On Tuesday, May 5, the University of Idaho faculty held their third meeting of the academic year. Many resolutions passed, and conversation around campus culture and faculty experience were held.
In advocacy of transgender students who’ve expressed concerns for their safety, professor of history Alyson Roy asked UI President Scott Green if there are plans to issue a statement in wake of the statewide bathroom bill being recently introduced.
Green stated, “the law is the law and it is what it is,” though he specified his hopes to make all students feel comfortable to attend UI.
Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs Blaine Eckles, as well as Chief Compliance Officer Kim Rytter, echoed the same message. Eckles also provided a link to a map of single use bathrooms on campus that are open for all.
Another person who spoke up was Daniel Robertson, a professor in the College of Engineering.
Since joining the university eight years ago, Robertson stated his salary has gone down 12% when adjusted to inflation, and questioned Green on what opportunities may be available to further support faculty funding amongst budget cuts.
“A lot of the investments that we are looking to do should free up more money,” Green said, briefly mentioning some solutions the university is working on.
One of these is an AI driven university-wide software system update that Green noted will free up millions of dollars when implemented. He also mentioned the budget cuts to higher education are being met with raised tuition rates and the capping of certain programs.
The meeting, which was held virtually over Zoom, had 145 voters present.
In total, 12 amendments to the Faculty-Staff Handbook were voted upon. All passed with majority vote and little to no questions, though a few struck up conversation.
FSH 3720 Sabbatical Leave, which states, “Members of the UI faculty having completed six years of full-time employment at UI may be granted sabbatical,” was one change that sparked discussion.
Jerry Long, a professor of law, said he “wanted to speak out in favor of extending sabbatical out to our non-tenure track faculty.”
Prior to the meeting, sabbatical leave as described by the FSH was only available for tenure-track faculty. This amendment will open the door for more faculty members to be eligible for sabbatical periods.
“It’s a small thing the university can do to prove that this is a really great place to work,” Long mentioned, in favor of the changes.
Another voting item that prompted questions from faculty was FSH 3780 Dependent Educational Tuition and Fee Reduction, which clarifies language surrounding tuition discounts for the dependents of faculty members.
The updated policy states each faculty member may have two dependents eligible for discount at the university. Formerly, it was written that two dependents per household were eligible.
This change will be relevant to multi-faculty households with several dependents. It will allow for faculty-dependents to get up to 50% off their tuition.
Ten other policy business and administrative procedures were covered by faculty senate chair, Tim Murphy. While they were not items to be voted upon, nearly all policy updates were shared without questions or clarifications from faculty.
The meeting concluded in just under two hours. Green gave concluding statements and adjourned the meeting with, “Thank you. Continue all the great work, and go Vandals.”
Paige Wilton can be reached at [email protected].