Dear President (Faculty Senate) Page

3-23-11

Dear President (Faculty Senate) Page:

“Section 6: Responsibilities The chair of each committee shall give a report at the beginning of the spring term of ongoing and completed activities to the whole Senate either by e-mail or orally at a Senate meeting. At the end of the year, the chair shall submit a written report to the full Senate of the year’s activities.”

In compliance with the constitutional responsibilities described above, the following summary of the “Faculty Welfare Committee” for academic year 2010-2011 is reported to you.

In early September, the “Faculty Welfare Committee” (FWC) met and elected a chair. The chair, upon the invitation of President Page, met with “Senate Council” to discuss a charge for the FWC committee for the 2010-11 academic year. Council agreed that the FWC solicit suggestions from the Faculty Senate for the purpose of drafting a questionnaire which would address “faculty welfare” issues such as “space”, “faculty benefits”, “safety and health”, “interaction with students, staff and administration”, etc. Such a draft would be forwarded to Council for review and future recommendations. In early September, and again in late March, an email message went out to the faculty senate requesting ways to improve “faculty welfare”. The faculty was assured that all responsee names would be kept strictly confidential. The FWC chair harvested a total of three (3) minor recommendations/suggested. In addition, no issues of any nature, regarding “faculty welfare” came to the committee’s attention during the 2010-11 academic year. An informal suggestion was provided to the FWC chair, by the senate president that, perhaps, the divisional chairs be approached for possible ways to solicit recommendations from the faculty senate. An email message, sent to Drs. Hardin and Yaich , requested input/suggestions on whether this approach would serve a practical /useful purpose in improving “faculty welfare”. The poor response from the faculty senate indicates that faculty either : (A) are fearful of making suggestions or (B) are content with the “status quo” and do not collectively feel that any suggestions for improvement in “faculty welfare” are warranted. In light of the recent news that the Governor has recommended a 50% cutback in state-support of Pitt., it may be prudent for faculty to concentrate on more serious issues facing the campus in the immediate future.-such as budget and faculty positions.

Respectfully submitted,

David S. Soriano, Chair Faculty Welfare Committee