and Councils Nominations for Committees and Councils Nominations for Committees and Councils Nominations for Committees and CouncilsMEMORANDUMT O: Univ ersity of Florida Faculty , A dministr ators and Staff FR OM: Carol R itzen K em, Chair Senate Nominating Committee RE: University Committee Nominations 2007-2008Each year the University of Florida offers employees the opportunity to participate in its governancethrough various university committees, boards, andcouncils. Faculty , A dministr ators and Staf f are all encouraged to serve as a member of one or more ofthese entities. All nominations will receive due con-sideration. The Senate Nominating Committee invites recommendations for nominations to fill these vacancies.W e encour age self-nominations. If y ou choose to nominate a colleague, please be sure to verify theirwillingness to serve before completing the nominationform. The nomination f or m is posted to the Senate W eb site at http://www .senate.ufl.edu/ . W e ask y ou to fill out the form completely before submitting it. Please Please Please Please Please check to see that you meet the requirements, if check to see that you meet the requirements, if check to see that you meet the requirements, if check to see that you meet the requirements, if check to see that you meet the requirements, if any any any any any ,, ,, , to ser to ser to ser to ser to ser vv vv v e f e f e f e f e f or the committees y or the committees y or the committees y or the committees y or the committees y ou are interested ou are interested ou are interested ou are interested ou are interested in and rank up to four preferences on the nominain and rank up to four preferences on the nominain and rank up to four preferences on the nominain and rank up to four preferences on the nominain and rank up to four preferences on the nomination f tion f tion f tion f tion f oror oror or m w m w m w m w m w ith ith ith ith ith “1” “1” “1” “1” “1” as y as y as y as y as y our first pref our first pref our first pref our first pref our first pref erence, erence, erence, erence, erence, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. If If If If If you are willing to serve on any committee that you are willing to serve on any committee that you are willing to serve on any committee that you are willing to serve on any committee that you are willing to serve on any committee that has a need, please mark the form in the box has a need, please mark the form in the box has a need, please mark the form in the box has a need, please mark the form in the box has a need, please mark the form in the box provided. provided. provided. provided. provided. Submit the completed form by January 26, 2007. If you have any questions concerning these committees, you may call or send an email to any of thefollowing members of the Senate Nominating Com-mittee:Cenzer , Douglas 392-0281 x262 cenzer@ufl.edu Ea v erly , Mar y Ann 392-2075 ea v erly@classics.ufl.edu Katovich, Michael 392-3292 katovich@cop.ufl.edu K em, Carol R itzen 392-4919 x 1731 carok em@ufl.eduSasnett-Stauf f er , Gail 392-0421 sasnett@la w .ufl.edu Swaminathan, Sankar 846-1151 sswamina@ufl.edu T ur ner , R. Elaine 392-1991 x224 retur ner@ufl.edu W e hope that y ou w ill use this oppor tunity to become more ac tiv e in our univ ersity . Thank y ou f or your participation. Ongoing Searches Ongoing Searches Ongoing Searches Ongoing Searches Ongoing Searches More information about each candidate can be More information about each candidate can be More information about each candidate can be More information about each candidate can be More information about each candidate can be found at: found at: found at: found at: found at: http://www .aa.ufl.edu/search_committees/ Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Associate Provost for Undergraduate EducationPublic Seminars will be held on the following days:Dr . Smith, Januar y 29, 9:30-10:30 AM, S201A Criser Dr . W ubah, F ebr uar y 1, 9:30-10:30 AM, S201A Criser Dean of the Libraries Dean of the Libraries Dean of the Libraries Dean of the Libraries Dean of the LibrariesPublic T alks w ill be held on the f ollo w ing da ys: Dr . Smith, Januar y 25, 1:30-2:30 PM, 284 JWR U Dr . Pitschmann, Januar y 29, 1:30-2:30, 100 Libr ar y East Dr . Russell, F ebr uar y 1, 1:30-2:30, 100 Libr ar y East Dr . Carlson, F ebr uar y 5, 1:15-2:15, 100 Libr ar y East

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4 Council in R e vie w: Contributing Committees: Contributing Committees: Contributing Committees: Contributing Committees: Contributing Committees:The chair of each of these committees (or an elected faculty member) is a member of the Researchand Scholarship Policy Council: Graduate Council Graduate Council Graduate Council Graduate Council Graduate CouncilThe Graduate Council shall assist the dean in executing the policies of the Graduate Faculty in mattersrelated to graduate study and associated research. Research Policy Committee Research Policy Committee Research Policy Committee Research Policy Committee Research Policy CommitteeThe Research Policy Committee shall advise the Vice President for Research on matters of University-wide policies related to the promotion andde v elopment of the Univ ersityÂ’ s research progr am. Senate Council on R esearch and Scholarship P olicyBy: Mar y Ann Bur g, Council ChairSCORS congratulates the 2006 UF Gator National Champion Football team! Excellence in sports contrib-utes to a culture of enthusiasm and striving forex cellence in all other missions of the univ ersity , including research and scholarship. The responsibility of SCORS is threefold: to establish policies and procedures for research andscholarship in cooperation with UF Faculty Senate andthe President of the University; to coordinate the workof Senate, Joint and Presidential committees thatcontribute to the research and scholarship activities ofthe campus community; and to evaluate new Univer-sity-wide research or scholarship initiatives andstrategies. Our council has worked intently on several projects over the last two years, including: (1) working withcampus administration to bring more transparency tohow indirect costs from research grants are accumu-lated and distributed across campus departments,centers and colleges; (2) formulating policy to con-form with 1-UF to standardize IDC distributionpractices across campus and to reinforce the inviola-bility of the principal investigatorsÂ’ share of IDCs; (3)reviewing policies for the creation and sun-setting ofUF centers and institutes; (4) working with the univer-sity comptrollerÂ’ s of fice in producing ef f or t-repor ting forms and processes that are relevant and user-friendly f or faculty . Council objec tiv es f or 2007 include exploring regulatory processes in research(e.g., human and animal studies review processes)and ways to make them less intrusive on facultyproduc tivity , and e xploring a v enues f or bringing more attention and opportunity to faculty scholarship oncampus. W e are cur rently par ticipating in re vie w ing the candidates for the position of Dean of the Gradu-ate School. SCORS welcomes input from all UF faculty on ways we can support your efforts to be more productive inresearch and scholarship in 2007. Grants for Philosophers, Linguists, Classicists, Grants for Philosophers, Linguists, Classicists, Grants for Philosophers, Linguists, Classicists, Grants for Philosophers, Linguists, Classicists, Grants for Philosophers, Linguists, Classicists, and more! and more! and more! and more! and more! Y ou ma y not realize it, but many of our colleagues here at UF have to fund research materials out of theirown pockets; they have to buy their own computersbecause those provided by their colleges cannot dothe work they need to do; they hire outside transcrib-ers or assistants because they have inadequateadministrative support; and they pay for their owntravel to conferences or to collect data. Although theSenate Policy Council on Research and Scholarshipaims to support scholarship, broadly defined, facultyin Fine Ar ts, the ar ts and humanities, Jour nalism, La w, and others often do not have even the few hundreddollars the y need to fund their basic research. W ell, at least one University has seen the importance ofsuppor ting their humanities faculty . Stanf ord is no w of f ering $5,000 to e v er y humanities prof essor . See http://www .insidehighered.com/inde x.php/ne ws/ 2006/12/29/stanford

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5 F aculty Senate Ne ws:Meeting Outcomes 12.14.06 Meeting Outcomes Chair’ Chair’ Chair’ Chair’ Chair’ s R s R s R s R s R epor epor epor epor epor t:t: t:t: t: Action Items: Action Items: Action Items: Action Items: Action Items: Dana ya W right repor ted that nominations f or committees will open in January and elections will be heldin April. Dr . W right also noted that she is beginning to look into ways to increase student involvement oncommittees and councils. The Alligator has created anombudsman position. Graduate Council Items Graduate Council Items Graduate Council Items Graduate Council Items Graduate Council ItemsK en Ger hardt, Interim Dean Gr aduate School Proposal to move the concentration Entrepreneurship under the Master of Science with a major inBusiness Administration to a Master of Science with amajor in Entrepreneurship Proposal to sunset the International Relations PhD program in the Political Science Department Both items were approved. Constitution Items Constitution Items Constitution Items Constitution Items Constitution ItemsT im Ta ylor , Constitution Committee Chair Compensation Committee LanguageEr ic W ac hsman moved to amend th e pr esented language of the compensation committee. The motionto amend the language was approved. The Senate willvote on th e amended language in J anuar y. Nominating Committee LanguageThe nominating committee language was approved. Minus Grades Recommendations Minus Grades Recommendations Minus Grades Recommendations Minus Grades Recommendations Minus Grades RecommendationsAnita Spring, Academic Policy Council Chair Anita Spring presented a minus grades resolution from the Academic Policy Council. The resolution passed with only 15 opposing votes. 1.18.07 Meeting Outcomes Dispute Resolutions Officer Approved RecomDispute Resolutions Officer Approved RecomDispute Resolutions Officer Approved RecomDispute Resolutions Officer Approved RecomDispute Resolutions Officer Approved Recommended Language: mended Language: mended Language: mended Language: mended Language: The A cademic Freedom, T enure, Prof essional R elations and Standards Committee unanimously requeststhat the Faculty Senate approve the following recom-mendation to hire a Dispute Resolution Officer(DRO): The University of Florida shall hire a Dispute Resolution Officer whose primary duties will be to assist inthe resolution of faculty disputes, grievances, andconcerns by providing information to faculty aboutgrievance and dispute resolution processes availableat the University and to assist the faculty and adminis-tration in resolving disputes before formal grievanceprocedures are initiated.  The DRO shall have facultystatus (either as a current tenured faculty member or anewly-hired employee with faculty credentials) andshall report to the Vice President for Human Re-sources.  The AFTPRS Committee shall participate inthe search for the DRO through membership on thesearch committee and must approve the slate ofcandidates from whom the final choice will be made. The Vice President for Human Resources and theAFTPRS Committee shall jointly e v aluate the DR O’ s performance on an annual basis, or bi-annually if theparties so agree.  If more than one DRO is hired, theconditions of appointment and evaluation shall be asstated above for each DRO hired. It is understood by the AFTPRS Committee and the Faculty Senate that the DRO shall be as neutral aspossible in the administration of his or her duties,shall assist in the resolution of disputes before formalac tion becomes necessar y, and that no or al and written communications made in the DRO process –prior to the grievance actually going forward – couldbe used in the grievance process. It is also under-stood that when a faculty member contacts the DROwith regard to a potential dispute, the time limit forfiling grievances under any University policy shall befollowed.