Deaton leads faculty meeting about campus issues and policies
Published Oct. 27, 2006
Chancellor Brady Deaton led the Fall General Faculty Meeting Thursday at which the council discussed attracting community college students and adopted a resolution committing to equality in programming.
Faculty Council Chairman Rex Campbell spoke first and went through the finished, future and current council agenda topics.
Campbell spoke about future issues regarding students. He said there is a nationwide movement to make an undergraduate degree more of a credential degree because more students are opting for community college to start post-high school education. Campbell pushed for more changes within the system to further recruit and advance students.
"Changes are very difficult for conservative organizations like universities," Campbell said. "Churches change more than we do."
Deaton followed Campbell and spoke mostly about the campus report. He showed multiple examples of the MU campus and the changes it has undergone. He then discussed projects under construction, including the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and the expansion of Brady Commons.
Deaton briefly discussed enrollment expansion and assessment and the "For All We Call Mizzou" fundraising campaign.
Biochemistry professor Frank Schmidt spoke about learning outcomes and accountability on campus.
"What is the definition of accountability anyway?" Schmidt said.
Deaton said he was proud of the accountability of MU because it is a land-grant campus and it is a member of the American Association of Universities.
Deaton also gave previews of projects in design. All are funded, except the Health Sciences Research and Education Center, which would be funded with funds from the proposed sale of Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority assets.
Earlier in the meeting, the council finished several issues lingering from the last meeting.
One finished issue was a new grade policy for administrative purposes only. The grade, called "Fn," applies to students that drop out of a class without officially withdrawing. On the transcript, the grade will appear as an "F."
Another finished issue was a resolution on diversity that states the MU commitment to equal treatment of all people. The resolution came in response to a comment at the last UM system Board of Curator's meeting in which Curator David Wasinger discussed a "queer theory," Campbell said.
A non-tenure track has been set in place for faculty, Campbell said. The four sections of non-tenure track are clinical, extension, research and training. The council is still in the process of adding non-tenure track faculty as non-voting members of the council.
A three-year experimental program of redesigning the faculty grievance process was also discussed. Campbell said this new plan, which is through its first year, has been running smoothly.
The Board of Curators is requiring all UM system programs to be reviewed. The reviews, which were also discussed, state that if any MU program costs 150 percent of the national average based on credit hours, the program is subject to a personal audit.
The council also discussed two possible dates to begin the winter semester in 2009. The two dates are Jan. 12 and Jan. 19, but the council is leaning toward the latter, Campbell said.