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Faculty Senate elections to be held in spring Report from the chair, Anne Osborne Kilpatrick This is a new article from your Faculty Senate. We will report a summary after each monthly meeting to describe the issues under review and the activities of the various committees and task forces of the senate. This year, the Faculty Senate is working on a number of very important issues, and during the next few weeks The Catalyst will discuss those in more depth with the chair of the committee or task force working on the issue.  Faculty Senate meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:45 a.m. in room 107 of the Library Administration Building. Faculty members are encouraged to meet their college senators, and to consider serving as a member of the Faculty Senate.  The first in depth conversation will be with the Governance Committee chair Francine Margolius, as that committee will be conducting faculty elections this spring. Please visit our homepage at musc.edu/facsen for more information about the senate. At the March 7 meeting, the following activities took place: Subbi Mathur reported for the Faculty Affairs Committee regarding deliberations on the definition of tenure, and plans for a mentoring workshop on promotion and tenure to be held this spring. Philippe Arnaud reported for the Academic Affairs Committee and their deliberations regarding compensation equity and the raise policy for faculty now in place. Mary Mauldin  reported for the University Affairs Committee and their efforts to improve continuity and communication of the various committees and task forces involved in issues that affect the university and have representation from the senate. Kit Simpson reported on the activities of the Gender Equity Committee, addressing the data regarding our faculty’s representation of females and minorities.  Francine Margolius  reported for the Governance Committee, which will conduct the election this spring. Newly elected senators will begin serving in the summer, but will officially assume office in the fall. The committee is also involved in updating the faculty handbook, the first round of which was approved by the senate at Tuesday’s meeting.  Policies  The Senate approved the proposed policy on Criminal Searches. A faculty forum is scheduled for 5 p.m. April 11 in room 100 of the Basic Science Building to discuss two proposed policies on conflict of interest and outside activities policy. We will invite a number of persons to participate in the discussion regarding these very important policies. Rich Hernandez reported on the status of the proposed new faculty contract. The final recommended document is available for review.