Profs hope for large plenary turnout

For years, the plenary session of the Faculty Senate has thirsted for better attendance from professors and better issues to rally them around. Organizers of this year's session are hoping that the dry spell will break when the faculty meet tomorrow in College Hall. Faculty Senate leaders are pulling out all the stops in their attempt to improve attendance. Worries over the future of faculty incomes and concerns about unmatched administrative growth are two issues being used by faculty leaders to motivate professors to show up. The leadership hopes to play off the fears of some faculty that their apathy may translate into smaller income increases in the future and are arguing that attendance will pay beyond time spent at the meeting. One of the issues that will probably be raised is a recent faculty report which suggests a dramatic growth in the administration during an era when faculty size remained constant. The Senate Executive Committee has charged administrators with ignoring the University's "academic component." Another recent report that might be discussed is one on the economic status of the faculty. The report cited inflation worries and the University's budget crunch while raising the possibility of a decline, in real terms, of faculty salaries. Both President Sheldon Hackney and Provost Michael Aiken have been invited to speak and field faculty questions on both those issues. But if the past is any guide, they may address a small audience. In recent memory, attendance at faculty plenary sessions has hovered at a scant 100 out of nearly 2000 standing faculty members. The leaders have historically tried to sell professors on the argument that they are passing up a once-a-year opportunity by not attending. It is an argument that, in the recent past, rank-and-file faculty have not bought. "Last year it was just a bit over a hundred," Faculty Senate Chairperson Almarin Phillips said yesterday. "I hope it's a bit more this year." The most remarkable plenary session in the memory of many faculty members happend over a decade ago, and had little to do with salary issues. At that meeting, over 600 faculty members attended a heated plenary session to protest moves to close several University schools, as well as a decision of then-President Martin Meyerson's and his provost to name themselves University professors. Since then, however, attendance at the plenary sessions has dropped dramatically, and the gatherings themselves have proved increasingly forgettable. In hopes of reversing the downward slide, faculty leaders decided several years ago to hold plenary sessions once each year instead of the customary once per term. This ploy has, for the most part, failed. Although this year's plenary will not offer the same level of drama as the watershed gathering a decade ago, faculty leaders still hope several budget issues, which could affect professor's paychecks, will encourage faculty to show up in greater numbers. "We said [this session is] about the salaries -- and if faculty aren't interested in that, we don't know what to say," said Faculty Senate Chairperson-elect Louise Shoemaker. The poor attendance record has caused difficulties for faculty who do attend the sessions and wish to vote on proposals introduced during the meeting. A quorum of 100 faculty is required for binding votes on issues raised at the session. Even though voting on issues at the plenary session is permitted only after a quorum call -- a count to verify that the necessary 100 faculty are present -- the procedure is often ignored. In the past, faculty have intentionally avoided making quorum calls in order to permit voting at sparsely attended meetings. On other occasions, individual faculty members have made quorum calls to prevent votes they expect will contradict their personal views. Should all else fail, however, organizers say faculty votes can still be conducted by mail. Although topics of discussion for the plenary have already been outlined, exactly what will be said at the meeting is still unclear. "I think it will be very difficult to segregate the economic status part from the administrative cost part," Phillips said. "I don't have any intention of trying to segregate the discussion." Provost Michael Aiken returned from a trip to France yesterday, where he was delivering a scholarly paper. A meeting of the provost's planning group scheduled today may be part of his presentation tomorrow. At last week's University Council meeting, Hackney said he disagreed somewhat with data cited in the Faculty Senate's report on the size of the administration. Officials in the president's office could not be reached for comment yesterday. The faculty plenary session is scheduled for 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. tomorrow, in College Hall room 200. The meeting is open only to faculty and invited guests.

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