Faculty Senate letterhead with block M

 SACUA / SA Newsletter

             February 2022    

Allen Liu, Faculty Senate Chair
SACUA update: SACUA met with Clinical Faculty Working Group (CFWG) co-chairs Phil Rodgers, Clinical Professor, Michigan Medicine and Howard Bromberg, Clinical Professor, Michigan Law, and reviewed and provided feedback on CFWG's interim report. SACUA approved to circulate the interim report to the Rules, Practices, and Policies (RPP) Committee for further discussion. SACUA also received a report on lecturers from Lecturer's Employee Organization (LEO), and the report will be shared with the RPP Committee pending revisions.

SACUA met with the Regent Acker on January 31 about the presidential search. In February, SACUA discussed a position statement concerning the presidential search drafted by U-M Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). SACUA voted to co-sponsor the statement with UM-AAUP and the statement has been shared with the Regents and members of the presidential search committee.

SACUA met with VP for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Ravi Pendse and Chief Information Security Officer Sol Bermann to discuss IT security. Ravi Pendse has provided some general information for our faculty to understand the overall process and procedures on how records are monitored and accessed.   

SACUA met with several faculty from UM-Flint and learned about a proposed workload/post-tenure review policy that is being considered at UM-Flint. SACUA discussed, voted, and approved a resolution calling for the Provost at UM-Flint to withdraw the current workload and post-tenure review policy proposal. The resolution was brought to Senate Assembly (SA) for discussion and vote.
 
SA meeting summary: At the February SA meeting, Regent Acker visited us and discussed the presidential search that is under way. Provost Collins also visited us and spoke about faculty winter instruction and retention of BIPOC faculty.           

Senate Assembly voted on Committee on Fairness, Equity, and Inclusion's (CFEI) revised definition of the University's working definition of inclusion to ‘We commit to ensuring that our campuses are a place where differences are welcomed, different perspectives are respected, and every individual has equal access to opportunities and resources’. The vote passed with 40 Yes, 5 No, and 4 Abstentions.

Senate Assembly discussed and voted on a resolution to expand the presidential search committee and passed it with 31 Yes, 20 No, and 0 Abstentions.

Senate Assembly also discussed and voted on the resolution passed by SACUA on UM-Flint's proposed workload/post-tenure review policy. UM-Flint Provost Feist-Price and UM Flint SA representatives were present to address questions from SA. The resolution passed with 35 Yes, 6 No, and 8 Abstentions.

Senate Assembly voted for Silvia Pedraza, Professor of Sociology and Professor of American Culture, to temporarily serve on SACUA to replace Damani Partridge, Professor of Anthropology and Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, who is on leave until the end of 2022.
 
SA looking ahead: Todd Sevig, Director, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and Tom Waldecker, Director, Faculty and Staff Counseling and Consultation Office (FASCCO), have agreed to attend the next Senate Assembly meeting to share information and discuss mental health issues faced by our students, faculty, and staff. SA will also engage with the RPP committee at a future SA meeting. If time permits, we will hear more updates from additional SA committee chairs.
 
Faculty Senate looking ahead: The Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom will take place on March 14, 2022 in person at Forum Hall, Palmer Commons. The event may also be viewed via Zoom webinar or livestream. Please visit the Faculty Senate Office lecture page for more information.
 
Lastly, I want to encourage you to consider volunteering for a SA Committee in the upcoming academic year. We have 11 committees with advisory roles to executive officers and 7 other committees that address matters important to the faculty. Serving on SA committees is a way to contribute to the university and connect with colleagues from other units. Your participation will enrich your experience as a faculty member at Michigan. Please see the Faculty Senate Office website for more information about the committees. You may express your interest by ranking committees that interest you on this online form.
 
Please feel free to reach out to your SA representatives if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback! The roster is available on the Faculty Senate Office website.