Florida Gulf Coast University Campus Report, January 13, 2006

            Dr. Halcyon St. Hill provided the following report:

            For those of you who are not familiar with FGCU’s short history, I wanted to give you a quick overview of our system.  Our governance process has always been one of shared governance: “Whereas a university’s foundation is its faculty, the faculty governance process and structure at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) are grounded in and dedicated to the principles, concepts, and objectives of the university mission.  A system of collegial faculty self-governance is necessary to ensure that the rights of faculty are supported and that the responsibilities of faculty in fulfilling the mission of the university are met . . . The Faculty Senate is an autonomous body representing the collective opinion of the faculty of the university to the administration and to the community” (Faculty Senate By-Laws: 4/15/05).

            Twenty percent of in-unit faculty from each academic unit (academic colleges and the library) are elected to serve as Senators, with an additional number of elected alternate senators equal to half of the Senators for each unit.  The Faculty Senate serves as the umbrella for standing teams consisting of:  Undergraduate Curriculum Team; Graduate Affairs Team, including Graduate Curriculum Team; Student Affairs Team; Faculty Affairs Team; Institutional Affairs Team; General Education Council; Grants and Research Team; Technology Team, Library Team; and the Program Review Team.  In addition, the Leadership Team consists of the Senate President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Parliamentarian; and the facilitators of all of the standing team listed above.  We also have in our by-laws, the authority to function as a Summer Senate when it is not in the best interest of faculty to wait until the first fall meeting of the year.  In general, we have excellent Faculty Senate representation on university-wide committees and ad-hoc groups.

            If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Sharon Irish Bevins, PhD, FGCU Faculty Senate President

FGCU 2005-2006 Faculty Senate Update

  • The UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed at the end of the 2004 - 2005 academic year, with retroactive raises for the previous year.  This contributed to improved faculty moral. 
  • During the summer, through the by-laws authority, the Summer Senate approved an Intellectual Property Policy, contingent on the constitution of a committee comprised of both in-unit elected and out-of-unit appointed representatives from each academic unit, the Senate President or designee, the UFF President or designee, and the Office of Academic Affairs representative to continue to refine and revise the document.  Elections have been held for in-unit faculty representation and the committee will convene soon.
  • In Spring 2005, the Senate By-Laws were amended to include the formation of a new standing team:  the Program Review Team.  This team was added because of the of the need for faculty to have significant input into program review, which is in congruence with requirements for SACS and the State of Florida for outcomes assessment for graduates through the academic learning compacts (ALCs).  The Program Review Team has reviewed and given feedback on every program’s ALCs in close collaboration with the Office of Curriculum and Instruction.
  • In September 2005, the Senate, Provost and United Faculty of Florida (UFF) jointly sponsored a welcome back reception and discussion of the new contract from both faculty and administrative perspectives.  As did many universities, students displaced by Hurricane Katrina were admitted and welcomed to FGCU.  The FGCU campus was shut down for one full week due to Hurricane Wilma, with the effects still seen. Also in Fall 2005, the Senate approved a new policy on the conferral of honorary degrees.
  • Throughout the year, the General Education Council has been working on multiple aspects of the General Education Program including, forming policies and procedures for determining what classes are appropriate for inclusion in General Education; examining enrollment caps on specific classes; the assessment of students’ critical thinking, oral presentation, and writing skills; and planning and facilitating a campus-wide discussion of General Education.  The Senate is represented through the work of the Senate Vice-President.
  • The availability of space has become a huge issue on the FGCU campus due to the continued double digit increases in enrollment.  Outside consultants have been hired to assess current space utilization and propose future processes.  Closely linked to this is the scheduling of courses.  An unexpected increase in enrollment led to many non-classroom spaces being used as classrooms this fall.  Work on these issues continues, and the Senate is represented by both the Senate President and Vice President.
  • The university is considering a move to Division I athletics because of a difficulty in scheduling games and not being part of a conference.  A feasibility study has been done; it is on the 1/17/06 Board of Trustees agenda for a vote.
  • The merit-based pool of Professional Development Funds continues to be available to faculty in this academic year (2005 - 2006); it is disseminated through a faculty team review process.  This is facilitated by the Faculty Senate through the Senate President.
  • In Spring 2005, the Provost initiated the University Lecture Series. At its inaugural event, Maya Angelou spoke.  This year on 3/28/06, Mikhail Gorbachev will be the speaker.  The Senate is represented by the Senate President and Senate Secretary.
  • The Long Range Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Committee (LRPIEC):  this committee provides recommendations for enrollment planning, campus priorities, resource allocation, and accountability mechanism; develops the next University Strategic Plan; and monitors the progress of the current plan.  The Senate is represented by the Senate President.
  • The FGCU campus Master Plan is currently in the midst of review and the Senate is represented by the Senate President.
  • Salary equity/market adjustment:  Currently, there is negotiation of the process for a market adjustment study.  This is a follow-up to the study done three years ago.  The Senate Vice President is a member of the faculty/UFF Market Adjustment Team.