Faculty Meeting
Review Group
Alvan Bregman (convener),
Lisa Hinchliffe, Joanne Kaczmarek
Charge
The Library's Executive Committee charged
the group to prepare a White Paper on:
Faculty Meeting structure, format, and
agenda items -- in particular the
expressed
desire for Faculty Meetings to include
more
open discussions of issues and NSM
(and other) activities.
Process
• Review group discussion, document
review (by-laws), and planning
• Open meeting
• Draft report for comment
• Final report
• Modeled recommended practices
Challenges
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Communication about Meetings
Number/Schedule of Meetings
Attendance at/Participation in Meetings
Structure of Meetings
Content of Meetings
Beliefs of the Review Group
• No by-laws changes are required to
implement the recommendations.
• No policy changes are required to
implement the recommendations.
• Procedures and workflows would need
modification along with assignment of
responsibility for certain tasks.
Recommendations for Action
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4.
Encourage an atmosphere of discussing issues and of giving
advice during Faculty Meetings. This can be nurtured by
encouraging and accepting motions from the floor, consistent with
the rules of order.
Include more real business matters that must be decided upon
by votes during Faculty Meetings. This would make attendance at
Faculty Meetings more meaningful in busy times.
The By-laws Committee should review the role of the Faculty
Secretary and suggest revisions to make that role more
substantive.
For efficiency and to enable new ideas to emerge through dialogue
among colleagues, EC should solicit feedback at Faculty Meetings
instead of encouraging each individual faculty member to consider issues
individually and submit written comments privately. While those who
wish to comment privately and confidentially should still be able to do so,
we urge faculty members to post their comments to EC on the
Libfac-L electronic discussion list. We think posting comments more
broadly would create an atmosphere of open communication and serve
the Library well. <EXAMPLE IS THIS AGENDA ITEM>
Recommendations for Action
(cont)
5. The skeleton agenda for Faculty Meetings is not defined by the By-laws, and we
suggest several ways of making the agenda more meaningful:
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Use email to give reports whenever possible, and use the meeting to discuss topics
related to these reports. Reports and discussion documents should accompany the agenda,
which is issued a minimum of 3 days before a meeting according to the By-laws.
Increase the time slot allocated to the Executive Committee and call this a
"discussion of issues" not a "report."
Introduce an agendum to approve the agenda, allowing other issues to be considered if
time permits.
While the New Service Model initiative operates, have a regular discussion agendum on this
subject. <IMPLEMENTED>
Regularly invite administrative units (e.g., Facilities, HR) to report on matters
affecting the Library as a whole - perhaps on an annual schedule reflecting particular
timelines, e.g., graduate assistant hiring.
Make agendas of the Budget Group and other important committees available to the
Secretary, who could consider inviting discussion on matters of general principle.
Establish a formal Agenda Committee to ensure that fewer meetings are canceled for want
of agenda items: At least one open-ended question could be posed to faculty each meeting,
especially in such critical times.
Include agenda items related to the normal calendar of University and Library
business. For example, the preparation of campus budget requests and the results of budget
allocations could be discussed at foreseeable times each year. Promotion and tenure timetables
are also predictable: a Faculty Meeting is an appropriate place to discuss any regulatory changes
put forward by in provostial Communications.
Recommendations for Action
(cont)
6. Issues that should always come for discussion
at Faculty Meetings include:
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Changes to the Library's Mission Statement
Content of the Library's Strategic Plan
Definition of "Principles" that underlie a major Library-wide
initiative, such as the New Service Models.
Questions? Comments?