As the academic year is winding down, the Faculty Senate will continue to be available for consultation and decision-making during the summer through our Faculty Executive team and our Steering Committee. Our Steering Committee represents membership from across the campuses and typically meets every other week. Our next Senate agenda will include the motion to delegate authority for decision-making to Steering for emergent issues during the summer when Senate is not in session. Because these will be potential decision-making meetings, any summer session meetings are publicly posted and open to attendance. Please watch the Senate website for additional information.
The Faculty Senate is often asked about issues which may require additional action at the university level through reporting or other mechanisms. There has been a recent comprehensive update of the Reporting at WSU website which includes detailed information of importance to faculty including academic integrity violations, disability and accessibility concerns and modifications, free speech, student misconduct, and workplace health and safety issues. An additional resource for concerns specific to promotion, tenure, and status is the Faculty Status Committee which is an independent elected body which reports to the Senate. Information on their process and purpose can be found on the Faculty Senate Committees page under the Faculty Status Committee. This website also contains the bylaws under which they function, current membership, and copies of past reports specific to faculty complaints and their investigation.
Current Chair Elect Roberts and Chair Klein will represent the Senate in the university budget hearings process beginning in April. Our plan is to split the 36 budget hearings between the two of us to be effective representatives, and we will participate in debriefs with the Provost, President and CFO. Chair Klein received initial orientation on the Regents Budget Committee and Roberts and Klein also met with Leslie Brunelli as well as had her present to the Senate. Budget hearings last 30 minutes each and provide an opportunity for units, campuses, and colleges to present their requests as well as plans for any potential cuts. At this time, the Senate and House budgets are in the Washington legislature, and we are not able to predict faculty salary adjustments or specific cuts to academics. We do know that the final budget recommendations will be made by President Cantwell after consultation with those present at the hearings. We have also placed the letter sent to faculty by Trevor Bond regarding potential cuts to library subscriptions and materials on the next Senate agenda, and concerns have been expressed by the Senate’s Library Committee. Once voted on in May by the Regents, the budgets will be returned to their individual units for implementation.
Allocations for faculty salaries are discussed in the faculty manual and are subject to funds available. We have not been notified of any potential furloughs or salary reductions, however, processes for this are also covered in the faculty manual. As noted in prior Senate meetings, we are in the final stages of codifying a permanent Faculty Compensation Committee based upon prior work done by the interim committee. It is our goal to have members of this committee ready and willing to consult with the Faculty Senate regarding any proposals which impact faculty compensation.
Finally, we would like to welcome our new Chair-Elect Christine Horne. Dr. Horne served as Faculty Senate Chair from 2022-2023, and we welcome her experienced view and perspective. Dr. Horne is a professor in the Department of Sociology on the Pullman campus.
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