As they work on a draft academic realignment plan, administrators at the University of Evansville asked faculty members to present written responses to the plan. Now, they have one.
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The plan, in the form of a resolution from the UE faculty senate, offers to create a committee to look at not just academic realignment, but any needed changes for the entire school. The resolution commits to having a plan on UE President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz’s desk by the end of the second semester.
Associate professor of history Daniel Byrne is secretary-treasurer of the UE chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Byrne says now that the shock at the size of the proposed faculty and program cuts has worn off, they’re ready to work with the administration on the realignment. The problem- President Pietruszkiewicz won’t talk to them, including skipping Tuesday’s senate meeting.
“That’s really becoming a serious problem," said Byrne. "This is the third senate meeting that he has not attended. This is way outside the regular order of things.”
The UE faculty senate resolution now goes to the full faculty for a vote. That process takes a week. If the full faculty endorses the resolution but the administration does not, faculty involvement cannot move forward because administration approval is needed for faculty to get access to university data and information relating to realignment decisions.
