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Faculty senate elects new officers for 2003-04

The faculty senate’s September meeting minutes were approved and are posted on the senate’s Web site at http://www.musc.edu/facsen/.

John Raymond, M.D., welcomed the senators to the 2003-04 session of the faculty senate. A special welcome was extended to the faculty who are joining the senate for the first time. Raymond acknowledged the significant contributions made by the senate during the preceding year. A special recognition including an engraved plaque was presented to CON's Francine Margolius, Ed.D., for her continued service to the senate. Margolius continued to work to improve the electronic elections process this year despite having rotated off the faculty senate two years ago. 

Annual Committee Reports
University Affairs—Mary Mauldin 
This year, the university affairs committee developed and administered a survey to the faculty regarding information technology, reviewed the budget and arranged for the budget(s) and year-end financial statements to be presented to the full senate, and organized a retreat for the faculty senate to orient new members and to begin the senate’s strategic planning process. 

Faculty Affairs—Kathy Chessman 
The faculty affairs committee worked on the tenure policy, moving the policy on to the deans’ council, where it met with some opposition.  Due to these efforts, a tenure discussion group with representatives from the faculty senate and the administration has been appointed and charged by Raymond. This group has met twice. The committee also reviewed the use of adjunct faculty in the various colleges.

Academic Affairs—Paul Gold
The academic affairs committee was involved in the restructuring of the faculty contract template and reviewing the Drug-free Workplace Policy as well as other policies.

Governance Committee—Elaine Amella
This year governance reviewed and revised the senate’s constitution and bylaws. The constitution, which had not been ratified previously by the MUSC faculty, will be presented at this meeting for approval. The bylaws revision will be presented at a future senate meeting. The senate’s election was conducted by governance. Special thanks were given to Margolius and Ben Gilbertson for their continued work toward improving the process. 

The table at http://www.musc.edu/facsen/minutes/minutes_02_03/october_03/oct_03_minutes.html summarizes the current distribution of senators as well as the percentage of eligible faculty who voted in the recent election.

The governance committee also reviewed the possibility of senators wearing a medal at commencement. Based on the above distribution, a quorum for voting will be 21 senators. Alternates are allowed to vote when the full complement of active Senators from an electoral unit is not present at the meeting. The secretary will establish the presence of a quorum before a vote is taken at each meeting. 

Gender Equity Committee—Tara Hulsey 
This year, the gender equity committee produced a report  that culminated years of work by the senate. The report was well received garnering a commendation from the provost. A report will be sent to the senate each year regarding gender and race equity issues.

Chair’s Annual Report—Anne Kilpatrick 
Anne Kilpatrick, DPA, emphasized the strategic planning process that began at the retreat.  The senate should be proactive rather than reactive, and this process will help develop that role.  Many things have been done this year in the area of process improvement, from the improvement of the Web site through the work of webmaster Mary Mauldin, to the revision of the constitution and bylaws and improvement in the voting process. Faculty senate has  been featured in The Catalyst at least once per month through articles submitted initially by the chair and now by the secretary. Things hoped for but not accomplished include development of a log for tracking the progress of policies through the senate and other bodies and quarterly faculty forums. 

Senate Leadership 2003-04—Anne Kilpatrick
The following senators will represent their respective electoral unit on the executive committee: Tara Hulsey, College of Nursing; Geoff Freeman, Library and Informatics; Paul Gold, College of Medicine, Clinical Sciences; Sandra Garner, College of Pharmacy; Libby Dismuke, College of Health Professions;  Rick Albenesius, College of Dental Medicine; and Debra Hazen-Martin, College of Medicine, Basic Sciences. Kilpatrick presented the executive committee’s proposed slate of officers for 2003-04. The proposed officers are Kathy Chessman, chair; Eberhard Voit, vice-chair; and Mary Mauldin, secretary. 

Action: The slate was approved unanimously. 

Constitution—Elaine Amella
Elaine Amella, governance committee chair, presented the committee’s proposed revisions to the faculty senate’s constitution. 

Senators received these documents via e-mail prior to the meeting. A question was asked regarding the dismissal of senators. Amella explained that this process would be decided by each electoral unit and would not be taken up by the full senate.  Removal of officers will be discussed by the governance committee.  A proposal was made to add language about removal of officers in the bylaws. 

Action: The constitution was accepted unanimously by the senate and will now go to the full faculty for review and vote. Once approved by a majority of those in attendance at a special faculty meeting, it will go to the Board of Trustees for approval. 

Retreat Summary—Mary Mauldin 
The senate retreat was well attended and progress made on a vision and mission statement.  Senators were asked to review the vision statement and come prepared to discuss and vote at the next senate meeting. 

A recommendation was made that more time be spent during the retreat addressing basic information for new senators (e.g., time of meetings, responsibility of senators) and that more advanced notice of the retreat be given.  It was agreed that a date for next year’s retreat will be set well in advance.

Special Presentation—Kathy Chessman
Kathy Chessman thanked Anne Kilpatrick for her two years of service as the chair of the faculty senate.  She was presented with a Waterford clock by the executive committee.  It was noted that Kilpatrick has been re-elected to the senate for another two years and will continue to contribute significantly during the next two years.
Submitted by Kathy Chessman, Chair, Faculty Senate

Senators present
Basic Sciences: Maurizio Del Poeta (alt), Lucille London (alt), Sally Self, Eberhard Voit 
Clinical Sciences: Susan Ackerman, Christopher Frueh, Michael Frye, Andrew Gelasco (alt) Paul Gold, Rochelle Hanson, George M. Johnson, Dana King, Walter Limehouse (alt), Arch Mainous, Swapan Ray (alt), Aljoeson Walker

Dental Medicine: Richard Albenesius, Michele Ravenel, Carlos Salinas

Health Professions: Libby Dismuke, Jennifer Horner, Anne Kilpatrick, Jack K. Thomas 

Library Science and Informatics: Mary Mauldin, Nancy McKeehan, Peggy Schachte
Nursing: Elaine Amella, Julia Ball, Elizabeth Erkel, Tara Hulsey, Teresa Kelechi (alt)

Pharmacy: Kathy Chessman
 
 
 

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.