Dec. 2011: Faculty Senate reviews compensation

By Dr. Jim Burdine, Speaker

Good day! My name is Jim Burdine, and I serve as speaker of the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) Faculty Senate.

The Faculty Senate recently convened an ad hoc committee to address faculty compensation issues.

Members included Drs. Rajat Sethi and Bob Stanberry, Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy; Drs. Jane Bolin and Catherine Hawes, School of Rural Public Health; Dr. Rajesh Miranda, College of Medicine; Dr. Diane Benson, College of Nursing; and Drs. Lynne Opperman, Bob Hutchins and Amp Miller of Baylor College of Dentistry.

The ad hoc committee met Oct. 14 to address the TAMHSC Executive Committee/Deans Committee possibility of altering the current faculty compensation plan. The committee would like the Faculty Senate to consider conveying the basics currently under discussion to the full faculty and allow it to provide updates as the Executive Committee/Dean Committee continues reviewing the plan. It also would allow the Faculty Senate to survey faculty to determine reaction to discussion and potential plan(s) under consideration.

After the meeting, the committee submitted a memo to the Faculty Senate representing its understanding of the discussion under way and also raised the concerns expressed by committee members.

Meanwhile, the Faculty Senate is working on elections for the new year. They will be electing 15 new senators across the components, as well as four new Committee on Academic Freedom, Ethics, Responsibilities, Rights and Tenure (CAFERRT) members. Those new members are replacing senators or CAFERRT members whose terms expired, or they are replacing those who have since left the TAMHSC.