Faculty Senate Committees

Please select a committee below to view the committee charge and chair contact information. 

The Executive Committee shall:

  1. Appoint Senators, Alternate Senators, and qualified faculty to all committees of the Faculty Senate, except for the Executive Committee itself;
  2. Appoint each committee chair from among Faculty Senators; members of the Executive Committee are eligible to serve as chair;
  3. Ensure that committee assignments are distributed fairly among Electoral Units and academic ranks;
  4. Initiate the formation and dismissal of ad hoc committees, as needed;
  5. Accept annual reports from each standing and ad hoc committee of the Faculty Senate;
  6. Submit to the faculty an annual report at the end of each academic year;
  7. Appoint Senators, Alternate Senators, or qualified faculty to represent the Faculty Senate on university-wide committees;
  8. Facilitate communication among the Administration of the university, the Faculty Senate, and the faculty by meeting with the President or the President's designee and the college Deans or their designees as necessary and by reporting to the faculty, as deemed appropriate; and
  9. Act on behalf of the Faculty Senate in emergency situations. In circumstances requiring immediate action, the committee may advise the Administration of the university on behalf of the Faculty Senate. It shall report its recommendations to the Faculty Senate at the next Senate meeting.

Chair: Kasey Jordan, RN, Ph.D.

This Governance Committee shall:

  1. Govern the proceedings of the Senate;
  2. Conduct Faculty Senate elections, certify the eligibility of faculty for election, and maintain appropriate records of elections [see Amendment 1 and Amendment 2];
  3. Review the Faculty Senate's governing documents and recommend changes to these documents as deemed appropriate;
  4. Interpret the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws;
  5. Codify changes or amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws, as deemed necessary;
  6. Call for nominations, establish slates, and conduct elections of officers for the Faculty Senate, as described in Article IV.A; and
  7. Monitor and, as necessary, manage changes to the practices and procedures of the Faculty Senate, by revision to Bylaws as appropriate.

Chair: Cristina Smith, OTD

This Institutional Advancement Committee shall:

  1. Monitor major trends in the life of the institution;
  2. Track progress of action items discussed in the Senate throughout the administrative channels of the University;
  3. Participate in strategic planning for the university;
  4. Report back to the Faculty Senate where deemed appropriate; and
  5. Request that the Faculty Senate take a position or act on issues of general interest. Examples of actions: Collect information and report on major building activities, and on creation, development, or discontinuation of major units or departments.

Chairs: Scott Curry, M.D. & Carsten Krieg, Ph.D.

This Faculty & Institutional Relationships Committee shall:

  1. Consider issues pertaining to negotiations and procedures that, in a generic sense, apply to individual faculty. Examples of actions: Formulation of contracts, tenure/post-tenure review, promotions and rank, equity, sabbaticals, conflicts of interest, and means of grievance; and
  2. Accept and evaluate requests to change the Faculty Handbook.

Chair: Dhiraj Baruah, M.D.

This Communication & Education Committee shall:

  1. Collaborate with other standing committees to inform faculty of issues;
  2. Inform the faculty about the work of the Faculty Senate through organized activities. Examples of actions: The organization of targeted workshops or retreats addressing themes, such as faculty mentoring, tenure, interpretation of contracts, and sabbaticals; and
  3. Maintain the Faculty Senate website and ensure that Faculty Senate activities are published in University publications.

Electoral Unit Representatives

Academic Affairs Faculty: Dante Pelzer, Ph.D.
College of Dental Medicine: Deirdre Williams, D.D.S., MS
College of Health Professions: John Marflak, MBA
College of Medicine: Basic Science Samar Hammad, Ph.D.
College of Medicine: Clinical Science Cynthia Oliva, M.D.
College of Nursing: Marcelaine Reneau, Ph.D., FNP
College of Pharmacy: Shelby Kolo, Pharm.D.

This Electoral Unit Committee shall:

  1. Consist of all elected Senators and Alternates from the particular Electoral Unit;
  2. Elect one representative to serve as a member of the Executive Committee for a one-year term. This election occurs immediately after the results of the Senate election are known. This name is submitted to the Governance Committee;
  3. Facilitate communication among the Faculty Senate and the dean and faculty of the Electoral Unit;
  4. Receive requests for Senate action from faculty of their respective units and decide whether the Faculty Senate should be involved in such action. If not, the Committee directly responds to the request.