Heath,

Thank you for creating the blog - first time I am blogging - and for initiating this discussion. I actually have several concerns about the Senate, but since I have been off it during the last two years and do not have the immediate experience that prompted you to address the Senate floor, I will start with the big thing that is on my mind.

It is my impression that over the last year the administration (from deans to the President's office) has been engaged in discussions about the long-term nature and future of the college. I do not know enough abotu these conversation to judge how specific they have been but I am sure that they have informed the willingness of the College to participate seriously in the current discussion about merger/collaboration with MUSC . In other words, it is my impression that even before the "merger talk" at least some members of the administration have been exploring options of expanding the institution in ways that can bring in more money.

I do not imply that the faculty and regular staff have been excluded purposefully from these discussions. To the contrary, I have had very informative talks about these plans with a few deans and President Benson, who are happy to talk about ways to secure the financial security of the college and improve its legislative status and national reputation. However, I am concerned that at the present moment our shared governance structures do not enable easy faculty participation in the long-term planning for the college.

If am not mistaken, there are only three standing committees currently that participate in (or are informed about) strategic planning:  Academic Planning, Budget and the Advisory Committee to the President. Looking at the minutes of the first two, which are available on the Senate's web page, there are indications that the committees have been consulted on important matter, but it is not clear to me that the insights they gained were passed on to the rest of the Senators and to departments. Any regular faculty member who is not on these committees, on the Senate or does not attend the two town hall meetings over the year, has limited ability to follow developments that relate to our budgetary contraints and to changes in the strategic plan. [Obviously, if one reads regularly the minutes of all committees and the Senate, she learns a lot. However, I personally do not have the time and energy to do that regularly.]

I would like a  Senate that is a more effective conduit of ideas between faculty and administration. I would like to get the Senate to spearhead a faculty-wide discussion of the future of higher education and how the College sees its future in it (do we grow or improve what we have now, do we jetison or preserve the liberal arts core; do we want or not to serve local economic and demographic needs, etc.). The College Colloquium, organized by Chris Korey and Lynn Ford, is a great idea but we need to link these theoretical discussions to our own situation.