Dear President Lugo
I have been approached to consider running for President of the Faculty Senate. I have given this much thought and have concluded that if I were nominated I would accept the nomination. If selected, I would serve. Of course, this is a long shot. I should be accepted based on my record at UNCW and my vision.
However, such a vision would need to be determined based not only on what I have seen in recent years, but on any input I would receive after the selection.
I came to UNCW in 1990. I worked my way up to full professor and have garnered some respect over the years. As a Faculty Associate of CTE for two decades, I have met many faculty of all ranks across the campus in every college. I am keenly aware of the issues facing faculty and know how much the faculty support the core of the university. For the last 9 years I have revamped The Journal of Effective Teaching and brought it to an internationally known publication.
I came from a humble family background, being one of the first to progress in academia. I earned degrees in mathematics and physics leading to a joint position in both areas. I was honored a decade ago with several teaching awards, culminating in the Board of Governors Award in Teaching Excellence. I was later Chair of the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography. I have worked on national committees in using technology in the classroom and was inducted into the Million Dollar Club.
During the time at UNCW, I also served as Chair of Academic Standards for as decade and served as a voting member of the Faculty Senate under five presidents of the Faculty Senate. These people have been role models. While I do not pretend to be as good as these models, I have some idea as to what it means to preside over this diverse group of faculty from across the campus.
If selected, I would seek advice from the faculty as to what the faculty desire. The key areas are to represent the general faculty interests, adherence to faculty governance (including channeling concerns to the current governance structure), communication to the administration, and aiding in the transition to a new Chancellor. It is important to communicate what faculty do in teaching, research, scholarship, and all activities that promote the core activities that make this a great place to work and promote academic endeavors. In particular, in the midst of recent challenges, we should strive to look to the future. It should be the goal of the Faculty Senate President to work on promoting the future and not looking at the past.
I am sure that given more thought and faculty input, I would have more ideas to contribute. However, for now, I believe this is a good start. Any additional feedback from your experience, or from the Steering
Committee, would be most welcome.
Sincerely,
Russ Herman
Russell Herman
Professor, Physics & Physical Oceanography, Mathematics & Statistics
UNC Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403 hermanr@uncw.edu
Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Effective Teaching,, http://www.uncw.edu/cte/et/ , JET@uncw.edu
See New Textbook - Mathematical Methods ... http://www.russherman.com/cmmp/