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Senate proposes changes to constitution, bylaws The faculty senate’s June meeting minutes are posted on the senate’s Web site at http://www.musc.edu/facsen.  Committee Reports Committee on Institutional Advancement—The Committee on Institutional Advancement will sponsor an orientation for all senators following the senate election. The orientation will be held in September and a specific date announced in the near future. Committee on Communication and Education—Rick Albenesius, DMD, chair, reported that approximately 120 faculty members attended the Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the senate in June. Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., and John Raymond, M.D., addressed a number of issues including progress on proposed mergers and collaborations, building construction, and the faculty contract process. The committee is currently in the process of planning the fourth quarterly meeting for all faculty, to be held in September. Governance Committee—Elaine Amella, Ph.D., R.N., past chair, reported that the proposed constitution and bylaws were sent via e-mail to all faculty for review and comment.  Based on comments at the time of the senate meeting, two changes were made:  (1) the statement “as permitted by state law” was added in two places for clarification and, (2) the bylaws will be reviewed by the governance committee on an annual basis, and the constitution will be reviewed by the governance committee every five years. (Additional comments were received following the senate meeting. These will be addressed by the governance committee and presented to the senate.)  Proposed changes will also be presented to the dean’s council and president’s council prior to a vote by the full faculty during the senate elections in August/September.  The governance committee continues to work on the election process scheduled for August/September. Kathy Chessman, Pharm.D., chair, asked senators to encourage fellow faculty members to consider running for the senate.  The governance committee is nearing completion of its work reviewing the faculty handbook. The committee is comparing the current version with the working copy in order to reconcile discrepancies.  The working version of the faculty handbook will be placed on the faculty senate’s Web site behind a password-secure area for access by current senators. Committee on Faculty and Institutional Affairs—Paul Gold, Ph.D., committee chair, reported that the committee continues to explore strategies for faculty development. Gold reviewed the most current literature related to this topic, and the major issues appear to be the future of faculty roles in partnerships  and academic advancement, especially for clinical-educators. Gold asked for volunteers from the senate to work with this committee for the purpose of writing a proposal related to faculty development that will be considered for inclusion in MUSC’ s strategic plan.  In a second matter, a faculty member stated that it would be helpful to have access to average salary ranges for various health professions.  Current senators will be asked to provide specific resources for this information related to their particular professions.  The salary ranges for all available professions will be posted on the senate’s Web site. Faculty Senate Sponsored Research Workshop—Libby Dismuke, Ph.D., is organizing a workshop for all faculty on issues related to research: how to apply, mentoring, networking, etc. Since the Office of Research and Development is also planning workshops related to the topic, Dismuke will use this window of opportunity to share resources and expand upon specific topics. A senator from each college will be asked to participate in planning this workshop. Faculty Contract Process—Chessman received several faculty requests for clarification during the recent contract process.  These requests focused on the non-recurring salary component of the contract.  During the senate’s discussion of this topic, several related issues were identified including questions related to the specifications of tenure, and the contract and mediation process. Chessman will discuss these topics with Raymond and report the outcome of that discussion to the senate. Chair’s Report—Kathy Chessman Evaluation of Deans/Department Chairs— Chessman reported that each dean and department chair has been asked to share the results of their evaluation with their constituencies. Chessman also stated that the Office of the Provost reported a low faculty response rate to the request to complete the evaluation form. Senators stated that faculty in small departments are concerned about the confidentiality of these evaluations, which could possibly be contributing to the low response rate. The next senate meeting will be held at 7:45 a.m., Aug. 3,  in Gazes Auditorium. The agenda will be posted on the faculty senate’s Web site prior to the meeting. Submitted by Mary Mauldin, Secretary to the Faculty Senate Senators present Basic Sciences: Daynna Wolff. Excused: Robert Ogilvie, Sally Self, Eberhard Voit  (executive committee)  Clinical Sciences: Susan Ackerman, Christopher Frueh, Michael Frye, Paul Gold (executive committee), George Johnson, Dana King, Arch Mainous, Walter Limehouse (alternate), Kenneth Vanek (alternate). Excused: Prabhakar Baliga, Lucinda Halstead, Rochelle Hanson, John Osguthorpe Dental Medicine: Rick Albenesius (executive committee), Michele Ravenel. Excused: Peter Kobes Health Professions: Anne Kilpatrick, Jack Thomas. Excused: Libby Dismuke (executive committee), Jennifer Horner Library Science & Informatics: Mary Mauldin (executive committee), Nancy McKeehan. Excused: Peggy Schachte Nursing: Elaine Amella, Liz Erkel, John Welton (alternate). Excused: Julia Ball, Tara Hulsey (executive committee), Teresa Kelechi (alternate) Pharmacy: Kathy Chessman (executive committee), Sandra Garner (executive committee), Kelly Ragucci (alternate). Excused: Marc Lapointe Friday, July 30, 2004 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. 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