Amidst the ongoing Graduate Teaching Fellows strike at the University of Oregon, faculty is bristling over threats to its academic authority from the recently formed U of O Board of Trustees.
The University Senate Executive Committee held an emergency meeting Monday. There's concern the Board of Trustees was given sweeping powers by the state legislature.
Randy Sullivan is a senior instructor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Vice President of the University Senate. He says there's a tradition of shared governance at the University of Oregon.
Sullivan: "A lot of people have worked long and hard on, particularly our constitution, which was ratified by President LaRiviere in 2011 and our policy on policies, which directs how we work with the administration to develop policy."
Sullivan says interim president Scott Coltrane was at the meeting, which was appreciated, because past presidents haven’t been willing to show up.
The full University Senate meets Wednesday. The GTF strike is causing strife as well with concern over how the administration has told faculty to give final exams and issue grades.
The University Senate Meeting is Wednesday afternoon from 3 to 5 at Lawrence Hall on the U of O campus.
