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Academics: a monthly newsletter for the faculty of the University of Florida

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ACADEMICS
A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida Published by the Faculty Senate
February 2007


Chair's Message:



By: Danaya Wright Faculty Senate Chair
It is hard to believe that February is
almost over, spring break is nearly upon
us, and we are moving into the final
crunch time for this academic year. There
are quite a number of items working their
way through councils and committees to
make their way to the Senate floor. Let
Danaya Wghlt me begin by listing a number of things I
hope you can do or think about in the
next couple of weeks.
Please complete the faculty climate survey and encour-
age your colleagues to do the same. It can be accessed at:
https://www3.isrsurveys.net/UFF07/ and the password is
gators.
Encourage colleagues to nominate themselves for
Senate and joint committees. Please send your nomina-
tions to Amelia Hugus at ahugus@ufl.edu or Carol Kem at
carokem@uflib.ufl.edu.
Senate nominations are also being solicited within your
colleges, so please consider running for the Senate. Elec-
tions for Senators will be held in April.
The Senate will be electing its chair-elect at the April
meeting, so please encourage your Senators to run.
Attend at least one of the Provost's Office Conversa-
tions or Diversity presentations. They can be viewed at:
http://www.aa.ufl.edu/aa/facdev/conversations/
Meet with or send ideas about unit-level shared gover-
nance to your Shared Governance Task Force.
see Wrnght, pg. 2


Hot Topics:
United Faculty of Florida
By: Danaya Wright Faculty Senate Chair
Over 40 percent of our UF faculty are located within
the collective bargaining unit that is currently represented
by the United Faculty of Florida. Faculty in all colleges
except the six Health Science Center colleges (Medicine,
Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and
Public Health & Health Professions), IFAS, and the
College of Law are "in unit" and covered by the employ-
ment contract negotiated by the UFF bargaining team.
Nine of the 11 SUS universities consist of faculties that
are entirely located within their bargaining units; only UF
and FSU have "split" campuses with part of their faculty
within the unit and part outside.
Since devolution in 2002, each campus has had to
bargain individually with its administration/BOT regard-
ing the terms and conditions of employment that would be
covered in their employment contract. Before 2002, the
UFF bargained directly with the Board of Regents, which
meant that the employment contract for all in-unit faculty
at all 11 institutions was the same. With devolution, the
UF bargaining team is able to better tailor its contract to
fit the needs of UF faculty. At this time, UF is the only
university in the SUS that has not finalized the terms of its
faculty contract.
Bargaining at UF began on November 18, 2005 after the
UFF won a protracted lawsuit over the question of
whether the individual Boards of Trustees were "successor
employers" and thus stepped into the shoes of the Board
of Regents and had a duty to bargain with the current
bargaining agent, or were new employers and entitled to
start all over again and demand a new certification vote.
see United, pg. 2


a-


CONTENTS


Announcements

Council in Review


J Faculty Senate News

4 Contact Information









ACADEMICS
A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida Published by the Faculty Senate
February 2007


Chair's Message:



By: Danaya Wright Faculty Senate Chair
It is hard to believe that February is
almost over, spring break is nearly upon
us, and we are moving into the final
crunch time for this academic year. There
are quite a number of items working their
way through councils and committees to
make their way to the Senate floor. Let
Danaya Wghlt me begin by listing a number of things I
hope you can do or think about in the
next couple of weeks.
Please complete the faculty climate survey and encour-
age your colleagues to do the same. It can be accessed at:
https://www3.isrsurveys.net/UFF07/ and the password is
gators.
Encourage colleagues to nominate themselves for
Senate and joint committees. Please send your nomina-
tions to Amelia Hugus at ahugus@ufl.edu or Carol Kem at
carokem@uflib.ufl.edu.
Senate nominations are also being solicited within your
colleges, so please consider running for the Senate. Elec-
tions for Senators will be held in April.
The Senate will be electing its chair-elect at the April
meeting, so please encourage your Senators to run.
Attend at least one of the Provost's Office Conversa-
tions or Diversity presentations. They can be viewed at:
http://www.aa.ufl.edu/aa/facdev/conversations/
Meet with or send ideas about unit-level shared gover-
nance to your Shared Governance Task Force.
see Wrnght, pg. 2


Hot Topics:
United Faculty of Florida
By: Danaya Wright Faculty Senate Chair
Over 40 percent of our UF faculty are located within
the collective bargaining unit that is currently represented
by the United Faculty of Florida. Faculty in all colleges
except the six Health Science Center colleges (Medicine,
Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and
Public Health & Health Professions), IFAS, and the
College of Law are "in unit" and covered by the employ-
ment contract negotiated by the UFF bargaining team.
Nine of the 11 SUS universities consist of faculties that
are entirely located within their bargaining units; only UF
and FSU have "split" campuses with part of their faculty
within the unit and part outside.
Since devolution in 2002, each campus has had to
bargain individually with its administration/BOT regard-
ing the terms and conditions of employment that would be
covered in their employment contract. Before 2002, the
UFF bargained directly with the Board of Regents, which
meant that the employment contract for all in-unit faculty
at all 11 institutions was the same. With devolution, the
UF bargaining team is able to better tailor its contract to
fit the needs of UF faculty. At this time, UF is the only
university in the SUS that has not finalized the terms of its
faculty contract.
Bargaining at UF began on November 18, 2005 after the
UFF won a protracted lawsuit over the question of
whether the individual Boards of Trustees were "successor
employers" and thus stepped into the shoes of the Board
of Regents and had a duty to bargain with the current
bargaining agent, or were new employers and entitled to
start all over again and demand a new certification vote.
see United, pg. 2


a-


CONTENTS


Announcements

Council in Review


J Faculty Senate News

4 Contact Information







ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


Wight from, pg. 1
The Board of Governors will be meeting in Gainesville
on March 28 and 29, and the Board of Trustees will be
meeting on March 29 and 30. There are a number of
items of the BOG legislative agenda that are important to
UF: the academic enhancement program, the centers of
excellence and distinguished scholars programs, tuition
flexibility, proposed rules on academic learning compacts,
and others. Please check the BOG Web site for more
information. www.flbog.org
Let me also update you on a few items that have been
in the newspaper lately. President Machen has requested
the input of the University Curriculum Committee and the
students on the minus grades issue. He expects to have
their input and will be prepared to make his final decision
shortly after spring break. I believe the matter will be
resolved satisfactorily. President Machen also announced
at the Senate meeting last month that the issue of remov-
ing Senators from the collective bargaining unit has been
settled and that the administration will not move forward
on that. And yes, it is still my Senate.


Unitedfrom, pg. 1

Bargaining continues to this day. Is collective bargaining
beneficial in this day and age? According to the UFF Web
site www.uffacultycontract.org, collectiveie bargaining is a
concerted form of democratic problem solving, in which
the solution has to be agreed to by both the faculty and the
administration. Representatives of both parties keep
exchanging proposals until they reach a mutually satisfac-
tory solution, cast in the form of a contract. The faculty
and the trustees then each vote on whether to accept the
contract their representatives have negotiated, which
becomes legally binding if approved."The drawbacks of
collective bargaining is that each individual faculty mem-
ber cannot go to his/her dean or to the president and
bargain individually for preferential treatment. The benefit
of collective bargaining is that each individual faculty
member does not have to go to his/her dean to bargain
individually for fair treatment. At the end of the day, both
sides have to agree, and the faculty have to vote to accept
the contract.
In 2001 the UFF formed nine task forces consisting of
over 100 faculty to make recommendations for provisions
that should be included in the new contract.


Their recommendations are listed at http://
www.uffacultycontract.org/new/recommendations.shtml
From the UFF Web site you can also see the provisions of
the contract that have been tentatively agreed upon.
Regardless of whether you are in unit or not, you should
look at those recommendations to see if they reflect what
you think the faculty's priorities should be at UF
All of us in the Senate are very aware that union senti-
ments may run very deeply and that we have strongly
pro-union and strongly anti-union faculty both within the
unit and in the rest of the faculty. As a result, we try to be
sensitive that we not interfere with bargaining, and at the
same time do not let the existence of bargaining slow
down our efforts to make shared governance a reality at
UE The Senate cannot make decisions about terms and
conditions of employment (wages, hours, benefits, tenure
and promotion, etc.) for those faculty within the unit, but
it can make decisions for those faculty outside the unit.
We should try to be careful, however, that our Senate
actions not impede the efforts of the UFF to bargain a
beneficial contract for the over 40 percent of our col-
leagues who are in the unit.
I firmly believe that a strong Senate can co-exist with a
strong faculty union, and that at heart all faculty want to
continue UF's trajectory toward excellence. Probably the
most important thing we can do is educate ourselves about
the advantages and disadvantages of collective bargaining
and about the stand that the union is taking on critical
faculty issues. As educators, we certainly know the value
of knowledge. If you want to know more, please go to the
UFF Web site or speak to your colleagues, deans, and
administrators.


ACADEMICS 2







ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


February Announcements:


Climate Survey
The climate survey became available on February 12th-
please take the time to complete the survey. For more
information about the survey please contact the Faculty
Senate office at facultysenatechair@ufl.edu

2007 Internationalizing the Curriculum Grant
Competition
Faculty members are invited to submit proposals for the
fifth annual competition for internationalizing the curricu-
lum. Up to 16 grants of $3000 will be awarded to faculty
for proposals to develop new courses with substantial
international content or for modifying existing courses to
increase their international component. Proposals are due
by Monday, March 19. Winners will be notified in early
April. Links to this year's guidelines and proposal format
and the lists of winners in previous years can be found on
the International Center's Web site at:
http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/ica.htm
For additional information, please contact Sandra L.
Russo at 392-5834 or via e-mail at
mailto:srusso@ufic.ufl.edu.


Alligator Ombudsman
The ombudsman position was created at the start of the
fall semester in part to help repair strained relationships
between the paper and several campus groups, and to
make the Alligator more accountable to the public. The
ombudsperson serves as the public spokesperson of the
paper and as the readers' representative, answers ques-
tions, investigates complaints and works as an
intermediary to resolve disputes between the paper and
public. Contact: Mike Jayne mjayne@alligator.org (352)
376-4458
Regulations
Proposed regulations changes will be posted on the
Faculty Senate Web site on February 27th. Please review
these recommendations and provide necessary feedback
during the public comment period.


Mini-grants for the Enhancement of Sustainability
in Instruction Proposals
The university is asking for proposals for Mini-grants for
the Enhancement of Sustainability in Instruction. The
Request for Proposals (RFP) can be found at http://
www.aa.ufl.edu/documents/
Sustainability_Minigrant_2007.pdf
Deadline: March 19, 2007
Nominations for Senate and Joint Committees
The Nominating Committee is beginning to prepare
nomination slates for Senate and Joint committees and we
need additional nominations
Please distribute this call throughout your colleges and
recruit your colleagues to participate.

Curriculum Committee: 3 nominations
General Education Committee: 3 nominations
Steering committee: 1 nomination
Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping Committee: 2
nominations
Honorary Degrees: 5 nominations
Constitution Committee: 4 nominations
Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee: 4
nominations
Preservation of Historic Buildings and Sites Committee: 4
nominations
Research Policy Committee: 2 nominations
Nominating Committee: 3 nominations
University Libraries Committee: 3 nominations
Student Petitions Committee: 2 nominations
Sustainability Committee: 2 nominations
Transportation and Parking Committee: 2 nominations
Academic Freedom, Tenure, Professional Relations and
Standards
Committee: 5 nominations
Committee on Committees: 2 nominations
Compensation Committee: 7 nominations

Please submit nominations by March 8th at 5 PM.
Nominations may be sent to the Senate office at
ahugus@ufl.edu or to me at carokem@ufl.edu.


ACADEMICS 3






ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


Council in Review: Academic Infrastructure


Are you tired of outdated technological support in your
classroom? Do you worry that the journals you depend
upon for your research and the education of your students
may no longer be subscribed to by the University of
Florida? How can our campus become more energy
efficient, possibly even carbon neutral? These are among
the issues the Academic Infrastructure and Policy Council
has been wrestling with this year.
The official mission statement for our Council reads,
"To establish policies and procedures for academic infra-
structure and support in cooperation with the President of
the University and the Faculty Senate. This includes
coordinating the work of operating committees that
contribute to the physical framework of the campus
community. Our goal is to achieve standards of excellence
for the interdependent network of facilities and services
essential to a top-tier public research university."
Specific activities for the year have included:
SParticipation in interviews for Dean of the Libraries
SDiscussions with Fedro Zazueta and Mark McAllister
about Academic Technologies
SDiscussions with Marc Hoit about IT Centralization
SA Joint Meeting with the Cultural Plaza Committee
about their Master Plan and potential improvements
A Joint Meeting with the Sustainability Committee
about their agenda for a more sustainable campus
We recognize there is never enough funding to create
the perfect physical infrastructure in an institution like
ours, but we want to make the most of the money we have
and ensure that the great ideas and preferences of the
faculty are considered as policies and priorities are estab-
lished. If there are any infrastructure issues or concerns
of particular interest to you, we encourage you to contact
us through the Faculty Senate Secretary, Amelia Hugus at
ahugus@ufl.edu.


Contributing Committees:
The chair of each of these committees (or an elected
faculty member) is a member of the Infrastructure Council
Sustainability Committee
This committee promotes sustainability within the
University and in the University's relations with the larger
community and seeks to enhance the University's standing
as a global leader in sustainability. It assesses the progress
of the University of Florida's sustainability efforts as
compared to national and international best practices and
pursues their implementation when appropriate. It aids in
the development of policy with the Office of Sustainabil-
ity and participates in the annual evaluations of that
Office, its director and academic officer.
Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee
This committee reviews and recommends rules and
regulations of a nonfinancial nature governing traffic,
parking and registration of vehicles, bicycles, scooters and
motorcycles and public transportation to and on the
campus; programs to meet and enhance the parking and
transportation on the campus; site locations for new
parking facilities and parking lot enhancements on the
campus; special parking requests from University depart-
ments, students, staff and faculty; any significant findings
regarding all parking and transportation matters.
University Libraries Committee
The Committee shall assist the Director of University
Libraries in maintaining and promoting the welfare of the
University Libraries; advise the Faculty Senate about the
state of the Libraries and the Committee's position on
policy matters affecting the Libraries; forward an annual
report to the Faculty Senate and the University Adminis-
tration, and provide other reports whenever advisable.









see committees, pg 5


ACADEMICS 4







ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


committeesfrom, pg. 4

Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee
In conjunction with the Lakes Vegetation and Landscap-
ing, Preservation of Historic Buildings and Sites, and
Parking and Transportation committees, this committee
will be responsible for providing recommendations on the
overall appearance and development of the campus to the
VP, Finance & Administration. The committee shall also
provide recommendations regarding the enforcement of
the University of Florida Master Plan (UFMP) policies and
guidelines. Its responsibilities are to participate in the
development and updating of the UFMP, to recommend
policies for land use and facilities development, and to
review and recommend approval/denial of all requests for
land use changes. The committee will monitor the execu-
tion of the UFMP by reviewing and recommending
approval/denial of all project sites during the Program-
ming and Schematic Design phases; review and
recommend approval/denial of architectural design of
buildings and landscaping, building additions/renovations,
and utility projects during the design development phase;
provide input on minor projects ($1 M and less) that
impact the footprint building exterior of potential historic
building's interior; and assist in upholding the policies,
procedures and standards set by the UFMP.
Preservation of Historic Buildings and Sites Com-
mittee
This committee assists the University in implementing
its Policy on Historic Preservation, filed with the Florida
Secretary of State, as a Programmatic Memorandum of
Agreement for Protection of Historical Resources. In
support of this Memorandum, it assists the University in
fulfilling federal and state obligations with respect to its
historic and archeological resources.
Lakes, Vegetation and Landscaping Committee
responsible for items that affect the use of University
lakes, including guidelines for use of such lakes in order to
preserve their ecological integrity and research capabilities,
and the management and well being of natural areas
containing non-domesticated plants and animals. It pro-
vides recommendations concerning enforcement of
policies regarding the removal of trees and other vegeta-
tion; input to the


Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee regarding
planning of major landscape elements such as green space,
open space, and significant architectural features to ensure
their compatibility with existing and planned landscaping
and master planning; recommendations to the VP for
Finance and Administration about construction on cam-
pus, specifically concerning: programming, including
general site suitability having an impact on trees, land-
scape, natural areas and lakes; schematic design, including
tree removal, plans for transplants, replacements and/or
mitigation based on building footprint, utility corridors and
other construction activities; and design development
including new landscaping, appropriateness and inclusion
of any mitigation for tree removal.


ACADEMICS 5






ACADEMICS


A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida


Faculty Senate News: Meeting Outcomes


2.15.07

Chair's Report:
Dr. Wright announced that the Senate Nominating
committee is still accepting nominations for Senate and
Joint committees and Policy Councils. Senate Chair Elect
nominations are open and will close on March 1. State-
ments are due March 31 and the Senate will vote on the
next chair-elect at the April Senate meeting. Only current
Senators are eligible to run for Chair Elect.
Colleges received information about Senate elections.
Please help to ensure that your college submits candidates
to the Senate office by March 26.
A Graduate Student Forum will be held on April 4 from
12:30 -2:00 P.M. The forum will discuss balancing teach-
ing, research and service. The Senate office is seeking
three faculty members to participate in this round table
discussion. Please contact the Senate office at
facultysenatechair@ufl.edu if you are interested.
Search Committees for the following positions will begin
soon:
Dispute Resolutions Officer, CFO and a Vice President
for Human Resources
The administration would like Faculty members to serve
on these committees. Please send nominations to
facultysenatechair@ufl.edu.


President's Report
The BOG commissioned Pathus Report is available on
the Senate Web site. The governor proposed no new
increases in undergraduate instate tuition. The BOG and
the BOT can still set out of state, graduate, and profes-
sional tuition. The Climate Survey is now available
on-line. Dr. Machen reviewed admissions figures for
African American students (increased 19 percent over last
year) and Hispanic students (increased 27 percent over last
year). Dr. Machen is seeking input from the UCC and
students on the minus grades plan.
The administration is looking into ways to increase
minority faculty numbers at UF


Information Items:
County Extension Agents
Rebecca Pauly presented an information item regarding
a proposed pilot program to change the process for review
of tenure and promotion packets for County Extension
Agents.
Sustainability Committee Report
Eva Czarnecka-Verner presented several sustainability
initiatives. There will be a lunch discussion on March 2
from 12-2 P.M. in room 404 of the Reitz Union. Several
Mini-Grants in sustainability will be offered and the
committee is participating in Focus the Nation initiatives
on global warming.
Proposed Regulations Changes
Tim Taylor presented the constitution committee's
recommendations regarding proposed regulation changes.
The regulations will be posted on February 27. Please
make any necessary comments during the public comment
period.
Action Items:
Academic Enhancement Program Resolution
The Senate unanimously approved a resolution support-
ing the Academic Enhancement Program.
Graduate Council Item
Migration of Nutritional Sciences concentration to PhD
in Nutritional Sciences
The Senate approved the degree proposal


ACADEMICS 6






A C A D E M/I I C S A Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty of the University of Florida

JF Faculty Senate
J UNIV E RSITY of FLORIDA

University of Florida
Faculty Senate Office
134 Tigert Hall
P.O. Box 113185
Gainesville, FL 32611
www.senate.ufl.edu
Office: 352-392-9019
Fax: 352-392-8735
E-mail: facultysenatechair@ufl.edu


ACADEMICS 7




Full Text

PAGE 1

Announcements 3 Council in Review 4 F aculty Sena te Ne ws 6 Fe br uar y 2007By: Danaya Wright , Faculty Senate Chair Chair’ s Messa g e: Danaya Wright Hot T opics: see Wright, pg. 2 see United, pg. 2 Contact Inf or ma tion 7 It is har d to belie v e tha t F e br uar y is almost over, spring break is nearly uponus, and we are moving into the finalcr unc h time f or this academic y ear . T her e are quite a number of items working theirway through councils and committees tomak e their w a y to the Sena te f loor . Let me begin by listing a number of things Ihope you can do or think about in the ne xt couple of w eeks . Please complete the f aculty c lima te sur ve y and encour age your colleagues to do the same. It can be accessed at: https://www3.isr sur v e ys .net/UFF07/ and the pass w or d is ga tor s. Encourage colleagues to nominate themselves for Sena te and joint committees . Please send y our nominations to Amelia Hugus at ahugus@ufl.edu or Carol Kem at car ok em@uf lib .uf l.edu . Senate nominations are also being solicited within your colle g es , so please consider r unning f or the Sena te . Elections for Senators will be held in April. The Senate will be electing its chair-elect at the April meeting , so please encour ag e y our Sena tor s to r un. Attend a t least one of the Pr ov ost’ s Of f ice Con v er sations or Di v er sity pr esenta tions . T he y can be vie w ed a t: http://www .aa.uf l.edu/aa/f acde v/con v er sa tions/ Meet with or send ideas about unit-level shared governance to y our Shar ed Go v er nance T ask F or ce . United F aculty of F lorida By: Danaya Wright , Faculty Senate ChairOver 40 percent of our UF faculty are located within the collective bargaining unit that is currently representedby the United Faculty of Florida. Faculty in all collegesexcept the six Health Science Center colleges (Medicine,V eterinar y Medicine , Dentistr y, Nur sing , Phar mac y, and Pub lic Health & Health Pr of essions), IF AS , and the College of Law are “in unit” and covered by the employ-ment contract negotiated by the UFF bargaining team.Nine of the 11 SUS universities consist of faculties thatare entirely located within their bargaining units; only UFand FSU have “split” campuses with part of their facultywithin the unit and part outside. Since devolution in 2002, each campus has had to bargain individually with its administration/BOT regard-ing the ter ms and conditions of emplo yment tha t w ould be covered in their employment contract. Before 2002, theUFF bargained directly with the Board of Regents, whichmeant that the employment contract for all in-unit facultyat all 11 institutions was the same. With devolution, theUF bargaining team is able to better tailor its contract tof it the needs of UF f aculty . At this time , UF is the onl y uni v er sity in the SUS tha t has not f inaliz ed the ter ms of its faculty contract. Bargaining at UF began on November 18, 2005 after the UFF won a protracted lawsuit over the question ofw hether the indi vidual Boar ds of Tr ustees w er e “successor employers” and thus stepped into the shoes of the Boardof Regents and had a duty to bargain with the currentbargaining agent, or were new employers and entitled tostart all over again and demand a new certification vote.

PAGE 2

2 The Board of Governors will be meeting in Gainesville on Mar c h 28 and 29, and the Boar d of Tr ustees will be meeting on March 29 and 30. There are a number ofitems of the BOG legislative agenda that are important toUF: the academic enhancement program, the centers ofexcellence and distinguished scholars programs, tuitionf le xibility , pr oposed r ules on academic lear ning compacts , and other s. Please c hec k the BOG We b site f or mor e inf or ma tion. www .f lbo g .or g Let me also update you on a few items that have been in the ne wspa per la tel y. Pr esident Mac hen has r equested the input of the University Curriculum Committee and thestudents on the minus grades issue. He expects to havetheir input and will be prepared to make his final decisionshortly after spring break. I believe the matter will ber esolv ed sa tisf actoril y. Pr esident Mac hen also announced at the Senate meeting last month that the issue of remov-ing Senators from the collective bargaining unit has beensettled and that the administration will not move forwardon that. And yes, it is still my Senate. Their recommendations are listed at http:// www .uf f aculty contr act.or g/ne w/r ecommenda tions .shtml . Fr om the UFF We b site y ou can also see the pr o visions of the contract that have been tentatively agreed upon.Regardless of whether you are in unit or not, you shouldlook at those recommendations to see if they reflect whaty ou think the f aculty’ s priorities should be a t UF . All of us in the Senate are very aware that union sentiments ma y r un v er y dee pl y and tha t w e ha v e str ong ly pro-union and strongly anti-union faculty both within theunit and in the r est of the f aculty . As a r esult, w e tr y to be sensitive that we not interfere with bargaining, and at thesame time do not let the existence of bargaining slowdown our efforts to make shared governance a reality atUF . T he Sena te cannot mak e decisions a bout ter ms and conditions of employment (wages, hours, benefits, tenureand promotion, etc.) for those faculty within the unit, butit can make decisions for those faculty outside the unit.W e should tr y to be car eful, ho wev er , tha t our Sena te actions not impede the efforts of the UFF to bargain abeneficial contract for the over 40 percent of our col-leagues who are in the unit. I f ir ml y belie v e tha t a str ong Sena te can co-e xist with a strong faculty union, and that at heart all faculty want tocontin ue UF’ s tr ajector y to w ar d e x cellence . Pr oba bl y the most important thing we can do is educate ourselves aboutthe advantages and disadvantages of collective bargainingand about the stand that the union is taking on criticalf aculty issues . As educa tor s, w e cer tainl y kno w the v alue of knowledge. If you want to know more, please go to theUFF We b site or speak to y our collea gues , deans , and administr a tor s. Bar g aining contin ues to this da y. Is collecti v e bar g aining benef icial in this da y and a g e? Accor ding to the UFF Web site www .uf f aculty contr act.or g , “[c]ollecti v e bar g aining is a concer ted f or m of democr a tic pr ob lem solving , in w hic h the solution has to be agreed to by both the faculty and the administration. Representatives of both parties keepexchanging proposals until they reach a mutually satisfactor y solution, cast in the f or m of a contr act. T he f aculty and the tr ustees then eac h v ote on w hether to acce pt the contract their representatives have negotiated, whichbecomes legally binding if approved.” The drawbacks of collective bargaining is that each individual faculty mem-ber cannot go to his/her dean or to the president andbargain individually for preferential treatment. The benefitof collective bargaining is that each individual facultymember does not have to go to his/her dean to bargainindi viduall y f or f air tr ea tment. At the end of the da y, both sides have to agree, and the faculty have to vote to acceptthe contract. In 2001 the UFF f or med nine task f or ces consisting of over 100 faculty to make recommendations for provisionsthat should be included in the new contract. United from, pg. 1 Wright from, pg. 1

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3 Fe br uar y Announcements: Clima te Sur vey T he c lima te sur ve y became a v aila b le on F e br uar y 12thplease tak e the time to complete the sur vey. F or mor e inf or ma tion a bout the sur ve y please contact the F aculty Senate office at facultysenatechair@ufl.edu 2007 Inter na tionalizing the Cur riculum Gr ant Competition Faculty members are invited to submit proposals for the fifth annual competition for internationalizing the curricu-lum. Up to 16 grants of $3000 will be awarded to facultyfor proposals to develop new courses with substantialinternational content or for modifying existing courses toincrease their international component. Proposals are dueb y Monda y, Mar c h 19. W inner s will be notif ied in ear ly A pril. Links to this y earÂ’ s guidelines and pr oposal f or ma t and the lists of winners in previous years can be found onthe Inter na tional CenterÂ’ s We b site a t: http://www .uf ic .uf l.edu/ica.htm F or ad ditional inf or ma tion, please contact Sandr a L. Russo at 392-5834 or via e-mail at mailto:sr usso@uf ic .uf l.edu . Alligator OmbudsmanThe ombudsman position was created at the start of the fall semester in part to help repair strained relationshipsbetween the paper and several campus groups, and tomake the Alligator more accountable to the public. Theomb udsper son ser v es as the pub lic spok esper son of the paper and as the readersÂ’ representative, answers ques-tions, investigates complaints and works as aninter mediar y to r esolv e disputes betw een the pa per and pub lic . Contact: Mik e J a yne mja yne@allig a tor .or g (352) 376-4458 RegulationsProposed regulations changes will be posted on the F aculty Sena te We b site on F e br uar y 27th. Please r e vie w these recommendations and provide necessary feedbackduring the public comment period. Mini-grants for the Enhancement of Sustainability in Instr uction Pr oposals The university is asking for proposals for Mini-grants for the Enhancement of Sustaina bility in Instr uction. T he Request for Proposals (RFP) can be found at http:// www .aa.uf l.edu/documents/ Sustainability_Minigrant_2007.pdf Deadline: March 19, 2007Nomina tions f or Sena te and J oint Committees The Nominating Committee is beginning to prepare nomination slates for Senate and Joint committees and we need additional nominations Please distribute this call throughout your colleges and r ecr uit y our collea gues to par ticipa te . Curriculum Committee: 3 nominations General Education Committee: 3 nominations Steering committee: 1 nomination Lak es , V e g eta tion and Landsca ping Committee: 2 nominations Honorary Degrees: 5 nominations Constitution Committee: 4 nominations Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee: 4 nominations Pr eser v a tion of Historic Buildings and Sites Committee: 4 nominations R esear c h P olic y Committee: 2 nomina tions Nominating Committee: 3 nominations University Libraries Committee: 3 nominations Student Petitions Committee: 2 nominations Sustainability Committee: 2 nominations T r anspor ta tion and P ar king Committee: 2 nomina tions Academic F r eedom, T en ur e , Pr of essional R ela tions and Standards Committee: 5 nominations Committee on Committees: 2 nominations Compensation Committee: 7 nominations Please submit nominations by March 8th at 5 PM. Nominations may be sent to the Senate office at ahugus@ufl.edu or to me at carokem@ufl.edu .

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4 Council in R e vie w: Academic Infr astr uctur e Contributing Committees:The chair of each of these committees (or an elected f aculty member) is a member of the Infr astr uctur e Council Sustainability CommitteeThis committee promotes sustainability within the Uni v er sity and in the Uni v er sity’ s r ela tions with the lar g er comm unity and seeks to enhance the Uni v er sity’ s standing as a g lobal leader in sustaina bility . It assesses the pr ogr ess of the Uni v er sity of F lorida’ s sustaina bility ef f or ts as compared to national and international best practices andpursues their implementation when appropriate. It aids inthe development of policy with the Office of Sustainabil-ity and participates in the annual evaluations of thatOf f ice , its dir ector and academic of f icer . P ar king and Tr anspor ta tion Ad visor y Committee T his committee r e vie ws and r ecommends r ules and regulations of a nonfinancial nature governing traffic,parking and registration of vehicles, bicycles, scooters andmotorcycles and public transportation to and on thecampus; programs to meet and enhance the parking andtransportation on the campus; site locations for newparking facilities and parking lot enhancements on thecampus; special parking requests from University depart-ments, students, staff and faculty; any significant findingsreg ar ding all par king and tr anspor ta tion ma tter s. University Libraries CommitteeThe Committee shall assist the Director of University Libraries in maintaining and promoting the welfare of theUniversity Libraries; advise the Faculty Senate about thesta te of the Libr aries and the Committee’ s position on policy matters affecting the Libraries; forward an annualreport to the Faculty Senate and the University Adminis-tration, and provide other reports whenever advisable. see committees, pg 5Are you tired of outdated technological support in your classroom? Do you worry that the journals you dependupon for your research and the education of your studentsmay no longer be subscribed to by the University ofF lorida? Ho w can our campus become mor e ener gy efficient, possibly even carbon neutral? These are amongthe issues the Academic Infr astr uctur e and P olic y Council has been wr estling with this y ear . The official mission statement for our Council reads, “T o esta b lish policies and pr ocedur es f or academic infr astr uctur e and suppor t in cooper a tion with the Pr esident of the University and the Faculty Senate. This includescoordinating the work of operating committees thatcontribute to the physical framework of the campuscomm unity . Our g oal is to ac hie v e standar ds of e x cellence f or the inter de pendent netw or k of f acilities and ser vices essential to a top-tier pub lic r esear c h uni v er sity .” Specific activities for the year have included:· P ar ticipa tion in inter vie ws f or Dean of the Libr aries · Discussions with F edr o Zazueta and Mar k McAllister a bout Academic T ec hnolo gies · Discussions with Marc Hoit about IT Centralization· A Joint Meeting with the Cultural Plaza Committee about their Master Plan and potential improvements · A Joint Meeting with the Sustainability Committee about their agenda for a more sustainable campus W e r eco gniz e ther e is ne v er enough funding to cr ea te the perf ect ph ysical infr astr uctur e in an institution lik e ours, but we want to make the most of the money we haveand ensure that the great ideas and preferences of thefaculty are considered as policies and priorities are estab-lished. If ther e ar e an y infr astr uctur e issues or concer ns of particular interest to you, we encourage you to contactus thr ough the F aculty Sena te Secr etar y, Amelia Hugus a t ahugus@ufl.edu.

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5 Land Use and F acilities Planning Committee In conjunction with the Lak es Veg eta tion and Landsca ping , Pr eser va tion of Historic Buildings and Sites , and P ar king and Tr anspor ta tion committees , this committee will be responsible for providing recommendations on theoverall appearance and development of the campus to theVP , Finance & Administr a tion. T he committee shall also provide recommendations regarding the enforcement ofthe University of Florida Master Plan (UFMP) policies andguidelines . Its r esponsibilities ar e to par ticipa te in the de v elopment and upda ting of the UFMP , to r ecommend policies for land use and facilities development, and toreview and recommend approval/denial of all requests forland use c hang es . T he committee will monitor the e x ecution of the UFMP by reviewing and recommendingapproval/denial of all project sites during the Program-ming and Schematic Design phases; review andrecommend approval/denial of architectural design ofbuildings and landscaping, building additions/renovations,and utility projects during the design development phase;provide input on minor projects ($1 M and less) thatimpact the footprint building exterior of potential historicb uildingÂ’ s interior ; and assist in upholding the policies , pr ocedur es and standar ds set b y the UFMP . Pr eser va tion of Historic Buildings and Sites Committee This committee assists the University in implementing its P olic y on Historic Pr eser va tion, f iled with the F lorida Secretary of State, as a Programmatic Memorandum ofAg r eement f or Pr otection of Historical R esour ces . In support of this Memorandum, it assists the University infulfilling federal and state obligations with respect to itshistoric and ar c heolo gical r esour ces . Lak es , Veg eta tion and Landsca ping Committee responsible for items that affect the use of University lakes, including guidelines for use of such lakes in order topr eser v e their ecolo gical inte g rity and r esear c h ca pa bilities , and the management and well being of natural areascontaining non-domestica ted plants and animals . It pr ovides recommendations concerning enforcement ofpolicies regarding the removal of trees and other vegeta-tion; input to the committees from, pg. 4Land Use and Facilities Planning Committee regarding planning of major landscape elements such as green space,open space, and significant architectural features to ensuretheir compatibility with existing and planned landscapingand master planning; recommendations to the VP forFinance and Administr a tion a bout constr uction on campus, specifically concerning: programming, includinggeneral site suitability having an impact on trees, land-scape, natural areas and lakes; schematic design, includingtree removal, plans for transplants, replacements and/ormitigation based on building footprint, utility corridors andother constr uction acti vities; and design de v elopment including new landscaping, appropriateness and inclusionof any mitigation for tree removal.

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6 F aculty Sena te Ne ws: Meeting Outcomes 2.15.07ChairÂ’ s R e por t: Dr . W right announced tha t the Sena te Nomina ting committee is still accepting nominations for Senate andJ oint committees and P olic y Councils . Sena te Chair Elect nominations are open and will close on March 1. State-ments are due March 31 and the Senate will vote on thene xt c hair -elect a t the A pril Sena te meeting . Onl y cur r ent Sena tor s ar e eligib le to r un f or Chair Elect. Colle g es r ecei v ed inf or ma tion a bout Sena te elections . Please help to ensure that your college submits candidatesto the Senate office by March 26. A Gr adua te Student F or um will be held on A pril 4 fr om 12:30 -2:00 P .M. T he f or um will discuss balancing teac hing , r esear c h and ser vice . T he Sena te of f ice is seeking three faculty members to participate in this round tablediscussion. Please contact the Senate office atfacultysenatechair@ufl.edu if you are interested. Action Items:Academic Enhancement Program ResolutionThe Senate unanimously approved a resolution supporting the Academic Enhancement Program. Graduate Council ItemMigration of Nutritional Sciences concentration to PhD in Nutritional Sciences The Senate approved the degree proposal Inf or ma tion Items: County Extension AgentsRe becca P aul y pr esented an inf or ma tion item r eg ar ding a proposed pilot program to change the process for reviewof tenure and promotion packets for County ExtensionAg ents . Sustaina bility Committee R e por t Ev a Czar nec ka-V er ner pr esented se v er al sustaina bility initia ti v es . T her e will be a lunc h discussion on Mar c h 2 fr om 12-2 P .M. in r oom 404 of the R eitz Union. Se v er al Mini-Grants in sustainability will be offered and thecommittee is par ticipa ting in F ocus the Na tion initia ti v es on g lobal w ar ming . Proposed Regulations ChangesTim Ta ylor pr esented the constitution committeeÂ’ s r ecommenda tions r eg ar ding pr oposed r e gula tion c hang es . T he r e gula tions will be posted on F e br uar y 27. Please make any necessary comments during the public commentperiod. Search Committees for the following positions will begin soon: Dispute Resolutions Officer, CFO and a Vice President for Human Resources T he administr a tion w ould lik e F aculty member s to ser ve on these committees . Please send nomina tions to facultysenatechair@ufl.edu. Pr esidentÂ’ s R e por t The BOG commissioned Pathus Report is available on the Sena te We b site . T he g ov er nor pr oposed no ne w increases in undergraduate instate tuition. The BOG andthe BOT can still set out of state, graduate, and profes-sional tuition. T he Clima te Sur ve y is no w a v aila b le on-line . Dr . Mac hen r e vie w ed admissions f igur es f or African American students (increased 19 percent over lastyear) and Hispanic students (increased 27 percent over lasty ear). Dr . Mac hen is seeking input fr om the UCC and students on the minus grades plan. The administration is looking into ways to increase minority f aculty n umber s a t UF .

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7 University of FloridaF aculty Sena te Of f ice 134 Tig er t Hall P .O . Bo x 113185 Gainesville, FL 32611www .sena te .uf l.edu Office: 352-392-9019F ax: 352-392-8735 E-mail: f acultysena tec hair@uf l.edu