Chair's Year-End Report
44th Senate - 2009-2010
To say that this year has been a busy one is perhaps an understatement. I want to
thank all of you for the hard work you've done representing the faculty here at Southeast
Missouri State. We've accomplished a great deal. We recommended a dozen retiring faculty
members for emeritus status, surely a record number. We passed a Summer Compensation
resolution, negotiating acceptable compensation for faculty members teaching in low-enrolled
summer courses. We witnessed the fruition of the Student Evaluation of Instruction
Bill, an initiative which began in fall of 2008. The bill was signed by President
Dobbins and then Provost Stephens in December of 2009; it was endorsed by Provost
Rosati upon his arrival in February of 2010 and after being temporarily tabled by
the Board of Regents pending student consult in March, is hopefully scheduled to return
to the Board table in May of 2010. A bill separating promotion and post-professorial
merit monies from annual increases which was passed by the Senate in late April was
returned to the Senate without approval on May 5. This bill, which would relieve faculty
of the burden of funding their own promotion increases, would also eliminate the uncertainty
of promotion funding during lean budget years when no salary increases are available.
The Senate passed a new 5-year Calendar, which was approved by the Board in March.
We also passed a revision to the Professional Development policy, which will accommodate
variances in departmental funding practices. This bill awaits presidential and Board
approval. We have also drafted changes to the Tenure and Promotion policy, to clarify
membership requirements on tenure and promotion committees. We will vote on that bill
today. We have drafted recommendations to the Faculty Handbook's retrenchment and
program review policies, meant as discussion points for the next Faculty Senate. Lastly,
although our Resolution on Collegiality failed, we began important and timely discussions
on shared governance, which included bringing Dr. David Robinson, Vice President of
the Missouri Conference of the AAUP, to campus.
We still have much, much more to do. I began the year speaking of challenges that
we at the University face in light of the budget situation. Those challenges continue
and for that reason I challenge those senators who remain and those yet to come to
fight the good fight for the faculty that more than ever need strong Senate representation.
As Dr. Robinson reminded us, we not only have a right, but a responsibility to play
a role in the governance process. We are facing ever more budget cuts which may well
result in more lost programs and faculty positions. Please don't acquiesce on important
faculty issues, especially during these critical budget times. I conclude with the
words of the poet Dylan Thomas, who says, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Do not go gentle into that good night.”