October 2025 Faculty Senate Newsletter
Featured
60 Years of Faculty Senate: Fall Break
Faculty in units that follow the academic calendars developed through the Calendar Committee had Fall Break earlier this month. Fall Break was formally included with the 1983 academic calendar at ECU®. The March 24, 1980 Faculty Senate meeting minutes reflect the circumstances under which the break eventually made it onto the calendar (see page 3). During the presentation of the 1982 Fall Calendar, a Senator noted that the Student Government Association had brought a request for a fall break and questioned why it was not included in the draft calendar. The response was that the Calendar Committee had considered the break but determined that it would be too disruptive to schedule. Clearly, further discussion occurred that convinced the Calendar Committee that the disruption was worth the benefits afforded by the break, because the presentation of the 1983 Fall Calendar included a Fall Break. The March 17, 1981 Faculty Senate meeting minutes show that the Calendar Committee had commissioned a poll of faculty about instituting a fall break ((see page 8). With the majority of respondents in favor of the break, they drafted the changes and presented them to Faculty Senate. The addition of Fall Break to the academic calendar is another example of shared governance, with students and faculty working together to institute a change to benefit campus. We continue that tradition today by including representatives from the Student Government Association and university administration on almost all of our committees.
What’s New
College Reorganizations and Unit Mergers
There are many actions related to merging or combining units ongoing across campus:
In his October 9, 2025 message to campus, Chancellor Rogers divulged a plan to create a new college from the combined College of Allied Health Sciences and College of Health and Human Performance. Following the announcement, Chair Bowler sent a communication to those units directing them to pause any actions to revise their existing codes during the time when the proposal to combine the colleges is developed.
In the most recent Educational Policies and Planning Committee meeting, representatives from Integrated Coastal Programs described some of the actions that have taken place as they begin drafting a proposal to dissolve the Department of Coastal Studies while maintaining faculty presence at the Coastal Studies Institute.
Director Lewis from Academic Library Service and Director Ketterman from Laupus Health Sciences Library provided remarks at the October 7, 2025 Faculty Senate meeting about the proposed merger of the libraries.
Updated Unit Code Format
At the October 7, 2025 Faculty Senate meeting, a revised Unit Code Format was proposed and Chancellor Rogers quickly approved the new format. The new Unit Code Format is available on Submitting Codes or Constitutions for Committee Review page. The new Unit Code of Operation Format (docx) includes a subsection for Faculty Workload under Section VI. Evaluation of Faculty. The format was also revised to use section headings instead of indentation to mark out the sections.
Revisions to Part IV of the Faculty Manual Impact Provisional Codes, Faculty Workload
The Faculty Governance Committee proposed revisions to Part IV.I and IV.II of the Faculty Manual to address issues relating to implementation of provisional codes and faculty workplans. In Part IV.I, the information required in the memo accompanying a provisional code now includes “. . . when the new code will be activated after the Chancellor’s approval, plans for transition from old to new unit codes (i.e. administrative reorganization of the unit, composition of committees to the unit, etc.).” This language was added after questions arose in units that had personnel actions initiated prior to the approval of a provisional code that changed their structure. The personnel actions were ongoing and the units were uncertain about whether committee members would need to change or which unit head should be recording decisions on the actions. The revisions also make it clear that the use of a provisional code for a maximum of three semesters includes all provisional codes, and not just those for new units.
In Part IV.II, a statement was added to the requirements for Faculty Workload Guidelines, which makes clear that guidelines must “ensure proportional revisions of annual workplan if responsibilities in one of the areas are increased or decreased after the creation of the initial annual workplan.” This language was added to address reports of situations in which faculty workplans increased responsibilities in one area without subsequent decreases in other areas. For example, a faculty member may have received increased teaching responsibilities, but their research or service expectations remained the same.
Call for 2026/2027 Teaching Grants Proposals
The Teaching Grants Committee is pleased to announce a call for proposals for the 2026/2027 teaching grants. The committee has allocated a fund of $80,000, which may support approximately four to eight proposals. Eligibility extends to all full-time tenured, tenure-track, and fixed-term faculty members. The purpose of these grants is to support new, innovative, and/or creative teaching approaches aimed at improving instruction at the University. Proposal guidelines are available on the Teaching Grants Committee page. Included in the proposal guidelines are the evaluation criteria, submission instructions, and report due following funding. The submission deadline is 5:00 pm on Friday, November 7, 2025. The application and a separate signature form/checklist are attached and should be electronically submitted to facultysenate@ecu.edu by the deadline. The Budget Guidelines for Teaching Grants (PDF) describe the timing of the funding and purchases that are not allowed with the funds. Summative reports on past funded grants must be submitted prior to another grant submission. If you are unsure if past reports have been submitted, you may check the listing of previously funded grants on the Teaching Grants Committee page. Please direct any questions to Dr. Ann Bell, Chair of the Teaching Grants Committee at bellan16@ecu.edu.
Reminders
Faculty Personnel Deadlines
Below are the deadlines for personnel actions that are coming up soon (see the full Faculty Manual Part X, Section II Schedule for Personnel Actions for more information):
- Reappointment of Probationary-Term Faculty Members in 2nd Year of Employment with Credit for Prior Academic Service – for 9-month faculty, the Dean sends their recommendation and the faculty member’s PAD on to the Provost by the 1st Tuesday in November, and the Provost’s decision is due by the 3rd Tuesday in November.
- Post-Tenure Review Timeline – the committee review is due to the unit administrator by the 3rd Monday in November.
Policies, Rules, and Regulations Sent Out for Comment
Several policies, rules, and regulations (PRRs) have been circulated for open comment. The faculty officers consider the PRRs that are opened for comment and decide whether they should be assigned to committees for review. They agreed that Course Section Size, a proposed rule, should be assigned to multiple committees for review. The formal faculty advice from these committees was compiled for submission and will be presented at the November Faculty Senate meeting.
The faculty officers determined that the following policies, rules, and regulations that were circulated for open comment did not require committee review, but faculty are encouraged to review them and submit comments if they wish:
- Timely Warning Requirement of the Jeanne Clery Campus Act
- Emergency Notifications Requirement of Jeanne Clery
- Illegal Drugs and Substance Abuse
- Invitations to Elected Officials
- SHRA Performance Appraisal
- Student Admissions Safety Review
Upcoming
- The third regular Faculty Senate meeting is November 4, 2025.
- The Board of Trustees meets November 13-14, 2025.
ADA Accommodation: 252-737-1018 or ada-coordinator@ecu.edu