Faculty disappointment yields silence at board meeting
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 11:46AM By Claire Byun
The Board of Trustees had no response to Winthrop faculty’s resolution of disappointment in the board’s decision to remove faculty appeals to President Anthony DiGiorgio.
Marsha Bollinger, faculty representative to the Board of Trustees, presented the faculty’s resolution of discontent and received no comments from the board at April 16 Board of Trustees meeting.
“I assume that the board did not have anything new to offer. This is neither a positive nor a negative response,” Bollinger said.
The board amended its bylaws in November 2009 to not formally allow for faculty to appeal DiGiorgio’s decisions to the Board of Trustees, unless the appeal deals with tenure or promotion.
In response, the faculty conference voted unanimously to send a resolution to the board asking they reconsider the change.
Board members did not reverse the bylaws change during their February meeting.
The board’s decision to stay with the recent change prompted faculty to draft a resolution of disappointment in March.
Because there were no comments from board members, the conversation about faculty appeals is idle. However, Bollinger expects the topic to be brought up again in the near future.
“I believe that the Board will not be changing its bylaws at this time,” she said. “Therefore, the conversation is at a standstill for the moment. However, the Board examines its bylaws at regular intervals of time, so the conversation is likely to begin again at that time.”
The faculty’s resolution was not included on the board’s public agenda, which is posted on the university web site and sent to local media outlets. Three other resolutions were included on the agenda.
Bollinger chose not to comment on whether the faculty resolution was discussed in the executive session during the April 16 board meeting.
South Carolina Freedom of Information Act states that public boards, such as Winthrop’s Board of Trustees, may not discuss any matter in executive session unless it deals with employment, contractual arrangements, security personnel or devices, investigation, the expansion of businesses in the area or the university’s endowments funds.
Faculty Conference
The faculty conference met one week after the board meeting which yielded silence on the matter.
A report from the Board of Trustees meetings and from the full board meeting was posted on the Faculty Conference web site, and faculty were asked to read it before meeting, Bollinger said.
Members of the faculty did not debate the issue during the meeting.
Bollinger said there could be many reasons as to why no discussion took place, including exhaustion from the end of Spring semester or failure to read the materials provided to faculty.
Other Discussion and Decisions
The board also presented an Owens’ fire update, reporting that the roof is being rebuilt and furniture and technology have been ordered. Owens Hall should be open again by Spring semester of 2011.
A resolution to review and refine Winthrop’s mission within the context of global, social, technical and economic transformation was discussed by the board as well. The board plans on altering Winthrop’s mission and related matters to fit the needs of present and prospective students.
“Our stance has required us to be reactive at times, rather than proactive,” Janet Smalley, board member, said. “I think this is going to be exciting work and difficult work.”
The board voted to increase room and board fee 3.2 percent for Fall 2010 semester, citing services such as free laundry for the adjustment.
The Committee for Student Life reported an average 3.08 GPA for scholarship athletes, which meets the NCAA requirements. Nine Winthrop sport teams have athletes with GPAs over 3.0, and only one team has fallen under the NCAA prerequisites. The board did not say which team.
Sydney Evans, chair of the Council of Student Leaders, told the board that discussion of reinstating campus-wide elections for student representatives will continue over the summer and into the next semester.
Evans said she believes the new campus center will give CSL the ability to communicate better with students and give students more input into government.
