Resolutions 2015-2016

Table of Contents

2015-2016 Resolutions

Resolution 2015-2016-1 Appreciation for Ida Cook

Whereas, Dr. Ida Cook has admirably served the University of Central Florida since 1976; serving 35 years on the Faculty Senate; and distinguished career of 39 years at the University of Central Florida; and

Whereas, Dr. Cook has provided effective leadership in fostering numerous initiatives across the campus that have improved the lives of faculty during her nine years as the chair of the Faculty Senate; and

Whereas, Dr. Cook tirelessly advocated for faculty governance in her roles on the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates; therefore

Be It Resolved, the University of Central Florida Faculty Senate commends Dr. Cook for her outstanding and extraordinary service to the university community.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on April 23, 2015.

Resolution 2015-2016-2 Declaration of Support for the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates Resolution on Opposition to Concealed Weapons or Firearms on State University Systems Campuses or Facilities

Whereas, the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates (ACFS) works towards better and higher quality educational opportunities in the institutions of higher education in the State University System (SUS) of Florida and serve as a mechanism to discuss issues of importance to higher education in Florida and provide input from a faculty perspective; and

Whereas, the ACFS is concerned about the safety and welfare of students, faculty, staff and visitors to the State University Systems campuses and/or facilities and has a duty to adopt policies promoting safe environment; and

Whereas, there have been approximately thirty (30) instances of unauthorized firearm use for either assault or suicidal purposes at American universities in the past two years, including at the University of Central Florida (2013) and Florida State University (2014); and

Whereas, the ACFS opposes any legislation that would allow any individual other than sworn law enforcement to carry concealed weapons or firearms on any State University System campuses and/or facilities; and

Concurs with the position of the vast majority of education and law enforcement professionals, that as an essential element of an overall school safety plan, firearms on campus should be carried only by trained security or policy; therefore

Be It Resolved that the ACFS strongly opposes any legislation that enables individuals other than sworn law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons or firearms on any State University System campuses and/or facilities.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on November 12, 2015.

Resolution 2015-2016-3 Appointment and Evaluation of Department Chairs/Unit Heads

Whereas, the University of Central Florida seeks to sustain growth, productivity, and excellence in education and research; therefore

Be It Resolved that the Faculty Senate endorses the following guidelines for appointment and evaluation of department chairs/unit heads, and that these guidelines be incorporated into university policy.

Service Eligibility

All schools/departments must have a full-time department chair/unit head. A school/department’s regular (non-interim) chair/unit head typically serves a term of three to five years. The appointment is renewable annually. Normally, a department chair/unit head will not serve more than ten consecutive years. Except under special circumstances, no one with another administrative appointment should serve concurrently as a department chair/unit head, and no department chair/unit head should serve concurrently in any other administrative position.

Appointment

Each college dean/hiring official, upon consultation with that college’s faculty, will establish, publish, and follow that college’s/unit’s procedure for the appointment of department chair/unit head. These procedures must be filed with and approved by the Office of Faculty Excellence. For appointment of a new (non-interim) department chair/unit head, the procedure requires a search committee that includes faculty in the department/unit. All faculty in the department/unit, and other relevant stakeholders, will have the opportunity to provide feedback concerning the strengths and weaknesses of candidates to the search committee. The search committee will present their recommendations, including a report of feedback from faculty and stakeholders, to the dean/hiring official. If applicable, the faculty of the department/unit will vote on the award of tenure to the selected candidate following established University procedures. The final appointment of the candidate is subject to approval by the provost and the president.

Review & Reappointment

Each college dean, upon consultation with that college’s faculty, will establish, publish, and follow that college/unit’s procedure for the annual review and reappointment of department chair/unit head by the faculty. These procedures must be filed with and approved by the Office of Faculty Excellence. Department/unit faculty and others whom the dean deems appropriate will conduct the review. If the chair wishes to stand for reappointment, a full review for reappointment will take place during the final year of the term. The dean can institute an interim review at his or her own initiative or as a consequence of a request by the department faculty. All faculty in the department/unit, and other relevant stakeholders, should have the ability to provide feedback concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the chair/unit head to this review committee. The reappointment process shall include a confidential retention vote by faculty. That vote will be unrecorded and the results will be known only to the dean. Eligible voters include all full-time non-visiting faculty, but eligibility may be extended by vote of all eligible faculty.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 28, 2016.
Transmitted to Provost A. Dale Whittaker on February 1, 2016.
Approved by Provost Whittaker contingent upon the inclusion of the attached Addendum dated March 14, 2016.

Resolution 2015-2016-4 Paid Family Emergency Leave Policy and Procedures for UCF Faculty (Not Approved)

Whereas, it appears that current UCF policies do not provide for consistent paid family emergency leave for faculty; and

Whereas, provision of family emergency leave for faculty has been inconsistently given and allowed on an ad hoc basis and a variety of options have been used (see Attachment 2); and

Whereas, UCF, along with UF, USF, FAU, and FSU all now have paid parental leave policies showing UCF’s commitment to faculty and career-life balance; and

Whereas, having a paid family emergency leave policy for faculty at UCF is needed for the competitive recruitment, hiring, and retention of faculty; therefore

Be It Resolved that the Faculty Senate of UCF encourages the administration to work with UFF-UCF to develop equitable, consistent policies and procedures to provide paid family emergency leave for faculty; and

Be It Further Resolved that the Faculty Senate of UCF recommends that any development of Paid Family Emergency Leave Policy consider and address the list of examples and conditions identified in Attachment 1: Paid Family Emergency Leave Examples and Conditions.

Attachment 1: Paid Family Emergency Leave Suggested Definitions, Examples and Conditions

The following are offered as examples of conditions and specifications to be considered as part of Policy on Family Emergency Leave for faculty experiencing a family crisis, and do not represent as an exhaustive set of conditions that may be incorporated into the Paid Family Emergency Leave Policy and Procedures.

The UCF definition of family can be found in the UFF handbook.

Types of leave: Expected emergencies, for example, include caring for a family member with a terminal illness or end-of-life for elderly family members. Unexpected emergencies, for example, include family member hospitalized after injury or family member reported as missing to law enforcement or loss of family home to fire.

Eligibility: Such paid leave be available to all UCF faculty irrespective of length of employment at the university who are on contracts for a minimum of 0.75 time.

1. The faculty member will not be expected to use their accrued leave or sick leave pool days for paid family emergency leave.
2. Faculty member will need to complete appropriate paperwork in collaboration with supervisor and have paperwork approved.
3. If both partners are employed UCF faculty, the ability for both to be on paid family emergency leave simultaneously or sequentially will be at the discretion of the University.

1. After receiving paid family emergency leave, the faculty member is expected to rejoin the university for a minimum of one year.
2. Upon separation from the university, the paid family emergency leave will be deducted from any accrued unused sick/annual leave before reimbursing the faculty member.

Attachment 2: Paid Family Emergency Leave Examples of Current Procedures

1. Regarding eligibility for family emergency leave, the variety of requirements associated with their duration of employment at the university that have been used on an ad hoc basis include the following:
  1. A faculty member must have:
    1. Been employed at UCF for a minimum of one year prior to eligibility for leave and/or
    2. Accrued leave must be available for use in order to be eligible for leave.
  2. Either of these requirements creates an eligibility disadvantage for recently hired faculty.
2. Regarding performance of all or partial regular UCF duties, an inconsistent set of requirements that have been used on an ad hoc basis include the following:
  1. A faculty member musts:
    1. continue to perform all regular UCF duties
    2. Find their own no-cost replacement for duraction of emergency
    3. Continue only non-instructional duties such as research/grant work and/or service or
    4. Agree to a plan for modified instructional duties (MID)
    5. Or modified instructional duties have not been allowed as an option.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on February 25, 2016.
Transmitted to Provost A. Dale Whittaker on February 29, 2016.
Returned by Provost Whittaker on March 28, 2016:

As we have discussed in the past, this is an issue that must be vetted through the Collective Bargaining Process. I have brought this to Sherry Andrew’s attention as our Chief Negotiator for the Board of Trustees. She has reminded me that since it is not a full book bargaining session this year, the next possible time that this issue could come up would be 2017.

Resolution 2015-2016-5 Recognition of the 2016 Quality Enhancement Plan: What’s Next: Integrative Learning for Professional and Civic Preparation

Whereas, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is an integral part of UCF’s decennial reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC); and

Whereas, the aim of the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is to improve undergraduate education; and

Whereas, the University of Central Florida is committed to providing the best undergraduate education in Florida, as evidenced by the first of President Hitt’s five visionary goals; and

Whereas, planning, development, and implementation of the QEP topic—integrative learning for professional and civic preparation—is a joint process involving faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni and stakeholders across the UCF community; and

Whereas, recent surveys and listening groups conducted with UCF students, faculty, staff, alumni, and employers demonstrate that cross-cutting skills such as communication, problem-solving, and the ability to work in teams are valuable and useful for our undergraduates, both while they are at UCF and beyond the university; and

Whereas, integrative learning—defined as the process of developing skills and knowledge across multiple experiences and the ability to adapt these to new contexts—has been shown to help students prepare for “real-world” challenges post-graduation; and

Whereas, the vision of the 2016 QEP is that UCF undergraduates will graduate with integrative learning experiences that foster important cross-cutting, transferrable knowledge and skills; that our students will graduate with the ability to persuasively articulate and demonstrate their skills; and that they will develop the capacity to transfer their skills and intentional learning strategies to new contexts. Consequently, graduates will be able to successfully enter and participate in the next steps of their professional and civic lives; therefore,

Be It Resolved that the Faculty Senate of the University of Central Florida endorses UCF’s 2016 QEP initiative, What’s Next: Integrative Learning for Professional and Civic Preparation, and offers our support for its continued development and implementation.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 31, 2016.
Transmitted to Provost A. Dale Whittaker on April 1, 2016.
Approved by Provost Whittaker on April 15, 2016.

Resolution 2015-2016-6 Faculty Involvement in Evaluating and Improving the Services, Training, and Resources Offered by the Office of Research and Commercialization

Whereas, the external grant rules are complex and can vary from agency to agency and grant to grant within an agency; and

Whereas, the training and tools for managing multiple grants are inadequate; and

Whereas, faculty principal investigators are responsible for research management and are the principal consumers of services offered by the Office of Research and Commercialization (ORC); and

Whereas, faculty have valuable insights to offer regarding what new research management tools, training, and information resources would be most effective in ensuring a higher level of compliance with federal grant rules; therefore

Be It Resolved that the Faculty Senate requests that faculty, selected through their Senate representatives, be involved in the ongoing re-evaluation of services provided by and training offered by ORC.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 31, 2016.
Transmitted to Provost A. Dale Whittaker on April 1, 2016.
Approved by Provost Whittaker on April 15, 2016.

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