Faculty Executive Committee plans for the upcoming academic year

On Monday, the Faculty Executive Committee used its first meeting since the June 30 retirement of longtime secretary of the faculty Joseph Ferrell to discuss how it can best utilize meetings to fulfill its broad charge.

Among other duties, that broad charge includes acting on recommendations from the larger Faculty Council, exercising certain legislative powers when prompt action is required and representing the faculty in advising the University administration.

The meeting gave the Executive Committee a chance to hear from some of its new additions. Faculty members joining the committee this year include Tamera Coyne-Beasley, department of pediatrics; Kelly Giovanello, department of psychology and neuroscience; Carol Hunter, deputy university librarian; and Jennifer Larson, department of english and comparative literature. Larson will be replaced by journalism professor Debashis Aikat while she is on leave during the fall semester.

The new secretary of the faculty, Vincas Steponaitis, said he is getting up to speed with his new position and working on changes to make the executive committee work more efficiently.

“If we use the analogy of faculty governance being a ship, then the chair of the faculty sets the course but the secretary of the faculty is kind of like the ship’s engineer who keeps things running,” Steponaitis said. “If this were the Starship Enterprise, (Cairns) would be Captain Kirk and I would be Scotty.”

“Because I’m new and because I’m stepping in after a faculty secretary who served for 20 years, I’m coming in with very different, very fresh eyes,” Steponaitis said. “Everything that I learn about, I actually pick it up and look at it from different angles and have some different ideas...I think that in the next year, particularly, maybe during the next six months, there’s probably going to be a lot of little changes to the way things happen.”

Steponaitis said he hopes the changes will help utilize the council’s and his staff’s time more efficiently.

A major issue discussed during the meeting was how to identify issues the executive committee will address during the upcoming academic year. The discussion focused on whether the executive committee itself should identify issues or receive issues from other committees and groups on campus.

“One of the issues that has come up...is how often the executive committee meets and whether or not there are items on the agenda that are required,” Bruce Cairns, chair of the faculty, said.

“I think that with a new secretary of the faculty and new people rotating into the system, what we need to do is have a process that works for everybody,” Cairns said. “And so I’m happy to create an agenda, create a mechanism for people to bring items to the agenda, for there to be mechanisms through the secretary of the faculty to address any concerns that people may have, because what we really want is people to stay engaged and involved.”

“What we’re trying to do is create a framework to discuss the issues,” Cairns said.

During the meeting, romance studies professor Rosa Perelmuter called for the committee to seek answers regarding the recent departure of Taffye Clayton, UNC’s former vice chancellor for diversity and multicultural affairs and chief diversity officer.

“This was a high administrator,” Perelmuter said. “Compared to other people who have stepped down or have left, there is usually an announcement by higher-ups in the administration saying so and so has left...thank you for all the years, whatever, and we are appointing so and so to replace this person, or they could say we’re appointing a committee to look at whatever.”

“It doesn’t seem to me that she deserves not to be properly sent off,” she said. “It’s not an inconsequential matter. So instead of letting it fester...I think it would be good to address in whatever fashion the administration, the person who’s a superior, is able to address it.”

Cairns said the executive committee would pass Perelmuter’s request on to Rumay Alexander, chair of the community and diversity committee.

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