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Faculty Senate Handbook set for mid-August board The faculty senate hopes to alleviate confusion with the presentation of a revitalized faculty handbook to the board of trustees in mid-August.    After three years of intense gathering, compiling and collaborating, the governance committee of the faculty senate created a living Internet document that not only makes the current handbook accessible but enables information to be updated frequently and in a consistent format.    “Dr. Adrian Reuben conceived of this project in 1999 during his first term as chair of the faculty senate because of the inadequacies of the existing handbook,” said Francine Margolius M.D., chairperson of the governance committee,  “It didn’t meet the needs of faculty and administrators alike and led to confusion and strife.”    A major problem with the old on-line document stemmed from inconsistency in the way things were changed and updated, contributing to confusion about policies. In addition to the current approved version, a new color coding “working” document enables senators to navigate easily through the dense information in order to identify topics that need more work. Keeping it on-line allows the university to keep costs down and save paper, while faculty can still print copies of whatever information is needed.    “It’s so important to set boundaries and standards for everyone as it’s become more pertinent than ever to deal with a constant flow of changes within the university. Somewhere along the way the handbook became a contract and the enlisted rights of the faculty,” Margolius said, “Lately it seems that there are more questions about conflicts of interest, tenure, annual contracts, and the evaluation process, and the new handbook addresses these issues more succinctly.” Updating the handbook may have taken three years, but it has included the faculty of individual colleges, the faculty senate, the president’s and provost’s offices, and legal advice.  Supportive staff for the project included Walker Coleman of the president’s office and Melissa Foster of the provost’s office.   Comprised of 62 senators including alternates, the faculty senate represents the College of Medicine (clinical and basic Sciences), Dental, Health Professions, Nursing, Library Science and Pharmacy colleges.  Senators belong to one of five standing committees: Executive, Governance, Faculty Affairs, Academic Affairs, and University Affairs.  Members participate in meetings the first Tuesday of each month and after May elections, begin two-year terms in October. Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.