Co-governance memo irks senator

By Keith Allen and Hanh Quach

Arizona Daily Wildcat

A Faculty Senate member said yesterday that he had "serious concerns" about a UA administration's distribution of a memo on co-governance before the senate's approval.

Miklos Szilagyi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, said Provost Paul Sypherd and Faculty Senate Chairman John Schwarz, political science professor, distributed a memo to department heads and deans of colleges before it was fully discussed.

"I'm disappointed, frustrated and angered," said Szilagyi. "The Faculty Senate is being ignored."

Co-governance would mean both administration and faculty participate jointly in the governing of the university.

Under this provision, the administration would suggest academic policy changes through the Faculty Senate executive committee. Now, the administration is not obligated to get faculty input or approval.

The faculty and colleges would then have equal voice in the changes.

Szilagyi also said he was concerned a that they were planning a co-governance convention without the cooperation of the Faculty Senate.

Schwarz told Szilagyi at the meeting that no convention was scheduled.

"What we told the senate (about the convention) was true then and remains true today," he said.

Szilagyi also said that they were imposing deadlines for the passage of the co-governance document without senate approaval. He recommended that a copy of the Declaration of Co-Governance be sent to every faculty member.

Schwarz said that deadlines have not been set for the document. He said it was a miscommunication and that he would correct the situation.

In other business, the Faculty Senate heard a proposal to make the UA campus "user-friendly" for students.

Called SIS-2000, the proposal intends to change the way business and services are conducted with students, said Phyllis Bannister, director of student financial aid.

"We have to analyze what we are doing and make sure that it makes sense to students," Bannister said.

Goals of the proposal include transformation of activities in the classroom, in university research, in outreach and in the university environment. As part of the project, students will have the option to pre-register for their entire four-year program, check progress with program requirements and correct their addresses on all university records.

In the provost's report to the Faculty Senate, Sypherd announced he will be setting up a question and answer "rumor mill" page on the Internet called, "Rumor Kill." The forum will be linked with the provost's home page, and he will personally answer any "rumors" about the administration through this page, he said.

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