Provost Heather Norris' Remarks to Faculty Senate
Thank you, Vice Chair Hambourger, and good afternoon everyone.
Today, I will share updates on several topics. These include:
- Proposed revisions to the Faculty Handbook;
- A summary of a related meeting the General Counsel and I had with the Faculty Senate Chair and Vice Chair recently;
- The state budget process and App State’s budget and strategic initiatives briefings;
- Faculty Senate Budget Committee recommendations;
- Faculty Hickory Task Force recommendations; and
- Plans to manage future growth.
Proposed Revisions to the Faculty Handbook
So first off, as Senior Vice Provost Specht mentioned at the March 20th Faculty Senate Meeting, the UNC System is in the process of revising the UNC Policy Manual and Code that govern the entire UNC System. Once that process is complete, App State will ensure its Faculty Handbook is aligned with the updated UNC Policy Manual and Code — and then we will submit the revised Faculty Handbook to App State’s Board of Trustees for approval.
I’d like to once again thank the Faculty Senate Governance Committee and the Faculty Senate, as a whole, for the time and expertise you have dedicated to this effort. It is tremendous, and Neva, thank you for your participation, as well.
Faculty Handbook 4.10
For shared awareness, App State General Counsel Paul Meggett and I met on March 30 with Faculty Senate Chair Gallien and Faculty Senate Vice Chair Hambourger, at their request, to discuss Section 4.10 of the current Faculty Handbook. In that discussion, we clarified the different stages of the process that must be followed before a faculty member could be discharged or have a serious sanction imposed — as well as the different entities that manage the different stages. I will provide a short summary of that now.
Generally speaking, when formal complaints are submitted — in her role as Senior Vice Provost of Faculty Policies and Development — Neva Specht and her team are responsible for handling the first stage of the process. Depending upon her determination of the nature and legitimacy of the complaint, the Senior VP then refers the matter for investigation to the appropriate office with authority to do so.
If the subsequent investigation concludes that a policy or law has been violated, the Provost is responsible for determining any sanctions, as deemed appropriate. Depending on the seriousness of the sanctions, if any at all, faculty due process rights apply at that point of the process.
The State Budget Process
Shifting gears to the state budget process, as Chancellor Everts shared with campus in her March 31st newsletter, App State leadership is closely monitoring the state budget process.
It’s a complex process, with multiple steps. This flow chart is posted on the Budget Central website for reference. As you can see, there are several steps that need to take place before a final budget is realized — and it’s not unusual for early budget drafts to change considerably during the process.
As you most likely know, Governor Cooper released his budget proposal several weeks ago. The North Carolina House finalized its proposed budget on April 6th and it has gone to the Senate for consideration.
As Chancellor Everts noted, we will keep you updated on key developments.
App State’s Budget and Strategic Initiatives Briefings
I’ll now turn to App State’s budget and strategic initiatives briefings. I want to remind all of you that Chancellor Everts will host Campus Budget Briefings and Strategic Initiatives presentations in the Grandview Ballroom on April 28.
Vice Chancellor Dan Layzell will provide an overview of the budget process — and the deans will each share respective accomplishments and budget requests.
I have sent emails inviting all employees to these briefings. Please be sure to attend these sessions. They are designed to provide an open forum in which to share information and answer questions about strategic priorities and the budget process.
Faculty Senate Budget Committee Recommendations
Last July, the Chancellor and I requested — via Faculty Senate Budget Committee Chair Jim Westerman — that the Budget Committee look at three issues this year related to faculty compensation. Those issues are:
- Increasing the rates of pay for promotion to associate professor and promotion to full professor,
- Instituting a monetary reward for positive post-tenure reviews; and
- Enhancing non-salary or alternate forms of faculty compensation.
Committee Chair Westerman subsequently covered these topics at the Faculty Senate retreat in August. He will be reporting later today on the committee’s recommendations related to these issues.
The committee’s recommendations will be part of the requests considered during the campus budget process. The Chancellor and I have both expressed support. I’d like to thank Jim and the committee for this important work.
Faculty Hickory Task Force Recommendations
The Faculty Hickory Task Force — which has continued to work and provide guidance since its formation last summer — has most recently focused on a review of supplemental pay and adjunct pay rates. The task force submitted recommendations earlier today for increases that will be considered during the campus budget process. I’d like to thank the members of the committee for their collaborative efforts.
- From this Senate are Stefan Frisch of the Beaver College of Health Sciences; Andy Koch, of the College of Arts & Sciences; Pam Shue of the Reich College of Education, and Jim Westerman of the Walker College of Business.
- Representing the Council of Chairs is Brooke Hofsess of the College of Fine & Applied Arts.
- Representing the graduate programs is Cathy McKinney of the Hayes School of Music.
- Representing the deans is Sandy Vannoy, Dean of the Walker College of Business.
As a reminder, last summer, the task force provided a report with recommendations.
- These recommendations included the creation of a standing committee with representation from Faculty Senate, Council of Chairs and Deans Council. We formed a standing committee in January of this year — with representation from Faculty Senate, Council of Chairs and Deans Council.
- The task force also recommended offering a general degree program to help meet the needs for those in the Hickory area who need to complete the requirements for a bachelor’s degree. A new Professional Studies degree program will go before the Board of Governors later this week.
- Finally, the task force recommended creating anchor programs in Engineering. Our colleges and schools are continuing to discuss new programs for the future, including in the area of Engineering.
So, I’m pleased to say that we have made progress on these three items.
Plans to Manage Future Growth
As we look to the future, we know from Chancellor Everts that future growth for App State will primarily be in Hickory and online. As we continue to grow in these areas while maintaining our Boone campus enrollment, we have an opportunity to take advantage of this inflection point to reconsider the long-term needs of the faculty and our students.
This is a pivotal point in App State’s history. We are engaging, as such, with an outside consultant to review our strategic plans for growth and to make recommendations for ways our degree-granting colleges in particular can be well-positioned to meet the changing needs of our state and region.
Closing
In closing, thank you for the opportunity to present this afternoon. As we enter the final weeks of another successful academic year, I appreciate your continued hard work in serving our students and fulfilling App State’s educational mission.
Thank you.