Competing interests reason for Senate openings

By Jillanne Johnson
Staff Reporter

Lack of interest in Faculty Senate positions is only compounded by competing interests, Peggy Watson, an associate professor of Spanish, said Thursday at the Faculty Senate meeting.

For the M.J. Neeley School of Business, College of Communications and College of Fine Arts, the Senate has more openings than volunteers.

Watson said there is a lack of interest at the end of every year, but the separation of colleges and demands of the accreditation process are requiring more service of faculty.

“Virtually all faculty are serving on the self-review committee (for the accreditation process) in some way,” Watson said.

“They just don’t feel there’s time for this too.”

Watson is not surprised about the openings in the College of Communications and the College of Fine Arts because the two colleges just split.

According to the Handbook for Faculty and Staff 2000-2001, a representative is elected for every 11 full-time faculty members with no less than three representatives a school.

The TCU Fall 2000 Factbook shows the split of the College of Communications and the College of Fine Arts requires two more representatives than before.

Deans of these schools were unavailable for comment.

Nowell Donovan, chairman of the Faculty Senate, said the lack of interest is also part of the culture of the profession.

“We have joint loyalties between teaching and our (individual research fields),” he said. “The two can get in the way.”

However, a healthy institution is one where the faculty identify more with their university, Donovan said. TCU is not bad in that respect, he said. But he thinks the openness that Chancellor Michael Ferrari has created is improving the university climate.

Watson agrees that this is a prime time to become involved in the Faculty Senate.

Watson said all positions in the Senate are normally filled eventually, but it takes some arm twisting.

“Some people are flattered just by being asked individually,” Watson said.

Watson and Donovan said it would be advantageous if individual departments and senior faculty approached their colleagues and encouraged them to volunteer.