Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the 74th session of the Faculty Senate. We start this year with a new President, Michael Young, for whom I would like to extend a warm welcome. We will also start this year with a new provost, as Provost Phyllis Wise has just been named the next chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (my alma mater), starting October 1. Phyllis served with distinction this past year as interim President. She will be greatly missed. With new leadership on board, we also start this year with yet another budget reduction-a substantial one. While last year’s activities were defined largely by preparing for this budget reduction; this year will be defined by shouldering this reduction. Our goal remains unchanged-a high quality education for the greatest number of students. The challenge will be to achieve this in an ever more efficient and effective manner. While I know of no more qualified group of individuals to meet this challenge-a challenge it will be nonetheless.

As I welcome you to the Senate, I also want to impress on you the importance of your active participation. This is going to require some preparation on your part. The Faculty Senate’s principal function is to promote the general welfare of the University. This is achieved through legislation proposed and enacted by the Senate. This legislative process requires informed deliberation between faculty, administration, and students. Throughout the year a plethora of meetings take place between the Senate leadership, elected faculty councils, administration, student representatives, and the Board of Regents. In addition, you as Senators will meet or communicate regularly with your constituents (faculty from your school, college, or campus) to gather and share information. These meetings spawn an array of issues that come before the Senate for our consideration. So how do you as a Senator stay abreast of these issues? How do you come to Senate meetings prepared to engage in informed deliberation? The Senate website. Here you will find all the information you need (Senate structure, committees, meeting schedules, agendas, minutes, Senate blog, Faculty Code, etc., etc.) and all the links you will ever need to dig deeper into an issue. So check it out, feel free to contact me at any time (astley@uw.edu), and I look forward to a productive year with you.

Susan Astley
Chair, Faculty Senate
Professor, Epidemiology and Pediatrics