Faculty-Administration Liaison Committee
Annual Report, 2007-2008
Committee Members: Sarah Worth, Mark Britt, Norman Whisnant, John Wheeler, Ty Tessitore, Tom Kazee, and John Beckford
The primary activity of this committee during the spring of 2008 has been to support the second goal of the 2007-2011 Strategic Plan, which is “to support the development of students, faculty, and staff”, specifically to investigate ways to invigorate intellectual development of the faculty, as recommended by the CRC. As stated in the 2007-2011 report, Engaging the Future: A Strategic Plan for Furman University, “Furman recognizes the importance of enhancing personal and professional growth; providing academic and ethical guidance; and developing the whole person through diversity in thought and culture”. There are two parts to this investigation – an internal survey of our faculty and an external review of programs already available at other colleges and universities.
A request was made to the department chairs at the end of March for their assistance in gathering this information. A series of several questions was submitted to the chairs and it was the hope of this committee that we would get enough feedback to formulate a plan that would begin to address the needs of the faculty. With the changes to Furman’s curriculum, calendar, and registration system, we over-estimated what could be accomplished at the departmental level. While we did receive some responses, they were not representative of disciplines across the campus. Therefore, this item of business will continue next academic year. In the meantime, the chair of this committee will speak at the May chair’s meeting explaining the purpose of the questions and to encourage them to begin this dialogue with their departments either over the summer or at the start of the fall term. In addition, faculty will be reminded at the Fall Retreat of this task that the Faculty-Administration Liaison committee has undertaken.
While, gathering the internal information will be extended into the fall term, we are currently working with the Office of Institutional Research to gather information about programs and strategies available at other institutions.
Following the dissention among the faculty with regards to inviting President Bush to deliver this year’s, this committee asked pertinent questions of the administration to learn how the decision was made to only consult the Senior Class. A letter regarding this decision is being drafted and will be delivered to the entire faculty.
Respectfully submitted,
Victoria Turgeon, Chair