MCC Daily Tribune

Get to Know the Faculty Senate

In the past couple of months, I have received several great questions about the role of the Faculty Senate (FS) at the College. I would like to answer some this week for the college community.

I see from the agenda that the Senate is discussing an interesting topic at its next meeting. Am I welcome at a Senate meeting?

Faculty Senate meetings are, and always have been, open meetings, so please join us! Our last meeting had over 30 guests and was a good opportunity for members of the college community to share their thoughts on multiple topics.

Occasionally, the Senate may conduct a portion of its meeting in caucus. Caucuses, which were approved as part of a recent FS bylaw revision by both Administration and the Board of Trustees, are closed- session opportunities for Senators and invited guests to engage in private dialogue to assure the needs of the community are being heard and represented. No voting is conducted during these sessions.

What is the role of the Faculty Senate President?

The Faculty Senate President speaks as the voice of the Faculty to other branches of shared governance, including the Board of Trustees, Administration, Support Staff, and Students. To that end, I serve on several college-wide committees as the Faculty representative and speak at each Board of Trustees Meeting. Over the academic year, I meet at least monthly with President Kress and Provost Wade and others in small group discussions where the opportunity exists for parties to raise concerns. Additional meetings can be added at any party's request. At these meetings, I am sometimes asked to communicate feedback to the FS, while more broad-based information can be shared at the President's Message to the College or Provost's Town Hall meetings, as occurred in the past few weeks. I also serve as the voice of the Faculty Senate as a whole. Working with a diverse group of people means members are not always in perfect agreement, but I work diligently to represent the opinions and interests of professional staff and teaching faculty.

What are some of the goals of the Senate?

In addition to the significant responsibilities regarding most aspects of the academic program at MCC and engaging with other shared governance partners, the FS "provide[s] an opportunity for the exchange of ideas of mutual interest and concern to the Community College" (FS bylaws, article III). On occasion, some issues may arise which are so important, the FS decides constituents should vote individually, so that the true sentiments of constituents can be known. One important example occurred at the November 8, 2018 FS meeting, where the FS overwhelmingly approved the following motion:

Due to failures in shared governance over the past 9 years, the Faculty Senate joins the Faculty Association in moving forward with a vote of no confidence against President Anne Kress.

Therefore, it is truly important to the institution that all people represented by the Faculty Senate and Faculty Association participate in our two-day voting event this week. Private ballots are available for the vote at the locations and times listed below. Absentee ballots are available from mccfa@mccfacultyassociation.org.

Monday: Brighton 8:30 am- 5:30 pm (3-116) and Downtown 8 am -3 pm (561-e)

Tuesday: Brighton 10 am 12 pm (3-116) and Downtown 8 am -11 am (561-e)

Thank you for everything you do for the College and our students!

Amanda Colosimo
Faculty Senate
11/19/2018