Senate Beat: Oct 10 2019
The senate shuffle continues, and this time with a visit from faculty members Jay Mellies and Marc Schneiberg who, in a quite frantic and desperate manner, came in to plead with the students to help in conducting the search for a new Dean of Faculty. Mellies and Schneiberg expressed faculty desire in having student participation to outline the criteria that we, as students, deem representative of a successful dean, as well as creating questions that will be used in the interview process. The faculty wants to construct a committee consisting of three to six students that will play an active role in executing the prospective dean interviews and seek for completion of said interviews by the end of the semester. This projective timeline will allow for a new dean to be selected rapidly and who will work closely with the current Dean of Faculty, Nigel Nicholson, during the spring semester to aid in ensuring a more smooth transition.
The mic was then turned to members of senate who were given a chance to communicate opinions regarding the future dean. Mediation skills were highlighted as a desirable trait during the meeting. It was indicated that students have experienced slow response times and low visibility in regards to generating a line of communication between students and faculty. Other points brought up by the Senate included a desire for increased professor support and investment in introductory courses.
Faculty is looking for as much student involvement in this process as possible and urges students to send emails containing possible criteria and questions that you believe should be used during the interview process and in determining the new dean.
Three representatives from the Judicial Board, Restorative Justice Coalition, and Honor Council were present to express a desire to strengthen the relationship between said groups and the student senate as well as to discuss issues concerning the groups and possible solutions. The main focus of the discussion landed on developing a more equitable pay structure for the groups and on finding the resources to institute training programs for board and club members. The discussion came to an end after outlining ways in which both the Senate and faculty members could contribute to helping these groups meet their desires.