The University of Iowa’s Faculty Senate revised three policies from the university’s policy manual on Tuesday and previewed one revision. These revisions center around conflicts of commitment, review and promotion procedures, and criminal background checks for hiring UI faculty and staff.
Chapter 18.4, the Conflicts of Commitment (Effort) policy, addresses the time and effort faculty and staff dedicate to external commitments that might distract from job commitments. Revisions of this policy focused on defining and clarifying what constitutes “external activities” and “potential conflicts.”
Under these revisions, an “external activity” is defined as “services to a non-University entity, whether or not related to the faculty or staff member’s professional expertise,” and a “potential conflict” is defined as “a situation in which the faculty or staff member’s external activity does not currently pose a conflict but if circumstances change, an actual conflict of commitment may develop.”
Senate members expressed their concern that “external activity” still wasn’t clearly defined. One member stated that the new definition sounds as if it could apply to everything outside of faculty members’ jobs. Despite this confusion, however, members were told to speak to supervisors when they believed an activity had the potential to conflict with their schedule.
“When we’re looking at the potential conflicts, it’s more if there’s something that could potentially present a conflict in the future, then that’s the time to raise it with your supervisor,” Faculty Senate President Caroline Sheerin said.
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The Faculty Senate also previewed revisions to Chapter 10.5 of the policy manual, which focuses on the review and promotion procedures for faculty at the UI.
Revisions included rearranging policy text, updating and removing language stating that tenure and scholarship are directly required for effective teaching, ensuring consistency with the policy wording, and clarifying that faculty revues and evaluations are based on department standards.
The final policy revision included the policy for criminal background checks for new hires. This revision, which the Senate briefly discussed, would allow the university’s Threat Assessment Team to gather background information if needed while hiring staff and faculty should a potential hire pose a threat to the UI.
President Sheerin concluded the Faculty Senate meeting by speaking about legislative developments at the state and federal levels. While she didn’t name a specific legislature, she expressed her gratitude to the Faculty Senate for their work and contributions to the well-being of Iowans.
“Note that the officers are doing what we can to keep you informed, [hear] your questions, and protect your right to academic freedom and due process,” Sheerin said. “We see you, we hear you, and we appreciate you.”