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Faculty Senate committees tackle issues The Faculty Senate April minutes were approved without changes to open the Senate’s May meeting. Each of the Senate’s Standing Committees issued their reports: Governance Committee—Eberhard Voit reporting. The committee continues to meet frequently to complete the arduous task of revising the Senate’s Constitution and Bylaws. Of immediate concern to the committee is the upcoming annual Senate election.  Electronic voting has been used for two years now and there are still some system issues to resolve.  In order to have time to complete the necessary work to improve the process, the committee proposed moving the election to August. The Senate unanimously voted to move the next Senate election to August. University Affairs Committee—Anne Kilpatrick reporting.The committee has now completed its summary of the information technology needs survey.  The summary will be published on the Senate’s Web site and The Catalyst as well as e-mailed to the Senate. A Senate Orientation is again planned for the fall. Gender Equity Committee—Tara Hulsey, chair, reporting. The committee has received all the information requested from various groups and now feels that a report will be ready before the end of this Senate’s term. Faculty Affairs Committee—Kathy Chessman, chair, reporting. A consolidated reply from the deans regarding the proposed Tenure Policy is expected from John Raymond, M.D., soon. The committee is also working on the definition and use of adjunct faculty at MUSC. Academic Affairs Committee—Paul Gold, chair, reporting.  A report on the Drug-free Workplace Policy is expected at the June Senate meeting. Tom Higerd, Ph.D., associate provost for institutional effectiveness, Edward Hay, co-chair of the faculty contract working group, and Joe Good, MUSC Legal Services, were present to discuss the new annual contract process with the Senate. Higerd gave the status report.  The process of making the contract Web-enabled is approximately two weeks behind schedule.  Having the contracts Web-based will allow creation of a database of information for future use. The date for contracts to be signed is now Aug. 1.  The month of July will be an extension of service under the current contract.  An example contract was distributed to the group. Higerd pointed out two major changes from last year’s contract:  1) Part VII:  Appropriate Practice Plan has been added. Once this page is Web-enabled it will contain the appropriate information for each faculty member’s practice plan. Higerd pointed out that inclusion of the practice plan means that a non-signed contract puts UMA and MUSC and the individual faculty member at significant legal liability. 2) Salary categories were changed.  The term “base salary” is no longer used. Instead, the terms “recurring salary” and “non-recurring salary” are used. No definitions of these terms are included in the contract. A lengthy discussion followed regarding the use of these terms. Higerd stated that the intent is to have the contracts in the chair’s hands and subsequently the faculty member’s hands with enough time to allow for negotiation to occur. The contracts will be printed in the departments but tracked by Higerd’s office. Last year his office printed all 1200 contracts. The June Senate meeting was held at 7:45 a.m.  June 3 in room 107 of the Library/Administration Building.  Senators present Basic Sciences: Philippe Arnaud, Lucille London, Eberhard Voit, Sally Self Clinical Sciences: Susan Ackerman, Connie Best, Paul Gold, Barry Hainer, Dana King, Shailendra Patel, Dean Schuyler, Thomas Steele, Aljoeson Walker, Michael Zile Dental Medicine: Richard J. Albenesius, Peter Kobes, Stephen Malley, Carlos Salinas Health Professions: Anne Kilpatrick, Jennifer Horner, Jack Thomas, Andrea White Library Science and Informatics: Geoff Freeman, Mary Mauldin, Judi Wisniewski, Joann Sullivan Nursing: Tara Hulsey, John Welton Pharmacy: Katherine Chessman, Joli Fermo   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.