Among several actions during its final meeting of the academic year, CWRU's Faculty Senate unanimously passed a resolution formally asking University administrators to give "urgent priority" to raising faculty salaries to more competitive levels.

In order to achieve the goal of becoming the most powerful learning environment in the world, CWRU needs to recruit and retain high quality faculty, according to the resolution, which will be forwarded to administrators.

"The Faculty Senate encourages the University administration and the deans to develop and implement plans that give urgent priority to raising faculty compensation at least to the median of peer institutions, beginning in the next fiscal year's budget process, in order to assist in fulfilling the University's institutional vision," the resolution states.

In other business, the Faculty Senate reported that 87 percent of faculty voted in favor of proposed revisions to the faculty handbook. Of 477 ballots cast, 412 approved the revisions, while 61 were opposed. The revisions must go before the University's Board of Trustees before becoming final.

The senate defeated several proposed changes to the academic calendar, including reducing the number of reading days at the end of each semester from one to two so students would have no more than two consecutive days of final exams. A representative from Undergraduate Student Government told the senate that students preferred to keep both reading days.

Other proposed changes to the academic calendar that were defeated called for decreasing total teaching days from 70 to 69 each semester to eliminate the Monday at the end of the spring semester and for increasing vacation/holidays from five in the fall and six in the spring to six in both semesters.

At the meeting, the Faculty Senate approved a motion to change the name of the department of theater arts to theater and dance. The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences and the college's executive committee both previously approved the request.

Motions to adopt revisions to the School of Medicine bylaws, to approve a slate of nominees for senate standing committees and to discontinue the LL.M. in taxation at the School of Law also passed.

The motion to discontinue the LL.M. program came before the senate after a two-year review by a law school committee and with the approval of law school faculty.

Most actions of the senate must go before the University's Board of Trustees for final approval.

 

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