The Faculty Senate is gearing up for another quarter of contentious debate surrounding faculty discipline and free speech.
University President Michael Schill and Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced the University’s new policy on free speech and display in September, prompting criticism from faculty who said the new policy restricts academic freedom. The changes, which came in the wake of last spring’s pro-Palestinian encampment on Deering Meadow, included bans on tenting and overnight protests between midnight and 6 a.m.
Faculty Senate President and McCormick Prof. Jill Wilson said the Senate took time this past fall to understand the new demonstration policies and their potential impact on students. She said efforts included meeting with Dean of Students Mona Dugo and Vice President of Student Affairs Susan Davis. Wilson also said she focused on creating a more welcoming space for dialogue among colleagues.
“One of the things we did was to have a gathering that wasn’t an official Senate meeting, so people could spend some time talking to each other,” Wilson said. “We did that within the executive committee as well, so we all started with a good, productive relationship.”
Former Senate President and Weinberg Prof. Regan Thomson said disagreements among faculty regarding the administration’s response to the encampment were some of the most difficult parts of his role as president.
The encampment took place while Thomson was serving as president.
“It obviously is a heated topic in general, but you’re dealing with a faculty body made up of many, many people who all hold very different opinions, many at complete opposite ends of the spectrum,” Thomson said. “There were people in the Senate who wanted us to come down and make statements about one thing or the other, but that was going to be impossible.”
The Senate also addressed concerns regarding faculty disciplinary processes, prompted by the University’s investigation of Medill Prof. Steven Thrasher’s involvement in the spring pro-Palestinian encampment.
Thrasher’s fall quarter classes were canceled, and fellow faculty members expressed unease at a Faculty Senate meeting in October about the guidelines they must follow.
“It revealed some things in the faculty handbook that, at a minimum, need clarification — some vague language, or some things that aren’t quite clear what the scope of them are, and so we’re trying to clarify that,” Wilson said.
The Senate will continue to hear from members of the administration this quarter, including Hagerty and Chief Financial Officer Mandy Distel in January about the University’s budget.
Medill Prof. Jacqueline Babb, a member of the executive committee on the Senate, said the budget discussion will help the faculty understand the administration’s goals for 2025.
“We do this every year, and it’s really important to start out the year this way,” Babb said. “It gives us an opportunity to understand what the priorities of the university are, and in understanding those priorities, we can think about our role in shared governance to ensure that the priorities of faculty are being represented within those broader priorities of the University.”
Another Senate priority is grappling with the future of artificial intelligence. Faculty are specifically concerned about whether to employ it or discourage students from using it.
To address these concerns, there will be a faculty forum on AI which will address how it impacts academic integrity, and whether students should be allowed to use it in their classes.
“Faculty have a lot of questions,” Wilson said. “There are also sustainability issues around AI and important research questions around AI. It’s so multifaceted, and people come at it from so many different directions.”
The Senate will continue to hold monthly meetings this quarter, beginning with the first meeting of the year on Jan. 15.
“We’re always looking for issues that are impacting the students and the faculty, and making sure that we’re representing our constituents in the best way possible,” Babb said.
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