Dear SCU Faculty,  

Uncertainty, loss, and disruption continued this fall and I know that we are all tired. There are many stressors on us individually, and as a university. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the many faculty who have been working on evaluation, promotion, and rank and tenure committees this fall. I am always amazed at how hard our fellow faculty members work, no matter what the circumstances. This gives me faith that our faculty-driven governance processes are solid and can be a model of good governance. Great resources have also been shared by our faculty development office to help us (links are included below). 

As we continue the academic year and move into 2022 we have important work ahead. Participation in the presidential search is one of these as is salaries for faculty and staff. In the FSC I am hoping we can have discussions about the main priorities we would like to give to the new SCU president on their first day on the job. 

As I write this I am hearing about the death of scholar and activist bell hooks and am reminded of this quote from her book, Teaching to Transgress, "The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility.” Yes, we have big challenges ahead, but my hope is that centered by our work in our classrooms, we can meet the challenges with the same care and concern for one another, our students, and the hope we have for a better SCU. And may we build an SCU where the joy of discovery and space to creatively approach and share our disciplines is fully realized for all of us.

In community,

Laura Nichols
Faculty Senate President, 2021-2022

Suggestions for Topics for Future Teaching Cafés

• Feedback on future topics for Teaching Cafés may be sent to Eileen Elrod at eelrod@scu.edu or facultydevelopment@scu.edu.

Addressing Sexual Violence Employee Group

• We invite faculty who are interested in this group to complete the following Google Form: Addressing Sexual Violence Employee Group Interest Form.

Input into Faculty Senate Priorities and Agenda Items 

• We invite you to share your priorities with us either through this Faculty Senate Feedback Form or by sending an email to: facultysenate@scu.edu. Thank you.

• Faculty Senate Professor Award: In September we came together to honor our colleagues at the annual Faculty Awards and Celebration co-hosted by the Office of the Provost and the Faculty Senate. You may see all awardees here including a link to the talk by our Faculty Senate Professor of 2020-21, Laura Ellingson. 

Michelle Oberman from the School of Law, was honored with the Faculty Senate Professor Award for this academic year. Nominated by colleagues and chosen by former awardees, the Faculty Senate Professor Award is given to an accomplished fellow faculty member who addresses us at the next years’ award ceremony. Professor Oberman is a writer, teacher, public intellectual, and mentor who was honored for her scholarship, teaching, and generous service to colleagues, students, and the profession. 

• Faculty Senate Budget Review Working Group: Thank you to those who have agreed to serve on the Faculty Senate Council Budget Working Group and especially Andy Wolfe who is the chair. The group is currently working on it’s charge, and how it can best complement the work of the UCC’s Collaborative Governance and University Finances Task Force. 

• Appointment Letters: We know that many of you have raised questions about the reference to the Staff Policy Manual that was added to appointment letters for this academic year and subsequent quarters/semesters. We are happy to report that the Provosts have confirmed that this reference will be taken out of next years’ letters. A process is being worked on to identify any parts of the Staff Policy Manual that apply to faculty and are not already in the Faculty Handbook. More soon on that work.

• Bylaws Proposed Revisions: Thank you to our Faculty Senate Bylaws Working Group of Dan Ostrov and David Sloss. The bylaws revisions have passed the Faculty Senate Council review, discussion, and vote–the proposed revisions will now go before a vote of the full Faculty Senate. 

• Teaching Resources: The Office of Teaching Innovation had a Café on teaching with pedagogies of compassion and wellness. The first was in early December, the next will be in January. You can find links to resources from that Café and others here. Information about Instructional Technology workshops or one-on-one consultations may be found here. 

FACULTY DISCUSSION GOOGLE GROUP MANAGERS

In September all current faculty were added to a new google discussion group, managed by the Faculty Senate Council. At the October FSC meeting we decided to appoint members of the Faculty Senate to serve as managers of the google group. We thank Stacey Ritter (Accounting) and James Nati (Jesuit School of Theology) for being willing to serve in this role. 

AFLOC UNION SUPPORT CARDS

AFLOC encourages all Lecturers to complete a union support card if you haven’t already. Union support cards need to be completed annually. More information on AFLOC can be found here.

FSC REPRESENTATIVES FOR WINTER 2022

Department Chairs: If you haven’t elected/selected a faculty member to represent your department for winter quarter, please do so as soon as possible and forward this  forward this information to Ixtlac at iduenas@scu.edu.  She will be sending out reminders to department chairs.

Representatives to the Faculty Senate Council normally serve two-year terms from July 1 to June 30, but the representatives may serve as long as their constituency so chooses. FSC Representatives are responsible for familiarizing their departments with work of the Faculty Senate Council, and to bring the Council such issues as referred to them by their constituents.

A schedule of FSC meetings for 2021-22 is included here. FSC meetings will occur via Zoom for Winter 2022. As room availability begins to open up, we will reevaluate if the FSC should hold hybrid meetings for winter and spring quarters. 

GET READY FOR tUrn!

If faculty have suggestions for headliner topics for tUrn6 in April 2022 and tUrn7 in October 2022 or if faculty wish to join the 2022 Climate Crisis Research Group please email tUrnproject@scu.edu by January 15, 2021. For more information on tUrn please visit: https://www.scu.edu/turn/. 

Dear SCU Faculty,

Our election season for Faculty Senate Committees is underway.  Please join us in welcoming Andy Wolfe as the newly elected NTT FSC At-Large Representative and Scott LaBarge as the newly elected TTT At-Large Representative.

In addition to our Faculty Senate Committee elections planned for January, we will hold an election for the approval of the revisions to the Faculty Senate Bylaws (see proposed revisions here). At its December 8th meeting, the Faculty Senate Council voted (34-0-1, Y-N-A) to have the proposed bylaws revision be put to a vote of the full Faculty Senate. 

Your responsibility as a voter is to keep an eye open for emails from Ixtlac regarding upcoming elections. There are typically two phases in the election process: (1) Ixtlac sends out a sample ballot with a list of candidates eligible for the election. If you will not be able to serve OR if you want to opt-in, it is important to let her know at this phase. (2) She will send a second email with the official ballot, candidates, and instructions for voting via e-Campus including the voting deadline. PLEASE VOTE!! Once the election closes, I will inform those elected and the website will be updated after ther confirmation. THANK YOU for your active participation in our elections and your willingness to serve and continue to improve our faculty governance system.

A tentative list of elections and proposed dates can be found below.

Sincerely,

Pat Cain
Faculty Senate President-elect, 2021-22

Upcoming Elections 

• Faculty Senate Bylaws Revision (vote of the full Faculty Senate)
• University & College/School Rank & Tenure
• Committee for Promotion to Senior Lecturer
• PAFLC

Election Results 

• View summary of 2021-22 Faculty Senate Elections here.

Find important resources on the Faculty Senate and the University Coordinating Committee webpages.

Our main Faculty Policy committee is the Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC). FAC materials are maintained on the University Governance website.

Faculty Senate Council meetings typically occur on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and our next meeting is scheduled for January 12, 2022 on Zoom.  A full list of meeting dates for AY2021-22 may be viewed here. Reminders will be sent out soon. 

All faculty members below the level of dean are welcome to attend FSC meetings in accordance with our by-laws. While administrators at the level of dean or above are not Faculty Senate members, they may attend when officially invited and during the time they are on the agenda.