Faculty Council discussed Sept. 19 in Memorial Union the financials of the University of Missouri Press, the issue of shared governance involving the Renew Mizzou renovation project, and the formation of an ad hoc committee to look at the facts surrounding the Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute (NSEI).
Missouri Press
The Press Advisory Committee, created by Faculty Council last year to guide the direction of the Missouri Press, has met occasionally since its first meeting Oct. 17, 2012. The committee requested press financials in July 2013, but it has not received them, Faculty Council Chair Craig Roberts said.
This puzzled members. “To do our job, we need the financial information” of the press, said Sudarshan Loyalka, Curators Professor of Nuclear Engineering. The decision to close the press, first announced in May 2012, was based on its being financially subsidized.
Roberts said he would write to administrators requesting three years of Missouri Press financials by Oct. 1.
Renew Mizzou
MU administrators announced May 23, 2013, the future closing of Pickard, Swallow and Jesse halls for radiation tests at Pickard and renovations at the other two buildings.
Many council members were nonplussed why no faculty, to their knowledge, were involved in the process leading to the Renew Mizzou decision, which will relocate 600 employees and two museums.
Deputy Provost Ken Dean explained that the opportunity to fix the three buildings at the same time arose quickly and the moment was seized because it’s cost-effective.
When some council members objected to the lack of faculty consultation, Dean asked them to come to the table.
“There is a really unique opportunity right now [for faculty] to participate in that process and reengage and connect with the campus administration in a way that will be much more productive than what it’s been in the past,” he said.
Jung Ha Brookshire, associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Textile and Apparel Management Department, asked council members to remain open-minded about the Renew Mizzou project. Brookshire said she worked in Gwynn Hall prior to its renovation begun in 2012. Gwynn Hall faculty had input on the coming work. Perhaps Renew Mizzou’s opportunistic approach was right, she said.
“Let’s not assume everything done so far was wrong,” Brookshire said.
NSEI
The relationship between the Nuclear Engineering Program and the NSEI has been contentious since MU officials announced NSEI’s planned closing March 12, 2012.
An ad hoc committee overseen by Faculty Council has formed to examine the facts surrounding NSEI’s move from the Graduate School to the Nuclear Engineering Program in the College of Engineering.
“We need to get this in front of us so we can vote fairly” on the role or lack thereof of faculty in the decisions affecting NSEI, Roberts said.