SENATE From the Senate Office


The following statement is published in accordance with the Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments to Senate Chair Peter Kuriloff or Executive Assistant Carolyn Burdon, Box 12 College Hall/6303, 898-6943 or burdon@pobox.upenn.edu.

Actions Taken by the Senate Executive Committee
Wednesday, January 15, 1997

  1. Benefits Redesign. Chair Peter Kuriloff announced the Benefits Redesign Report is scheduled for publication in Almanac February 4, 1997 and discussion of it will be placed on the agenda of the February 5, 1997 SEC meeting. The Faculty Senate ad hoc Committee to Review the Benefits Redesign Report will begin meeting next week. (See Chair's column Almanac January 14, 1997.) It will be briefed by the executive vice president, deputy provost, associate provost, and the University's consultants. Members of the ad hoc committee will also attend the SEC meeting to get input from the community. The ad hoc committee and SEC will work together with all deliberate speed to insure the faculty voice helps shape these proposals in ways that are beneficial to the University and the faculty.

  2. Undergraduate Assembly-Faculty Pairing. SEC members were encouraged to participate in the undergraduate student project aimed at bringing together faculty and students sharing similar interests. SEC members responded enthusiastically and will be contacting students over the next few weeks.

  3. Academic Planning and Budget Committee and Capital Council. Past Senate Chair William Kissick reported that since the last SEC meeting the Academic Planning and Budget Committee has held meetings for two hours twice a week devoted exclusively to benefits redesign. Much of the discussion was around health care. Several SEC members were concerned about consultation with the faculty and SEC was reminded that there are nine faculty on the AP&BC, five chosen by SEC. A SEC member pointed out that the Internal Revenue Service triggered the need to change the retirement plan and bring it into compliance.

    Capital Council met but no votes were taken.

  4. Senate Nominating Committee. David R. Williams (psychology) was elected as chair of the Senate Nominating Committee (in this issue of Almanac).

  5. Senate Committee on Committees. Faculty Senate Chair-elect Vivian Seltzer (social work) was elected as chair of the committee.

  6. Just cause revision. SEC approved the subcommittee's latest language and style revisions. It will now be sent for review by the associate provost and trustee subcommittee and then the amendments will be forwarded to the faculty for a vote.

    Discussion then centered on a problem with the Policy on Misconduct in Research. (This policy had been combined with the proposed just cause revision but has since been disaggregated. The misconduct policy in the Handbook for Faculty and Academic Administrators is the policy currently in force.) The problem concerns how to deal with a procedural error made in the course of a case and whether the error should be corrected immediately or at the end of the process. Further, should two parallel procedures be available to the faculty member simultaneously, e.g. access to the faculty grievance procedure while using the just cause procedure. It was recommended that a faculty member be able to complete the faculty grievance procedure prior to being required to go before a just cause committee in his or her school. Another SEC member recommended that one process be cleared up before moving to the next step; otherwise this could become a vehicle for delay.

    SEC appointed Charles Mooney and Frank Goodman as a subcommittee to work out problems in the misconduct policy with the provost. Frank Goodman was asked to provide SEC with a one page flow chart for a misconduct in research case.

  7. Open Forum with the Provost. A lively discussion centered on: difficulties with the frustrating regulations of the INS and IRS for paying an honorarium to a foreign faculty guest lecturer; the need to prepare Ph.D. students realistically for the challenges of the job market; and the need to hold down the rising cost of tuition particularly in relation to the CPI.


Almanac

Volume 43 Number 18
January 21, 1997


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