Notes to Faculty and Staff #14
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008
Benjamin Franklin: Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person.
Report on Budget Rescission
In the fall semester, the College of Health and Human Performance was required to provide a recall in the amount of $396,275. There were two primary areas which we used to satisfy this rescission: Salary and Expense. We provided a recall amount of $201,000 in salary support monies. These funds were provided primarily as a result of cutting two faculty lines and one staff line. We provided a recall amount of $195,275 from expense funds. These funds would have been used to provide graduate student support and expense functions such as travel, supplies, OPS support to the departments and programs in the college.
Prior to the holiday break, the university was instructed that it would have to provide an additional 4% recall on this year’s budget. Fortunately, this recall is being taken care of with internal university funds. Should the legislature not reinstate the funds, however, we will start the next academic year with 8% less in state funding than we did this year. (This would be the equivalent of about an $800,000 reduction in the college budget). The president and provost are asking the colleges to examine area and programs that could be downsized or eliminated to produce this kind of rescission. Please let me know if you have ideas or concerns about this. As we know more I will make sure you know it as well.
Transitions
Before the Holiday Break we said goodbye to Melissa Wohlstein, our development officer for the college. A search is currently under way to secure an appropriate replacement for that position. We are also saying goodbye to Jeannie Malphurs in HEB. Jeannie has served the college for many years in various capacities. She has accepted a new position in Student Services and her last day in HEB will be February 7.
Summer School
As most of you have heard, summer school is on. We have received a very limited budget for summer school - $235,363. All of these funds must be used to produce SCH. The department chairs are working now to determine how to best use these resources to provide our SCH targets. Please consult with your department chair if you have ideas.
TRSM Department Chair Search Update
The search process for the TRSM Department Chair has been successfully completed. Dr. Michael Sagas from Texas A&M University will assume the position as department chair in the fall. Dr. Sagas is a scholar in the area of sport management and we look forward to his leadership in TRSM
New HHP Website to be Revealed
A new HHP website, with a new look will go live on February 4. The website is being beta tested now by a few folks in the college to make sure all of the links work properly. Stay tuned for a new and improved site.
Faculty Senate Poll
The Faculty Senate Academic Infrastructure Council is considering a proposal that would change the Tuesday-Thursday class schedule to 75-minute periods rather than the current 50-minute periods. The current T-R arrangement for 3 credit classes of one 50 minute period plus two 50 minute periods would change to a T-R schedule of one 75 minute class for each of the two days. In this scheme the schedule alternates between 50 minute periods on M-W-F and 75 minute periods (with 15 minute breaks) on T-R. Pedagogical reasons and classroom space-utilization reasons have been offered for this proposal. Currently, most peer institutions around the nation and all other state universities in Florida have some variation of a MWF 50-minute period, TR 75-minute period schedule. Please follow the link below to complete a two question poll to provide the Council with important feedback from the faculty concerning this issue. The poll will be available until February 19th at 5 P.M: https://www.crc.ufl.edu/Destinations/6616IJ.asp
Construction in the Building
Several construction projects will get underway this semester. The Center for Exercise Science will undergo a renovation and much needed air conditioning upgrade. Also, the provost has provided funds to subdivide court 3 of the gym into teaching labs for Anatomy and Physiology. You will begin to see some of the impact of these projects soon. Hopefully, we have planned and staged them so that the construction times will impact us least. When completed, we will have more and better laboratory space and will be able to serve students better and more effectively in Anatomy and Physiology. Thanks for your patience as we go through these construction projects.
Spring 2008 Faculty Development "Conversations About..."
Mark your calendars for the spring Provost’s Faculty Development "Conversation About Productivity." On Friday, February 1, 2008, "The Productivity Professor," Dr. Meggin McIntosh, Professor Emerita, University of Nevada, Reno is the guest speaker and discussion facilitator. Dr. McIntosh has helped thousands of people become more productive through her seminars on time, paper, information and life management. During her visit to UF, Dr. McIntosh will discuss maintaining a vibrant and productive work life while managing all you are being asked to do. Titled "I just Want to be Whelmed: Maintaining a Vibrant and Productive Work Life," this engaging, practical and energizing workshop, offers information and discussion about how to determine what your "whelm" looks and feels like as well as how to move ever closer to the state of "whelm" instead of the alternatives. You will learn tools, techniques, and strategies to apply-in conjunction with your new awareness. For more information please visit the Faculty Development website at http://www.aa.ufl.edu/aa/facdev/conversations/2008/feb1st.shtml
The seminar will take place in Emerson Alumni Hall, President's Room ABC on Friday February 1st from 8:00 a.m. through 12:30!
End note….. A word about ‘shared governance’
According to university guidelines, shared governance “is the participation of administrators, faculty, staff and students in the decision- and policy-making process. The purpose of shared governance is to provide avenues to University improvement and productivity through the creation of a partnership based on mutual respect and collaboration.”
At no other time in the history of this college has such openness and commitment to shared governance been embraced. Through the creation of the new college constitution, the structures of governance in the college and the departmental and committee governing guidelines -- faculty and staff now have a way to provide regular and meaningful input and participate into the direction and policies in the college.
Shared governance is a built upon a trust between all parties. Therefore, we must think carefully before we make the appeal that one’s ‘rights to shared governance’ have been violated. Too often, I hear this appeal loosely thrown about when a decision is made that one dislikes. While there may indeed be violations of shared governance, more often than not, I find that those individuals have not engaged in the processes and procedures that are clearly delineated for them to provide input.
Shared governance is built upon the principles of mutual respect and collaboration. The principles of shared governance are not “one-sided.” The responsibilities and privileges implied by shared governance must be embraced by all parties in the arrangement. All parties – administration, faculty, staff and students must share a mutual respect for each other and embrace a sense of collaboration.
Shared governance is also the commitment to provide avenues for expression and input. It does not mean the faculty, staff or administrators are going to have their way 100% of the time. It does not imply that administrators, faculty, staff will take a poll on each decision that needs to be made. Ultimately, in any system like ours we empower representatives to make certain decisions. Hopefully, they will engage the structures of shared governance in decision making, but at the end of the day a decision must be made.
So, let me encourage you to be active participants in the shared governance processes in the college. As we do this, let’s have a new found level of mutual respect, trust and collaboration between administration, faculty, staff and students.
Steve
Posted by Steve Dorman at 8:09 AM