The XC met on May 21 with a short agenda. Rob Barker (Chair, Faculty Grievance Committee) and David Simpson (Faculty Grievance Officer) attended XC to inform the committee of procedural issues facing the Faculty Grievance Committee. The time commitments required for the work of this committee make it extremely difficult to schedule grievances either during the semester or during breaks. These time constraints impose serious delays on the process. The XC discussed various measures that could potentially improve the process including X-pay or course reductions for members of the committee, heavier reliance on electronic meetings, better training, and other procedural modifications. Chair Boehm agreed to address the issue of pay with the Provost. In addition, a small group consisting of R. Barker, D. Simpson, D. Howarth, A. Koshewa, B. Boehm and M. Laning will meet to make a number of concrete proposals for improving the process.

XC members also reviewed an 1987 Ethics Statement and agreed to send it to the senate for reaffirmation. The meeting adjourned following standing committee reports.

There was no second meeting in May.

On May 22, I attended a ULAA Budget Committee workshop to hear on overview of how the Athletics Dept budget is constructed and a progress report on the 2007/08 FY budget. I also attended a ULAA Committee on Academic Performance meeting on May 27 where we received a report on the academic progress rate of all UofL teams. Over the past 10 years, the GPA for all student athletes combined has increased.

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa Laning
Chair, Faculty Senate Executive Committee