Faculty Council discusses membership requirements

Faculty Council leadership is considering whether non-tenure-track faculty – including Instructional, Research and Clinical (IRC) faculty and lecturers – could be made eligible for membership in the Faculty Senate, the systemwide governance group composed of faculty with 50% or more appointments.

During Faculty Council’s first meeting of the academic year, held Aug. 31 via Zoom, Chair Alastair Norcross called IRC faculty and lecturers “the most vulnerable of our colleagues.”

The Faculty Senate Constitution requires that members have a 50% or more appointment as faculty.

Jeffrey Schrader, chair of the council’s Personnel and Benefits Committee, said the committee will take steps to determine what course of action the Faculty Senate might be able to take to pursue potential changes to membership requirements.

Norcross also asked the council to consider gathering in person for a retreat at some point during the year. A planned in-person retreat had been scheduled for last year but was postponed.

Also at last week’s meeting, Cindy O’Bryant, immediate past chair of Faculty Council, said the Committee for the Revision of Faculty Council Bylaws continued its ongoing work over the summer. Potential changes to language will make the documents more efficient, she said. Updated documents are expected to be distributed for comment and approval by the end of the academic year.

The next Faculty Council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 28.